Could you help deliver change on Tiree?

The Trust Group consists of the core charity itself, four subsidiary companies which are wholly owned by the Trust, the Discover Tiree committee (which operates as a specific initiative within the Trust) and will from time to time also involve other working groups or committees for particular projects.

Everything we do is designed to be informed by and led by the views of the Tiree community. From time to time we gather those views through wide-scale events, surveys, etc – but for day to day matters the main link back to the community we serve is via the volunteers who make up our main Board, the subsidiary boards and the committees and working groups. These individuals bring their skills, knowledge, experience and diverse perspectives to our work, and play an absolutely crucial role in ensuring that effective decision making takes place.

Those taking part also gain much in return, gaining experience of governance of an active and varied community development group, learning about various processes and work areas, and get to see real, substantial results from the work that they contribute to, which have a positive impact on the community we all live in.

We aim to provide training and induction, support in the role is available from the Trust General Manager, and admin support is provided to meetings by our Operations team. The roles are voluntary/unpaid, with travel and other out of pocket expenses available. Meetings generally take place in week day evenings, using video conference calls (although we expect to now start having a mixed in-person / remote format)

We are currently seeking new volunteers to join a number of areas

Trust Board:

The Trust Board has one vacancy for an elected member (who must be a resident on Tiree, listed on the electoral roll) and three vacancies for appointed members (who can be anyone, but are selected to address specific gaps in skills/knowledge and/or life experience/representation of particular groups). As a member of the Trust board, you will be a charity trustee, and a company director registered with Companies House. There are some legal responsibilities involved, but training and advice is available, and your actual personal liability is limited. You will jointly oversee the strategic direction of the Trust, review reports of ongoing work and help to make sure the charity is running responsibly and effectively. The Board meets once per month, with some business conducted via email in between.

Tiree Community Enterprise Limited (TCEL):

TCEL is the newest of our subsidiaries, and was set up to be a general trading body for the Trust Group, under which a variety of community owned trading services can operate. The first is the new community filling station. The current TCEL Board were mainly recruited for that project – but now that it is nearing completion and the next project is about to start we are preparing to shift the TCEL Board of Directors over to a longer term general oversight role. Board directors will oversee the long term general operation of the subsidiary, making sure it operates with responsible financial planning and considers longer term shifts in needs of the community that will affect the services it provides.

We would like to recruit a small group of new directors to join this board. Experience of business would be helpful but not essential – just as valuable will be having a good sense of practicality and understanding the needs of the community. Meeting are likely to be about every two months.

New project sub-group: Business Units – Community Business Hub

TCEL’s new project is about to get started, which will involve constructing four new industrial business units on the island. Funding for this has already been secured, and we are currently in the process of procurement of a design team framework, from which we will appoint an architect-led design team to deliver the design, planning and construction of the new units.

We plan to establish a working group within TCEL to oversee this project in particular, which volunteers can be appointed to without necessarily having to also take on the role of director for the whole company and the other projects/services TCEL operates. We are therefore looking for a group of individuals who would be interested in advising and overseeing this project, in the interests of the whole community. No particular specific experience is required to put yourself forward, but we’d obviously particularly welcome relevant experience of either using such units, or being involved in design, planning or construction projects. Meetings are likely to be at least monthly, with occasional extras if needed during critical stages of the project.

Discover Tiree – the official, community-led, destination management organisation for tourism on Tiree

Since Discover Tiree merged into the Trust several years ago, we have recently completed a large project to build and implement a modern new website at www.isleoftiree.com, offering a much more capable and flexible platform for listing accommodation providers, attractions and places of interest on the island. We have recently appointed a consultant to develop a new Sustainable Tourism Strategy for the island, seeking to develop a future workplan to support and promote responsible tourism on Tiree that strikes a positive balance with the needs of the resident community, where visitors see the authentic Tiree experience, reflecting the fact that this is a home and a workplace to the people that live here.

We are looking to recruit new members to the committee which advises and oversees our work in this area, and we’d like to involve a range of people – those involved in tourism related businesses of course, but also residents who would like to help us find ways to make tourism work best for the long-term sustainability of the island resident community. There are up to six spaces for Discover Tiree subscribers, plus two other places. Meetings are usually quarterly, with occasional matters also being dealt with via e-mail in between.

Interested?

If you’d like to find out more, or express interest, please get in touch either by e-mail to phyl@tireetrust.org.uk or by otherwise contacting Phyl Meyer, General Manager

English (UK)