Join the In-Situ Board of Directors

Pendle based In-Situ, are looking to expand its board. They are seeking new members for the Board of Directors who will embrace the organisations ethos and will help take them forward with commitment and enthusiasm.

Call for expressions of interest

In-Situ is an ambitious collaborative organisation, looking to expand its board. They are seeking new members for the Board of Directors who will embrace the organisations ethos and will help take them forward with commitment and enthusiasm.

In-Situ want to work with board members who will:

• Communicate and embody an enthusiasm for and commitment to embedded and social art practice
• Demonstrate an enthusiasm and ability to act as a champion for In-Situ, its work, its people, its values
• Make a commitment to carry out the duties of a board director, including team development, fundraising and developing partnerships.

Do you have experience in at least one of the following?

• Understanding and developing diverse organisations and programmes
• Sustained strategic development of a National Portfolio Organisation
• Developing partnerships profile nationally and internationally
• Fundraising including trusts and foundations and corporate sponsorship
• Curatorial or critical programmes around social art practice
• Non-hierarchical organisations and governance

Board Members should have an established interest in art, and experience at a senior level within the public and/or private sectors. You will have a well-established diverse professional network, with effective advocacy and communication skills.Although the posts are not remunerated, this is a fantastic opportunity to develop your leadership skills in an arts organisation make a significant contribution to Pendle’s cultural development and enjoy developing a deeper appreciation for embedded longterm practice with social outcomes.

A full induction to becoming a board member will be given and additional training and development opportunities are available depending on your needs and interests. Board members are volunteers but can claim travel expenses to attend board meetings. 

The time commitment

The board meets four times per year at In-Situ base, the Garage, Northlight, Brierfield. Meetings take place on Monday evenings from 6pm – 8pm. In addition, there are 2 day-long board development workshop annually, one including all staff. There are also a range of events throughout the year and during the programme, which the Board are be encouraged to attend.

Submit your expression of interest

If you would like to join the board, please write a short expression of interest outlining the professional experience that you could bring to the board and a short statement on what you hope to gain from being an In-situ board member. Your statement should be quite succinct, around one or two pages of A4. Please address to Andrew Sharp, In-Situ Chair and email to: paul@in-situ.org.uk

Deadline: Monday 27th January 5 PM

Selection process

Your expression of interest is the first part of what we hope is a conversation between prospective board members and the current board. Your expression of interest will be initially reviewed by the Chair and Executive & Founder Director, with recommendations for appointment taken to the full board on December 9th. Following that meeting, the Chair and Chief Executive will arrange informal meetings with the potential board members who have been recommended.

 About the board

In-Situ is a company limited by guarantee and in 2017 became an Arts Council National Portfolio Organisation for 2018 – 22. The organisation is governed by a voluntary board of non-executive directors which meets quarterly. It is the directors’ responsibility to approve the strategic business plan of the organisation and monitor the performance of the organisation against the plan. The board currently has 6 members including 3 founding directors and skills including social art practice, community development business, education and local community. The overall responsibility for the day-to-day running of the organisation is within a non-hierarchical structure which includes a founder executive board member with an Organisation and Engagement focus. This focus includes financial management, fundraising, staff development, programme and project development. The executive director reports to the board on all issues pertaining to the running of the organisation.

In-Situ operates as a democratic, non-hierarchical arts organisation: all team members are paid the same salary*, and all team members are equally involved in decision-making and the development of the organisation. As such it is imperative that the new board members openly contribute and shares ideas, knowledge and information. * with the exception of the internship, which is paid at the voluntary living wage

The board’s key responsibility is to interrogate and agree the strategy of the organisation and to ensure sound financial management. The Organisation & Engagement lead is responsible for formulating the strategy in collaboration with the rest of the board and the team, for setting a budget to achieve this strategy. The budget is scrutinised and approved by the board.

About In-Situ

In-Situ is an organisation embedding art into everyday life in Pendle. In-Situ’s Vision is for art to be part of everyday life; for our art to challenge current thinking about environment, people, place and culture; for our art to be an art of action; for our art to contribute to society as a whole. In-Situ create the infrastructure and conditions for art, artists, and culture to be a valued and relevant aspect to the everyday life of Pendle’s people and places.

The term ‘embedded practice’ describes the work In-Situ does as an organisation, enables and advocates. Working closely and responsively with local communities, partner organisations, artists, stakeholders, and experts from other disciplines In-Situ produces art that addresses local issues with the aim to make a positive difference to people’s lives and the environment.

In-Situ’s business plan has three main programme themes:

• Environment (projects that work with diverse rural and urban places of Pendle)
• Intercultural (projects that work with the diverse people and communities of Pendle)
• Education & Sustainability (projects that explore learning and knowledge in and from Pendle)

In-Situ enables the exploration of these themes through creative and critical approaches that transverse art and social practice. Collaboration, co-production, interdisciplinary working and shared learning underpin the creative activity that In-Situ nurtures and allows to flourish.

In-Situ embraces the slow, attentive and exploratory nature of this embedded practice: taking responsibility to build, grow and sustain conditions that enable fresh perspectives and collective action that positively transforms people’s lives. 

In 2017, In-Situ was awarded Arts Council of England (ACE) NPO status, securing four years of core funding (2018-2022). In addition, ACE also awarded In-Situ a capital grant to relocate into their own premise: The Garage, Northlight Mill, Brierfield