Chair of the Board of Trustees of South West London Law Centres
- Trustee and Board Positions
- Hybrid (London)
- Jun 18, 2026
Job Description
South West London Law Centres is one of the largest law centres in the UK. Each year we support over 5,000 people from our community.
Our award-winning team helps local people on low incomes at some of the most difficult times in their lives, by providing legal advice that they wouldn’t otherwise be able to afford.
In 2020 we were awarded the prestigious Legal Aid Firm of the Year award, in recognition of our team’s commitment to and excellence in helping people in need across south-west London to understand and uphold their rights. We were also highly commended in the Law Society’s Excellence in Access to Justice Award in 2021.
As one of the larger law centres in England and Wales we provide free legal advice, representation and access to social and economic justice services across five boroughs across South West London through legal aid, grant-funded services, Court duty schemes, community-based projects and a large pro-bono clinic programme delivered in partnership with volunteer lawyers and City law firms. Our reach is wider than the five boroughs and includes for example project work with domestic violence refuges in Surrey.
At SWLLC we operate within an increasingly challenging environment for legal aid and charitable organisations, with growing demand for our services and ongoing financial and other pressures across the sector.
Strong governance, strategic leadership and long-term sustainability are therefore central to the future direction of our organisation and to ensure we can continue to assist the most vulnerable in our society.
Our current Chair is standing down after helping to lead us through a period of structural change to bring about greater stability and review our practices and procedures so that our organisation is more resilient to the challenges we face and to enable us to continue to meet the demand for our services.
We are now looking for someone who can support us to build on that work. We need someone who has experience in governance, preferably within the charitable sector, and who has a passion for access to justice and the vision and commitment to help us improve our visibility and the impact we can make in the communities we serve.
Further details may be found on our website www.swllc.org.
To apply for the position of Chair, please send your CV with a covering letter to [email protected]. The applications will be considered on a rolling basis, and we encourage you to submit your application as soon as possible.
A panel comprising of Trustees and Members of our Senior Leadership Team will review your application in the first instance and applicants who are successful at that stage will receive an invitation to have an informal discussion with the panel, following which a recommendation will be made to the Board of Trustees.
For further information on making an application or any queries relating to this vacancy
or applications submitted please message us through [email protected].
Job Description
From:
Women in Banking and Finance is dedicated to help women in the financial services industry progress in their career. This section of the Jobs Board is intended to highlight opportunities to undertake voluntary work as a trustee, non-executive director (NED) or board member. See the quick guide to volunteering, and breakdown of roles below. If you are an organisation wanting to attract more female candidates in banking or finance to your voluntary roles, you can advertise free of charge on this page. See below for details and conditions.
Why become a board member or trustee?
You may be starting a career, trying to improve your promotion prospects, or wanting to keep your skills sharp while on a career break for any reason. Some argue that on a personal level volunteering boosts wellbeing, or even that it is good for our mental health. On a professional level, it can expand your confidence, your professional work experience and bring its own distinct elements of challenge and reward.
The positions advertised here are from external organisations. WIBF is also run by a group of passionate, committed volunteers. If you would like to support our cause and find out more about our vacancies, please click here.
NEDs
A non-executive director, or NED, sits on the board of directors. They provide third-party oversight to ensure an organisation is being well run by its executive management team.
Unpaid NED roles can go by other names; for example, Trustees (often in charities), Governors (in schools) or Members of Council (in universities).
Being a non-executive director is not a full-time position; the workload varies, ranging anywhere between 10-40 days a year.
NEDs hold the management team accountable by overseeing and constructively challenging their work.
NEDs can also help avoid ‘groupthink’ within organisations by bringing independent perspectives. Not having a financial or personal link to the organisation can be an advantage.
Trustees
Trustees ensure a charity has a clear strategy, and that work, and goals are in line with the overall vision. A trustee's role is to be a ‘guardian of purpose’, making sure that all decisions put the needs of the beneficiaries first.
A trustee should safeguard the charity’s assets. This is a key reason why they may need the specific skillsets involved in finance, business, or banking. This means both physical assets, including property, and intangible ones, such as its reputation. They make sure these are used well, and that the charity is run sustainably.
You can find out more about the role of a trustee from the Charity Commission, on the UK government website.
Board Member
A board has an essential role in company governance and setting the strategic direction of the business. Charities often seek help with financial services in particular: you may get involved in new areas of business or build a broader experience of leadership. You may be asked to volunteer or job shadow in another capacity to get to know the organisation better, first. The Institute of Directors has a good introductory guide.
Volunteering
Challenges It can be an effective way to build your skills and your CV. You may also gain new experience of strategy and leadership. This can have a powerful impact upon your career, opening doors to new responsibilities and more senior job prospects.
Challenges You may be operating in a different and potentially challenging context from your working life. You may contribute to setting a strategic vision, influencing and negotiation, or developing strategies for managing risk.
Rewards You get the chance to use your skills, knowledge, and experience to impact a good cause, or ‘give back’ to a community.
Rewards You have a specific cause that is important to you and you want to be active in supporting it.
Builds networks You will meet new people, work with a different team and develop relationships with professional people away from your day job, people who may have different perspectives.
Finally, you can also find board vacancies on nonprofit job posting sites such as LinkedIn Board Connect, Idealist, Bridgespan, Dynamic Boards and All for Good.
Advertise your trustee or voluntary board role with us
If your organisation needs to attract more female candidates, you can advertise free of charge on the WIBF Jobs Board. Your position/s must be UK-based and of relevance to those who have a financial or fin-tech background. Your organisation will be one of the following:
- registered charity
- small voluntary organisation (unincorporated)
- credit union
- community benefit society
- community interest company
- social enterprise
- co-operative society
- registered society or industrial or provident society
- public sector body such as: a government agency, government department, non-departmental public body
- body/agency, school, college or university
If you would like to advertise a role here, please contact [email protected]