Reading City of Sanctuary is an organisation striving to establish Reading as a place of welcome for those seeking safety from conflict and persecution. RCoS encourages and equips local communities wishing to support refugees and guides that support toward agencies providing services to such individuals with the ultimate goal of meeting the needs of both organisations and their clients in a way which is holistic and effective.

Some of our activities include our Coffee Banks, Refugee Agency Working Group and its common Calendar, The pop-up one-to-one language support, Sanctuary in Parliament, our interfaith events and others.

As RCoS moves from a pilot programme to a more established organisation we are seeking a Chair who can provide their time and skills to oversee the implementation of our ambitious strategy.
If you find the prospect of working to help deliver our vision of inclusivity and of improving the lives of people seeking to start a new life in Reading, then we would love to hear from you.

Position: Chair of RCoS Steering Group (Voluntary Position)

Responsibilities:
– Attending and chairing meetings of the steering group (indicatively 1 time a month)
– Acting as a member of the committee, contributing to the development and fulfilment of the RCoS strategy/business plan.
– Attending and contributing to relevant events (indicatively 1 time every 2 months)
– Performing to the highest personal standards in-line with the Committee’s expectations and acting only in the interests of Reading City of Sanctuary as a whole
– Sharing responsibility for decisions taken by the steering group

About you:
We would like to broaden our Committee’s skills base, knowledge and networks and thus seek people who can help us to think long term and strategically. We are interested in professionals who have a background or expertise in the following fields: communications/marketing, education, business, IT, civil service, fundraising or individuals who participate in faith groups.
In addition, living or working within our geographical footprint will be advantageous.

We would hope our new chair has experience in as many of the following as possible:

• Education
• Policy Engagement
• Faith community outreach
• Business Community partnerships
• Events and communications