Help shape SPEAR’s future as a Trustee, bringing your skills, experience or lived insight to help make homelessness rare, brief and non-recurring.
SPEAR is a well-established homelessness charity supporting people across London to find secure accommodation and work towards a positive future.
We are looking for new Trustees to join our Board at an important point in SPEAR’s development. With several existing Trustees approaching the end of their terms, we want to bring new skills, experiences and perspectives to the Board as we deliver our new three-year plan.
We are particularly interested in people bringing accounting or audit, fundraising, safeguarding, or lived experience of homelessness.
You do not need to have been a Trustee before. We welcome first-time Trustees and particularly encourage applications from people currently under-represented on charity boards.
Who we are
SPEAR has been supporting people experiencing, or at risk of, homelessness in London for almost 40 years.
Working across Richmond, Wandsworth, Kingston, Sutton, Merton and Tower Hamlets, we provide rough sleeper outreach, accommodation services, tenancy support and health services. We recognise that homelessness is much more than a housing issue and work alongside service users, partners, local authorities, volunteers, businesses and communities to enable sustainable change in people’s lives.
Our vision is for communities in which anyone facing or experiencing homelessness can quickly move into secure accommodation, get effective support and work towards their hopes and aspirations.
About the role
Our Trustees are central to SPEAR’s future. Collectively, the Board is responsible for the charity’s governance and strategic direction, ensuring SPEAR is well run, financially sustainable and continues to deliver for the people we support.
As a Trustee, you will:
- Contribute to SPEAR’s strategy, governance and decision-making
- Support and constructively challenge the Chief Executive and Senior Management Team
- Help ensure SPEAR remains financially sustainable and focused on the interests of our beneficiaries
- Contribute your own skills, knowledge, experience or lived insight to Board discussions
- Serve on one of our Board Committees
- Take an active interest in SPEAR’s services and the changing external environment
- Act as an ambassador for SPEAR and help strengthen relationships with partners and stakeholders.
Who we are looking for
We want to hear from people who share SPEAR’s commitment to helping people experiencing homelessness find secure accommodation and work towards a positive future.
We are particularly seeking people with one or more of the following:
- Accounting or audit expertise, ideally as a qualified accountant or auditor with the capability to Chair our Audit and Risk Committee
- Fundraising experience
- Safeguarding expertise, with the ability to act as the Board’s Safeguarding Lead
- Lived experience of homelessness, or a close relationship with someone who has been affected by homelessness.
Alongside this, we are looking for people who can work collaboratively, listen and debate, express their views constructively and contribute confidently to collective decision-making. You should be comfortable acting as an ambassador for SPEAR and committed to equity, diversity and inclusion.
Previous Trustee experience is not essential. We welcome first-time Trustees who can bring new skills, experiences and perspectives.
We want our Board to better reflect the diversity of the communities we serve and particularly welcome applications from women, people from Black, Asian and ethnic minority backgrounds, and people from a wider range of age groups.
Time commitment
The expected time commitment for these roles is approximately 1/2 a day per month. Trustees are appointed for an initial three-year term and may serve up to two further three-year terms.
The commitment includes:
- up to five Board meetings each year, held in person in Twickenham
- membership of at least one Board Committee, involving approximately three to four additional meetings each year, held virtually
- preparation and reading ahead of Board and Committee meetings
- occasional strategic planning and Board away days
- occasional supporter, fundraising or public events
- opportunities to visit SPEAR’s projects and services and better understand our work and the experiences of the people we support.
The role is unremunerated, with reasonable out-of-pocket expenses reimbursed.
To view the role description and person specification, please go to the ‘How to Apply’ tab above, fill in your details and download the candidate pack.
For further information about the role or to arrange a confidential discussion, please contact our advising consultant at Peridot Partners:
Clare Chesworth | clarec@peridotpartners.co.uk | 07904 158737
Welcome from the Interim Chair
Dear Applicant,
Thank you for your interest in joining SPEAR’s Board of Trustees.
SPEAR is a well-established homelessness charity working across South West London and beyond, supporting around 800 people experiencing homelessness each year with high-quality housing and support.
Our Board currently comprises eleven trustees, each serving a maximum of three three-year terms. With several trustees approaching the end of their terms, we are looking for skilled and passionate individuals who can help shape SPEAR’s future through strong governance, insight and constructive challenge.
You would be joining SPEAR at an important time. Our new three-year plan focuses on using our resources, fundraising and contract income effectively, while working collaboratively with partners and funders to help make homelessness rare, brief and non-recurring.
We are particularly seeking people with one or more of the following:
- Accounting or audit expertise, with the capability to Chair our Audit and Risk Committee;
- Fundraising experience;
- Safeguarding expertise, with the ability to act as the Board’s Safeguarding Lead;
- Or lived experience of homelessness.
The Board meets five times a year, and trustees are also expected to join one of our three Sub-committees covering Audit, Finance and Risk; Operations; and Personnel and Quality.
We particularly welcome applications from people currently under-represented on charity boards, including women, people from Black, Asian and ethnic minority backgrounds, and people from a wider range of age groups.
Previous trustee experience is not essential, and we welcome first-time trustees who can bring new skills, experiences and perspectives.
If you have the experience and passion to help take SPEAR forward, we look forward to hearing from you.
Yours sincerely,
Duncan Richford
Interim Chair
Message from the CEO
Thank you for your interest in becoming a Trustee of SPEAR.
At SPEAR, our passionate front-line teams and managers work tirelessly to support people experiencing homelessness, helping them rebuild their lives with dignity, purpose and hope.
But our ambition goes further. We don’t want simply to respond to homelessness; we want to help make it rare, brief and non-recurring.
Our Trustees are central to that ambition. They bring their experience, insight and challenge to help shape SPEAR’s future, working alongside me and our leadership team to ensure we remain effective, ambitious and focused on making the greatest possible difference.
As we look to the future, we want our Board to reflect the diversity of the communities we serve, and we welcome people with different backgrounds, perspectives and experiences.
You don’t need to have been a Trustee before to make a valuable contribution. If you have skills, experience or lived insight that could help us drive meaningful change, and the commitment to play an active role in our future, we’d love to hear from you.
Together, we can build a future where fewer people experience homelessness, and where everyone has the opportunity to find and keep a safe place to call home.
Tim Fallon
CEO
About SPEAR
Thank you for your interest in becoming a Trustee of SPEAR.
At SPEAR, our passionate front-line teams and managers work tirelessly to support people experiencing homelessness, helping them rebuild their lives with dignity, purpose and hope.
But our ambition goes further. We don’t want simply to respond to homelessness; we want to help make it rare, brief and non-recurring.
Our Trustees are central to that ambition. They bring their experience, insight and challenge to help shape SPEAR’s future, working alongside me and our leadership team to ensure we remain effective, ambitious and focused on making the greatest possible difference.
As we look to the future, we want our Board to reflect the diversity of the communities we serve, and we welcome people with different backgrounds, perspectives and experiences.
You don’t need to have been a Trustee before to make a valuable contribution. If you have skills, experience or lived insight that could help us drive meaningful change, and the commitment to play an active role in our future, we’d love to hear from you.
Together, we can build a future where fewer people experience homelessness, and where everyone has the opportunity to find and keep a safe place to call home.
Learn more about SPEAR
Accessibility and inclusion information
SPEAR and Peridot Partners are committed to ensuring that this recruitment process is accessible and inclusive.
We want to ensure that candidates are able to participate fully in the process and do not experience unnecessary barriers. If you require any reasonable adjustments at any stage of the recruitment process, or would like to discuss how we can make the process more accessible for you, please contact the Peridot Partners team.
We welcome applications from people with different backgrounds, experiences and perspectives. SPEAR is particularly keen to broaden the diversity of its Board and encourages applications from people currently under-represented on charity boards.
To arrange a confidential discussion, please contact our advising consultant at Peridot Partners:
Clare Chesworth | clarec@peridotpartners.co.uk | 07904 158737
Thank you for your interest in this role. Please download the Job Pack for more information.
To formally apply, please submit a CV and supporting statement (ideally a maximum of 2 sides of A4 each) that clearly outline your suitability for the role against the criteria provided in the person specification, including your interest and motivation in applying for this position.
Please include your home address, contact email and mobile.
Please ensure that your application is emailed to response@peridotpartners.co.uk, inserting “Application: SPEAR—Trustee” into the subject field. You will receive an acknowledgement of receipt within 2-3 days. If you do not receive an acknowledgement, please contact our admin team.
For further information about the role or to arrange a confidential discussion, please contact our advising consultant at Peridot Partners:
Clare Chesworth | clarec@peridotpartners.co.uk | 07904 158737
As a sector-leading executive search consultancy, we know the importance of creating recruitment processes that are fair, inclusive and free from bias. We are committed to promoting equality and diversity and developing a process that values differences.
If you require any job information in an alternative format (e.g. large print), please contact the lead consultant. Please also let us know if you would like to submit your application in an alternative format.
Applicants with disabilities are welcome to contact us in confidence at any stage of the recruitment process to discuss any reasonable adjustments or support that may be required to ensure fair and equal participation.
Recruitment selection processes are based on evidence of competence stated in the person specification and in relation to our values.
Timetable
Closing date: 9 a.m. Wednesday 4th November 2026
Candidates informed of outcome: Wednesday 11th November 2026
Interviews: Monday 16th and Tuesday 17th November 2026
Equal Opportunities Monitoring
Peridot and SPEAR are committed to promoting equality and diversity. To help us raise awareness and support a culture that is diverse and recognises and develops the potential of all, we need to appreciate the profile of candidates who apply for positions. We will send you an equality monitoring survey at the point of receiving your application and at the time of placement. This ensures that our processes remain inclusive and equitable throughout and provides us with important data to help us showcase our impact.
The information will be treated confidentially and anonymously and will help us to support our commitment to fair recruitment practice. All information provided will be held in the strictest confidence and will not be shared with anyone, in line with the Data Protection Act 2018 launched on 25 May 2018.
The information provided does not form part of the decision-making process and will not affect your application. Learn more about why we collect this data here.
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