Welcome

Do you share our vision of a society in which women and girls are safe, healthy and equal? Do you believe passionately in the importance of women’s and girls’ organisations and feel frustrated at the amount of funding and support that they receive? Would you enjoy contributing to the development of an ambitious organisation that aims to make a difference?

If so, you could be the person we’re looking for to help support Rosa through the next stage of our journey. This is an exciting time to join us as we implement our ambitious new strategy. We’re planning to expand our work in funding women’s and girls’ organisations, building the capacity of the sector and inspiring more investment into it – with the objective of building a sector that is thriving, resilient and sustainable.

Our current Treasurer is stepping down from the role, and we are therefore looking to replace her. We need a qualified accountant with the time and skills to provide strategic financial oversight and governance, as well as supporting our Head of Finance and Operations’ work to ensure that the charity’s finances are on a stable footing and that appropriate policies, processes and controls are in place.

Rosa takes its commitment to equality, diversity, and inclusion extremely seriously, recognising the value that this adds to our success. Rosa already reaps the benefits of having a diverse board and welcomes applications from people of all backgrounds and life experiences. We are particularly keen to hear from people from Black and racially minoritised communities, LGBTQ+ people, disabled people, and people with broad educational backgrounds and life experiences. Lastly, as a UK-wide grant maker, we would be keen to have more trustees residing in and/or with personal experience of Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

We don’t need you to have previous experience of a Treasurer role, not do you need to have worked in the charity sector before – we would in fact welcome applicants with private sector experience. We are looking for individuals who really care about the work we do and can contribute to the work of the Board. We are committed to supporting you to develop new skills in your role as our Treasurer, for you to take beyond your time with us.

If joining the Rosa board sounds interesting, we would love to hear from you.

About Rosa

Creating a safer, fairer and more equal society for all women and girls.

Rosa is the only UK-wide funder exclusively dedicated to supporting women-led organisations working to transform the lives of women and girls. Through funding and support, we invest in the critical services, campaigning and advocacy that women and girls need.

Rosa’s work supports the thousands of organisations that make up the women and girls sector – a network of primarily small, specialist charities led by women, and deeply embedded in communities across the UK. These organisations are critical to addressing persistent problems facing women and girls such as misogyny, racism, poverty and male violence. They also provide essential services and protect and advance women’s and girls’ rights. Yet our research shows that just 1.8% of all UK charitable grant funding goes to organisations led by and for women and girls, despite the fact that these organisations make up 3.5% of the sector. And these organisations are working in an increasingly tough environment. Our recent report found that 90% of organisations have experienced increased demand, while 64% have experienced either stagnancy or a deterioration in finances.

Since 2008, we have raised and distributed over £11.5 million, impacting the lives of over 400,000 women and girls. Our income in 2024/25 was £1.443m and we currently have a staff team of 11 (9 FTE).

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Our partnerships

We have a strong portfolio of committed funding partners from the charitable, corporate and philanthropy sectors. Without an endowment, we fundraise for every penny we spend.

We have a history of working with a range of high-profile crowd-funding campaigns, including #TimesUp (the UK arm of the #MeToo movement) and Reclaim These Streets, to help address systemic misogyny and male violence.

More information about Rosa

• Watch a short film about why we exist
• Rosa’s strategy
• Rosa’s Theory of Change
• Learn about our impact in our latest Annual report

Our vision, mission and values

Our vision

Rosa’s vision is of a society in which women and girls are safe, healthy and equal.

Our mission

Rosa’s mission is to contribute to empowering women and girls by drawing in and distributing funding and resources to the women and girls sector; by strengthening organisations and by using our voice to achieve change.

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Some highlights from 2024/25

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Joining our Board

The role of Trustees at Rosa

As a Trustee you will be part of the Rosa team that:

• Sets our direction and purpose;
• Ensures we are well run financially and operating in line with our purpose and the law;
• Connects us to our partners;
• Supports our staff who manage and run the charity; and
• Promotes and always acts in the best interest of our charity.

Further information on the Trustee role can be found below in the Trustee role description.

What we’re looking for

When recruiting new Trustees to our Board, we look for people who:

• Are passionate about our cause and willing to champion our work;
• Believe in and act in accordance with our values;
• Take the Trustee role seriously and will show commitment, responsibility and integrity;
• Are able to offer constructive challenge and think strategically;
• Will share their knowledge, experience and expertise to support Rosa’s development.

Rosa’s Trustees are involved in all aspects of our work, and we strive to ensure our Board collectively holds skills, knowledge and experience of  grant making, fundraising, financial and risk management, human resources, communications, marketing and public relations, charity law and governance as well as a knowledge of and interest in the work of the UK women and girls sector.

Our board is currently made up of nine existing Trustees who come from a range of backgrounds in the charity, public and private sectors. Some have previous experience of being charity Trustees, some are newer to board membership. You can read about our Trustees here.

The role of a Treasurer is critical to charities, and we’ve been really lucky to have a skilled and experienced postholder in place. We now need someone to fill her shoes who will provide strategic financial oversight, working closely with the Board, CEO and Head of Finance and Operations to ensure our financial health and compliance with both regulations and good practice. We know that this role requires someone with an accountancy qualification and ideally experience of working with or on a Board, either in the private or the charity sector. Experience of the statutory audit process would be helpful and knowledge of charity finances would be advantageous but is not essential.

In addition, we want our Board to reflect the communities we work in and to have a range of different voices within it. We know that diverse groups of people make better decisions and Rosa already reaps the benefits of having a diverse team. We are therefore particularly keen to hear from people with a variety of educational backgrounds and experiences, people from Black and Asian communities and other racially minoritised ethnic groups, LGBTQ+ people and people with disabilities. We want everyone to feel that Rosa is a place where they belong and that is the reason why we look for the cultural add, not the cultural fit.

All applicants must be based in the UK. As a UK-wide grant maker, we would be keen to have more trustees residing in and/or with personal experience of Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

Commitment

Our board meets four times a year, typically in the early evening in person in central London for about two and a half hours, but with an all-day strategy day in June/July. We aim to be accessible, so whilst this is a voluntary role, we’re always happy to pay reasonable travel, overnight accommodation and childcare expenses to enable Trustees to attend.

Trustees are also asked to sit on at least one of four sub-committees which focus on specific aspects of our work in more depth. The Treasurer chairs our quarterly Finance, Audit and Risk Committee meetings which typically last about 90 minutes, take place during office hours and are held online.  

Many Trustees also support with the grant making process by joining our grants panels and where and when possible, Trustees are also encouraged to attend Rosa events.

We estimate that the time commitment required of our Treasurer is at least five hours per month, with additional time required during our year-end cycle, typically in April- August , when our financial statements and Trustees’ report are prepared and audited. Our financial year ends on 31 March. Trustees are invited to serve a 3-year term with the option to serve two further terms.

Support for Trustees

We warmly welcome applications from those who are new to Trustee/ Board work as well as individuals who have a proven track record in governance roles.

We start by working with you to identify how to fulfil your potential as our Trustee. This could include support for you to grow into your role and identifying the best ways in which to work together.

We provide all new Trustees with a comprehensive induction which introduces them to the work that Rosa does and enables them to meet the staff team. Every new Trustee is also partnered with a ‘Board Buddy’, another Trustee who’s happy to be on hand for advice and support.

Our Chair conducts an annual review with each Trustee to ensure that they are supported in their role, able to make a full contribution at meetings and that they have been able to use their position as a Trustee to help with their own development. The Board sets itself annual objectives and is committed to reviewing its culture and inclusivity regularly.

Want to find out more before putting in an application?

If you’d like an informal and private chat about being a Rosa Trustee, and what it might involve, we encourage you to get in touch. To organise a chat with someone from the team, please contact Hayley at hayley@rosauk.org.

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Applying to become Rosa Treasurer

If you’d like to apply to be the Rosa Treasurer, please submit your CV as well as answers to the following questions via this online application form.

• Why are you interested in becoming the Rosa Treasurer and what motivates you to support our mission?
• How do your knowledge, skills and experience make you a good candidate for this role?
• Beyond your financial skills, what broader perspectives, values or experiences would you bring to contribute to Rosa’s overall culture and strategic direction?

Please illustrate your responses with examples or evidence from your own life experiences – these could be from your working, volunteering, community or personal life. For each question, please answer in under 2,000 characters (this equates to about 350 words).

Please note: candidates must live in the UK and have a full accountancy qualification.

We will also invite you to complete our anonymous equality monitoring form. Participation is entirely voluntary and information will be kept confidential and used solely to understand the diversity of our candidates. The information won’t be seen by any person involved in the selection process for the Trustee role.

We recognise that Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools can be helpful during the application process. However, all application content must reflect your own original thoughts, work and experiences. We will not use AI as part of our assessment and selection process.

Recruitment timetable

We’re aiming to keep to the timetable outlined below so that we can have the new Treasurer on Board by December 2026. Interviews will be conducted in person in central London (expenses refunded).

• Informal conversations: weeks commencing 14th September, 21st September, 28th September.
• Application deadline: 5pm Monday 5th October
• First interviews: Tuesday 3rd November
• Second interviews: Monday 16th November (am)
• Board meeting and strategy day: Tuesday 19th January (all day)

Accessibility is important to us at Rosa. If you have questions or there are adjustments that would make the application and interview process more accessible to you, please don’t hesitate to get in touch at recruitment@rosauk.org

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Trustee role description

Main duties of a Rosa Trustee

• Ensure that Rosa is carrying out activities that further its charitable objectives for the public benefit. Understand its purpose, its objectives, be able to explain them, and ensure they are adhered to
• Ensure that Rosa is complying with its governing document, legal obligations and statutory and accounting reporting requirements
• Be able to demonstrate that Rosa is well run and effective
• Act in Rosa’s best interests. Contribute to setting the strategy and ensure targets and performance are measured
• Manage Rosa’s resources responsibly (including its assets, finances, reputation and values)
• Be satisfied that financial information is accurate and that controls and systems of risk management are robust and defensible
• Act with reasonable care and skill. Apply your skills and experience to offer challenge and advice

Key commitments of a Rosa Trustee

• Prepare for, attend and actively participate in Board and sub-committee meetings
• Use networks to champion and promote Rosa
• Support staff members to improve operations by bringing specialist skills and knowledge
• Be aware of, and abstain from, any conflict of interest
• Behave in a way that is consistent with Rosa’s values and code of conduct

Specific duties of the Rosa Treasurer

The Treasurer chairs the quarterly Finance, Audit and Risk Committee meeting and provides strategic oversight of several tasks in close collaboration with Rosa’s Head of Finance and Operations (who is responsible for the actual execution of these tasks):

• Overseeing the presentation of budgets, internal management accounts, cash flow forecasts and annual financial statements to the Board of Trustees. Along with the Chair, you will sign the financial statements on behalf of all the Trustees.
• Ensuring that proper accounting records are kept, and that appropriate accounting procedures and controls are in place.
• Ensuring that financial statements are prepared which comply with the relevant accounting and statutory requirements.
• Ensuring that robust and comprehensive financial policies are in place and being implemented, covering financial reserves, investments, cost management etc.
• Monitoring and advising on the financial viability of the charity, particularly in relation to the application of the ‘going concern’ basis for the preparation of our accounts.
• Advising on the financial implications of the charity’s strategic plan.
• Leading on the appointment of external auditors and liaising with them during the annual audit. Along with the Chair of the Board, you will sign the audit representation letter.
• Overseeing the management of strategic risks at Rosa through the development and implementation of systems for appraising, mitigating and reporting risk and by ensuring the consideration of risk in strategic decision making.
• Keeping the Board informed about its financial duties and responsibilities.

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