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 one of the people 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.

To help achieve this, we’re looking for between three and five new Trustees to join our board in 2026. We’re specifically looking to strengthen the board’s expertise in grant making, fundraising and marketing and communications. We would also welcome applications from people with private sector experience or with direct experience of running a charity with links to the women and girls sector. 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.

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 therefore particularly keen to hear from people with a variety of educational backgrounds and experiences, people from Black and racially minoritised communities, LGBTQ+ people and people with disabilities.

We don’t need you to have any previous experience of a Board role. 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 Trustee, 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’s 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 ten 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.

Right now, we are specifically looking for individuals with the following skill sets:

• Senior level expertise of grant-making in the UK;
• Experience of charity fundraising;
• Marketing and comms expertise.

And individuals with any of the following backgrounds:

• Private sector experience, bringing senior corporate sector contacts;
• Direct experience of running a women’s and girls’ organisation or with links to the women and girls sector;
• Residing in and/or personal experience of Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

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.

Commitment

Our board meets four times a year, typically in the early evening in person in central London for about two 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 (finance, grantmaking, fundraising/comms and people). Committee meetings typically last about 90 minutes, take place three to four times a year during office hours and are held online.

There are papers to review ahead of both board and sub-committee meetings and these would usually take about two to three hours to read. 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.

It is estimated that the role will require the equivalent of approximately two hours per week (averaged out over the course of the year). 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 a Rosa Trustee

Applications have now closed.

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

• Why are you interested in becoming a Rosa Trustee and what motivates you to support our mission? (up to approx 350 words)
• How do your skills, experience and personal qualities make you a good candidate for this role? What do you hope to learn from being a Rosa Trustee? (up to approx 350 words)
• What do you see as the main challenges and opportunities facing Rosa over the next few years? (up to approx 300 words)

Please illustrate your responses with examples or evidence from your own life experiences – these could be from your working, volunteering, community or personal life.

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 new Trustees on Board by mid 2026. Interviews will be conducted remotely via Zoom or MS Teams (first round) and in person in central London (second round – expenses refunded).

• Informal conversations: Weeks of 9th March, 16th March, 23rd March.
• Application deadline: 5pm Thursday 2nd April
• First interviews: Wednesday 29th and Thursday 30th April
• Second interviews: Tuesday 12 May
• Board meeting and strategy day: Tuesday 30th June (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

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