Volunteer Treasurer

Location: Home based.

Expected Hours: 2 to 6 hours a week – variable

Remuneration: Unpaid. Expenses incurred in undertaking the role will be paid.

Overview

The Bradford Police Museum (BPM) is an independent museum and a registered charity currently run by a team of 35 volunteers and one part time paid Admin Assistant. The museum is a not for profit company, is properly constituted and managed by a Board of Trustees. The museum was recently awarded Accreditation status by Arts Council England confirming the museum’s policies, operating procedures and internal governance meets exacting national standards.

The museum is seeking an enthusiastic and confident volunteer Treasurer to join the Board of Trustees. A competent treasurer or part-qualified book keeper or accountant would be ideal. Experience in the charity field is desirable but not essential. The successful candidate would need to maintain financial control and ensure  compliance with  legal responsibilities.

Museum revenues are raised primarily through paying visitors. The museum’s accounts are overseen by our independent auditors who manage payroll and annual accounts submission to HMRC & Companies House.

The Treasurer will hold the Board to account for the charity’s finances and maintain financial control and ensure the museum complies with it’s legal responsibilities as a registered charity. The Treasurer will work with all members of the board to ensure that there is a transparent and clear financial processes, controls and safeguards.

The Museum

The museum is currently open to the paying public each Friday & Saturday from March to November and also hosts private group tours, school visits, ghost tours and trial by jury re-enactment events. Visitors tour the museum’s cells and court with a museum guide.

The museum was established in 2014 and is located within the historical City Hall in Bradford. The museum provides a unique insight into the history and heritage of policing, criminal justice, civic enforcement and the development of crime and punishment in Bradford from the early 19th century onwards to the present day. This is achieved through static displays and guided tours.

The museum exhibits historical police artefacts, documents and memorabilia relating to the history of policing. The museum also runs a police historic vehicle fleet of 2 cars and 5 motorcycles. The fleet is stored offsite.

The volunteers form teams of tour guides, front of house and a curatorial team that is responsible for archiving and cataloguing the collection of artefacts. The museum also has its own small shop run by a volunteer shop manager.

The museum has volunteer weekend managers in charge when the museum is open. The curatorial team, the shop and vehicle fleet also have volunteer managers.

Time commitment

It is expected that the work will take approximately 2-3 hours per week, but this may vary between 2 and 6 hours per week, dependent on workload at the time.

As part of the hours, it is expected that a museum treasurer will attend the majority of online meetings (usually around 4 virtual meetings per year – held in the evening) to keep up to date with current developments and update the committee and Board of Trustees on financial matters. This means devoting the necessary time and effort to prepare for meetings where necessary.

Essential personal criteria

• Good communication skills and experience of team working
• Empathy and understanding
• An ability to be objective, honest, non-judgemental and able to deal with issues of a confidential nature
• A commitment to the aims of the BPA and the BPA’s policies and procedures.

Essential skills

• Financial qualifications and/or bookkeeping experience
• Computer literacy: competent using Outlook, Excel, Word and an Access database

Desirable skills/experience

• Financial management expertise and an understanding of charity finance issues
• An understanding of charity governance
• Experience of fundraising & applying for and managing grants

Being a Trustee

As Treasurer to the Charity, you will also become a Trustee. Trustees are expected to understand and accept the legal duties, responsibilities and liabilities of trusteeship and understand their role as a Trustee.

You cannot become a Trustee if you:

• Are under 18 years of age.
• Are disqualified under Sections 178 and 180 of the Charities Act 2011, because for example, you are an undischarged bankrupt or have an unspent conviction for an offence of dishonesty or deception.
• Have previously been removed from trusteeship of a charity by the court or charity commissioners or is under a disqualification order under the Company Directors Disqualification Act.

Key responsibilities

• Keep clear, accurate records of the BPM’s financial transactions, income & expenditure, presenting monthly reconciliation to the company directors.
• Manage the BPM’s budget, issue bills and organise receipts and payments of charity and
• volunteer expenses.
• Make payments for goods and services on behalf of the museum.
• Manage the bank account and restricted fund accounts in consultation with the rest of the
• Creating accounting records & preparing annual accounts for submission to auditors, who in turn submit the accounts to HMRC & Companies House
• Manage income from multiple income streams, including visitor receipts, donations, Booking agents, PayPal, and grants etc.
• Process Gift Aid claims
• Monitor and report on the financial health of the organisation and give an annual financial
• report at the AGM
• Attend meetings (approximately 4 virtual meetings per year.
• File returns with the Charity Commission and ensure the charity complies with accounting
• policies and regulations
• Arrange for annual independent examination of the accounts prior to the AGM

Applicants will be required to provide 2 references and be subject to a DBS check.