Founding Trustee - Edinburgh Mental Health Charity

Founding Trustees – Time Honoured Location: Edinburgh / hybrid Role: Voluntary Trustee Expenses: Reasonable expenses reimbursed Organisation: Time Honoured Focus: Mental health, wellbeing, community participation and social connection About Time Honoured Time Honoured is a new Edinburgh-based initiative being developed to help adults experiencing mental health challenges build greater purpose, routine, belonging and connection through participation in their community. Our model connects people with a network of flexible opportunities to contribute, learn and take part – from community projects and volunteering to creative activities, practical skills and personal development. Participants are supported by a dedicated Community Co-ordinator who takes time to understand their story, interests, goals and any barriers to participation, helping them find opportunities that feel meaningful and achievable. Time Honoured also recognises the time people give to themselves and their communities through Impact Credits – non-cash recognition that can provide access to positive experiences supporting wellbeing and connection. We are currently validating the model with mental health, community, voluntary-sector and potential partner organisations across Edinburgh, ahead of establishing the organisation and developing an initial North Edinburgh pilot.   We are looking for our founding trustees This is an opportunity to join Time Honoured at the beginning and help shape an organisation with the ambition to create a new approach to community participation and wellbeing. Trustees are the people legally responsible for overseeing a charity. They help ensure that it is well governed, financially responsible, focused on its charitable purpose and making decisions in the interests of the people and communities it exists to support. We are particularly interested in bringing together a founding board with a mix of experience across areas such as:

• Mental health and wellbeing – understanding the realities of supporting people experiencing mental health challenges.
• Lived experience – personal experience of mental health challenges or of accessing community or support services. We believe lived experience should have a meaningful voice in shaping Time Honoured.
• Charity governance and leadership – helping us establish strong, proportionate governance as a new organisation.
• Finance and financial oversight – confidence understanding budgets, financial planning, controls and organisational sustainability.
• Fundraising and partnerships – experience developing relationships with funders, businesses, trusts, foundations or strategic partners.
• Community development and volunteering – understanding how people can participate meaningfully, flexibly and safely within their communities.
• Safeguarding and risk – helping us build an organisation in which participant wellbeing and responsible practice are embedded from the outset. We don't expect any one person to bring all of these skills. More important is that our trustees share Time Honoured's values, are willing to ask thoughtful and sometimes challenging questions, and want to use their experience to help build an effective and sustainable organisation.   Building a diverse board We want our founding board to bring together different perspectives, backgrounds and experiences. We particularly welcome people with lived experience of mental health challenges, people who have used support services, first-time trustees, and people whose voices may traditionally have been underrepresented in charity leadership. Lived experience is not something we want represented simply to 'tick a box'. We want it to influence how Time Honoured develops, how decisions are made and how participants are supported. What will you do? As a founding trustee, you will help shape Time Honoured's strategy, governance and development as we move from validation towards establishing and delivering our first pilot. You will contribute to board discussions and decisions, provide constructive challenge and support to the Founder/CEO, help oversee finances and risk, and ensure that the organisation remains focused on its charitable purpose and the people it exists to support. There will also be opportunities to contribute your particular experience to areas such as partnerships, fundraising, safeguarding, evaluation or organisational development. The role is voluntary and reasonable expenses will be reimbursed. Training and support will be available, including for people becoming trustees for the first time. Expected commitment: approximately [6 board meetings per year], together with occasional preparation, conversations or involvement between meetings. Meetings will be held [in Edinburgh / online / a mixture of both].   Why become a founding trustee? This is an opportunity to help build something from its earliest stages. Rather than joining an established organisation with structures already in place, our founding trustees will have a genuine role in shaping Time Honoured's culture, governance, priorities and approach. You will work alongside people from different professional and personal backgrounds, contribute to the development of a new community-based model, and help us turn the learning from our current validation work into a responsible and sustainable organisation. Interested? We would be very happy to have an informal conversation before you decide whether to apply. To express an interest, please send: A short CV or LinkedIn profile, together with a brief note explaining what interests you about Time Honoured and what perspective or experience you feel you could bring to the founding board.   Email: hello@timehonoured.org Closing date: 30/10/26 We want the recruitment process to be accessible. If there is anything we can reasonably change about the application or conversation process to help you participate, please let us know.