Independent Trustee Director and Chair

About Horizonscan Horizonscan Limited is an employee-owned consultancy based in Broadstairs, Kent, with a mission to help our clients become more resilient. Our team of crisis management, business continuity and resilience practitioners work with organisations across the UK and internationally to help them prepare for, respond to and recover from disruptive events. We are one year into a three-year growth strategy, and the Employee Ownership Trust plays an important role in overseeing progress for the benefit of our employee owners. Horizonscan Trustees Limited currently has four directors: one Company Board Director, two Employee Directors and one Independent Director, who also serves as Chair. After more than 12 years with Horizonscan, our current Independent Director and Chair is retiring, and we are looking for their successor. The Independent Chair helps ensure our employee owners benefit from strong, transparent and effective governance. Working with the other Trustee Directors, you will uphold Horizonscan's values, hold the Company Board accountable to the Trust, and bring independent judgement to important decisions. What you will do

• Chair four scheduled Trustee Board meetings each year, normally lasting around three hours. Two are held in person at our offices in Kent and two remotely.
• Work with the Trust Administrator to prepare agendas and ensure papers and minutes are circulated on time.
• Encourage open, respectful discussion and contributions from all Trustee Directors.
• Ensure major projects, management accounts and long-term plans receive appropriate scrutiny and constructive challenge.
• Maintain constructive relationships with the Trustee Directors and Company Board, with calls approximately every six weeks with the Company Board Directors and additional contact on urgent matters.
• Support clear communication between the Trust, the Company Board and employee owners. What you will bring You will bring board or trustee experience, sound commercial judgement and the ability to work well within a small team. Experience as a CEO or senior executive would be welcome. You will be comfortable reviewing financial information and asking clear, practical questions about business performance. You will listen first, offer constructive challenge and understand trustee duties and the distinction between governing a business and managing it. You will value employee ownership and bring an approach to governance that suits a small, growing consultancy. Experience of an Employee Ownership Trust would be particularly valuable, but is not essential. Independence is essential. You must have no previous employment or commercial relationship with Horizonscan, including as a client, supplier or adviser. You will also be asked to declare other business interests so that potential conflicts can be assessed. Time commitment and remuneration
• You must be based in the UK, have the right to work in the UK and be able to attend two meetings each year at our offices in Kent. Most other meetings and calls will take place remotely.
• The appointment is for an initial three-year term from 1 April 2027, with a review after the first year. The expected time commitment is around nine days a year.
• The £6,000 annual fee covers scheduled Trustee Board meetings, six-weekly calls with the Company Board Directors, preparation and reasonable contact between meetings. Substantial additional work will be agreed in advance and paid separately at £650 per day.
• A paid handover will begin in January 2027, before you assume full responsibility as Chair on 1 April 2027. The handover period will be agreed in advance and paid at £650 per day.
• Reasonable travel expenses will be reimbursed separately. Appropriate trustee indemnity and directors' and officers' insurance will be provided. How to apply Apply via LinkedIn. Applications close on Friday 30 October 2026. Shortlisted candidates will be contacted, and interviews will take place in late November/December.