Board member

About Us

At believe housing, we believe in life without barriers.

We improve our customers’ lives by providing healthy and affordable homes and enhancing the communities we serve. Based predominantly in County Durham, we are a values-led, purpose-driven housing association with a clear commitment to doing the right thing for our customers, our colleagues and our business.

Since 2015, we have made significant progress: investing in existing homes, building new homes, supporting communities, and helping customers through a period of considerable economic and social challenge. We are proud of what has been achieved, but we also know there is much more to do.

Our vision is clear:

We believe in life without barriers.

This purpose runs through everything we do. It shapes how we invest, how we govern, how we listen to customers, and how we make decisions for the long-term benefit of current and future residents.

A pivotal time to join our Board

This is an important time for believe housing. The housing sector continues to face increasing regulation, rising customer expectations, significant investment pressures, and an urgent need to provide more high-quality, affordable homes.

Believe is in a strong position. We are a well-governed organisation with a clear Corporate Plan, an engaged workforce, and a commitment to continuous improvement. We have been graded G1 for governance and V2 for financial viability by the Regulator of Social Housing, reflecting both the strength of our leadership and the need to manage material financial risks carefully as we continue to invest in homes, services and communities.

Our Board plays a central role in this. It provides strategic leadership, oversees performance, ensures robust governance and assurance, and supports the Executive Team through constructive challenge and informed judgement.

We are now seeking to appoint one Non-Executive Board Member with current expertise in finance, treasury and risk. This is a specialist appointment and a valuable opportunity to help shape the future of a significant, values-led housing provider.

About the role

As a Non-Executive Board Member, you will contribute to the collective leadership of believe housing, helping ensure the organisation remains financially secure, well governed and focused on delivering excellent outcomes for customers.

You will bring independent judgement, strategic insight and constructive challenge to Board discussions. You will help oversee performance, manage risk, support long-term business planning and ensure that decisions remain rooted in believe housing’s social purpose.

You will:

• Contribute to the strategic leadership and governance of believe housing
• provide assurance around financial resilience, treasury strategy, funding, liquidity, covenant management and long-term business planning
• support effective oversight of risk appetite, controls, mitigation and assurance
• bring constructive challenge to investment choices, organisational priorities and value for money
• help ensure the Board maintains a clear focus on customers, communities, colleagues and the long-term strength of the business
• work collaboratively as part of a Board, supporting collective decision-making and accountability.

This is not an executive role. The successful candidate will understand the distinction between governance and management, and will bring the confidence to contribute strategically while respecting the role of the Executive Team.

Canvassing of board members is not permitted. If you wish to speak with a current Board member, please contact Rob.Auty@believehousing.co.uk

about you

We are looking for someone who shares our commitment to social purpose, strong governance and responsible business management.

You are likely to be a senior finance, treasury, risk, audit or governance leader, or an experienced non-executive with a current professional grounding in one or more of these areas. You may come from housing, the wider not-for-profit sector, financial services, local government, higher education, infrastructure or another regulated environment.

Housing experience would be valuable, but it is not essential. What matters is that you bring strong financial acumen, sound judgement, independence of mind, and the credibility to contribute quickly and effectively at Board level.

You will bring experience or understanding of areas such as:

• Financial strategy, resilience and long-term business planning
• treasury, funding, loan portfolios, liquidity or covenant management
• risk management, assurance, audit or governance in a regulated environment
• investment decision-making, value for money and organisational sustainability
• board-level or senior leadership decision-making.

You will also demonstrate:

• Sound judgement and the ability to provide constructive challenge
• a clear understanding of good governance and collective accountability
• independence of mind, balanced with a collaborative approach
• a strong commitment to customers, communities and social housing purpose
• integrity, curiosity and the ability to contribute to complex strategic discussions.

Previous Board experience would be welcome, but it is not the only route into this role. We are equally interested in candidates operating at senior executive level who can bring relevant expertise, values alignment and the ability to make a strong contribution as a first-time non-executive.

What you’ll gain

This is a rewarding opportunity to:

• Help shape the future direction of a significant housing association
• contribute to an organisation committed to improving customers’ lives and enhancing communities
• support strong governance, financial resilience and responsible investment
• work alongside committed Board and Executive colleagues in a values-led organisation
• develop or deepen your non-executive experience in a regulated housing environment.

You will be joining an organisation with a clear purpose, a strong sense of responsibility, and a commitment to doing the right thing for customers, colleagues and the business.

The expected time commitment includes approximately seven Board meetings per year, held in person; four Committee meetings per year, the majority of which are held virtually; and approximately three strategic planning days per year, held in person. Board Members are also expected to participate in learning and development sessions as required, with the format varying depending on the session.

what’s on offer?

• £6,550 per annum plus reasonable expenses
• The term of appointment will be determined by the Board, but is usually for three years, typically with a maximum tenure of six years.
• Applicants must be 18 or over and meet the ‘fit and proper persons’ test, as set out by HMRC, for anyone who influences the financial assets of a charity.

If you are motivated by purpose, good governance and the opportunity to use your finance, treasury or risk expertise to make a meaningful contribution, we would be delighted to hear from you.

Join us and help create a life without barriers.

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

We are interested in your skills, experience and personal values, and we are committed to being a supportive and inclusive employer. We warmly welcome applications from people of all backgrounds, identities and life experiences.

We place a strong emphasis on equality, making sure that our customers have an equal chance to access our services regardless of their age, gender, race, religion, belief, disability or sexual orientation. We also recognise, respect and value the differences between individuals.

Our commitment means that people are treated according to their specific needs, and that no individual or group is disadvantaged by our policies, services or employment practices.

believe housing is a Disability Confident Employer. If you need any adjustments or support throughout the recruitment process, please let us know.

In making an application for this role, we also ask you to view the Privacy Notice, which outlines our compliance with the General Data Protection Regulations and explains how your data will be used and stored.

Personal data is held and processed on the lawful basis that this is in the legitimate interests of the company in pursuing the purposes described. This has been considered through a Legitimate Interest Assessment, utilising the Balance Test, and is not outweighed by risks to the rights, freedoms and interests of the Data Subject.

To Apply

Before applying for this role, please ensure you read the recruitment pack and make sure you know what we are about and what the role involves.

Send your CV, a letter of application setting out your interest in the role and a completed Diversity form in separate documents to Jim Allcroft at jim@allcrofta.com 

📅 Closing date: 12.00pm, Sunday, 28 June 2026