Aspire – Autism Spectrum Association of Ireland
Board Member
Are you looking for an exciting board opportunity to connect with your Community and have an impact in Society? Are you a professional individual looking for a chance to provide your valuable knowledge and expertise to make a real difference to the members of a national charity?
Aspire, a registered charity established in 1995, provides support to those who have a diagnosis of Autism or Asperger Syndrome. Services include the provision of programmes promoting social interaction and career support, a dependent living support home for adults with ASD, and our social enterprise, Aspire Productions, providing high quality media production work for clients nationwide.
We are currently seeking expressions of interest for a board member position with a particular focus on those who have expertise in any of the following areas:
- Legal/ Human Resources
- Finance
- Social Enterprise
- Film and TV Production and/or animation
As a Board Member, you will regularly attend Board meetings – sharing your knowledge and skill to improve our current services programmes, as well as make recommendations for new programmes to enhance our community’s experience with Aspire.
As a Board Member, you will be making a serious commitment to participate actively in committee including initiating and accepting strategic assignments, and will build effective relationships with other Board Members to ensure the successful operation of the Board.
To satisfy its fiduciary duties, the board of Aspire is responsible for:
- adhering to the conditions enforced by the Charities Regulator
- maintaining registration with the Companies Registration Office (ie: subject to legal requirements)
- ensuring strong fiduciary oversight and financial management
- strategic and organizational planning, including fundraising and resource development
- approving and monitoring the organization’s programmes and services
- enhancing the organization’s public image
- assessing its own performance as the governing body of the organization
- selecting and evaluating the performance of the Chief Executive Officer
In addition to the duties noted above, responsibilities of the board member will also include:
- Setting the appropriate direction for Aspire, ensuring adequate resource are in place to achieve strategic objectives, operational plans and budget requirements
- Preparing for, attending, and conscientiously participating in board meetings
- Understanding and actively promoting the organization’s mission, policies, programmes and needs
- Reading and understanding the organization’s financial statements – approving, monitoring and reviewing organisational and financial performance against targets and budgets
- Ensuring financial records are audited appropriately in line with the date of the AGM
- Disclosing potential conflicts before meetings and actual conflicts during meetings
- Maintaining confidentiality about all matters discussed at board meetings
- Leveraging connections, networks, and resources to achieve the organization’s commercial objectives including fundraising and influencing public policy. This may also include identifying and securing the financial resources and partnerships necessary
- Ensuring Aspire adheres to and complies with policies and procedures, and as a board member, following Aspire’s board bylaws, policies, and board resolutions
- Appointing and reviewing the performance of the CEO / ensuring effective succession planning
If you are interested in applying to Aspire, please do so via the Boardmatch online application process. We will review your resume along with the details of your experience and qualifications in line with our profile requirements, and should you be successful for interview we will be in touch with you in the coming weeks. Aspire is proudly an Equal Opportunities Employer.