TRUSTEES (Unpaid, voluntary role)

Charitable Purpose
 

Our Vision 

A world in which everyone can explore and create culture 

Experiencing and producing culture enables individuals, communities and society to thrive. We
actively invite the participation and contribution of all people by producing world-class Festivals and
innovative Learning & Participation programmes which are inclusive by design and which promote
cultural equity so that everyone can access the same opportunities without disadvantage.

We work in partnership to address specific societal concerns in order to maximise the relevance, scale and impact of what we do.  
 
Our Mission 

We collaborate to create experiences which bring joy, spark curiosity, connect
communities and inspire change 

We want everyone to feel invited to engage with music, science and the written and spoken word
through our Festivals and programmes in order to increase well-being and belonging, to inspire the
art of the possible, and to effect positive change. We do this by building trust with stakeholders over
time; engaging in dialogue with audiences, participants and partners; and thinking creatively with
others to innovate for the future. 

Our Values 

Collaboration, Inclusion, Innovation, Integrity, Sustainability 

What do we do?  

We collaborate to create four vibrant, world-class Festivals rooted in the community of Cheltenham.

The Jazz, Science, Music & Literature Festivals engage adults, families and school children for 31
days of the year through ticketed events & workshops, free drop-in activities, interactive zones and
an Around Town programme

Year-round we produce outreach programmes designed in response to challenges at a local,
national and/or international level. These may be an artist development programme, a sci-comms
network, a schools initiative or a community project.  

Who are our current partners?  

We collaborate with a vast array of stakeholders, whether it be for content-creation, programme-
design, delivery, funding or broadcasting. 

• Locally these include the Cheltenham Culture Board (with representatives of each cultural sector, the University, the Council etc), the Golden Valley/Cynam community, Cheltenham Education Partnership, the Social Prescribing Network, Gloucestershire Head Teacher & Subject Leader networks, Glos Disability Advisory Group, the local Music Hub, and our volunteer and Patron communities. 
• National partners include Arts Council England, BAFA (British Arts Festivals Association), USAN (Urban Sustainability Action Network), 12 literacy organisations which deliver RTRP (Reading Teachers = Reading Pupils) in their region (eg National Literacy Trust, Seven Stories), The Times & The Sunday Times, BBC Radio 2, 3 and 6 and Google DeepMind 
• Global partners include a network of Literature Festivals, the European Jazz Network, the British Council, a Sci-Comms network with organisations spanning 10 countries across 4 continents, and international funding bodies and Embassies 

Who and where are our current audience?  

70% of our audiences are from Gloucestershire; 30% are from across the UK and the globe  
50,000 children and young people participate in the schools’ programme annually, including pupils from every school in Gloucestershire which serves a low-income community (25%+ Pupil
Premium) 

Why do we do it? 

Cultural engagement enables us to be fully human: to experience emotions, to imagine, to connect,
to care. There is a proven link between cultural engagement and well-being, life expectancy,
educational attainment, social opportunity and prosperity. However, access to cultural activity is not
equitable and many people experience barriers which prevent engagement. 

We exist to bring cultural engagement to everyone, working with targeted groups to dismantle or
overcome these barriers so that they can participate in and discover/advance careers in science
and the arts. 

Background of Cheltenham Festivals

Beginnings

Cheltenham Music Festival was conceived in the darkness of World War 2 in 1945 as a response
to the worst of humanity by celebrating the best of humanity. A celebration of music to lift the spirits.
Since the discovery of its spa waters Cheltenham had been known for refreshing the body and
soul.  A pioneering spirit was demonstrated further with the world’s first Literature Festival following
in 1949. As the town marked itself out as a town for culture and intelligence (now Cybertech), it
launched a Jazz Festival in 1996 and the UK’s first Science Festival in 2002. All quickly
establishing themselves as leaders in their fields in the UK. While Cheltenham Festivals has always
been an independent charity, until 2006 it was delivered by a division of the Borough Council. In
2009, following a period of transition, it became fully independent. 
With the festivals established, the charity widened its focus to increase opportunities for talent
development and to build a bold and innovative schools outreach programme.  

Present  

With a renewed sense of purpose, an established schools’ programme and a growing talent
development offering, in 2019 the charity was able to start investing further in its free activity. The
following year everything changed with the global pandemic.  After absorbing the initial shock of
having to cancel festivals, the charity moved quickly to pivot its festivals and outreach programmes to digital, crucially providing culture to a wide audience over the long months of lockdown. As the organisation learned quickly about what live culture looked like on a digital platform, an opportunity arose through improving pandemic conditions to host an award-winning hybrid (socially distanced and digital) Literature Festival in October 2020. It was the world’s first.  Over the two years of the pandemic the organisation progressed in its commitment to environmental responsibility and accessibility in part taking developments from the new digital world. This period also accelerated our commitment to building international collaboration and understanding.  

In recent years we have embraced the full purpose of the charity and galvanised together behind a
coherent mission, vision and 3-year plan. Over the next five years, our strategy will look to respond
to the exponential growth in emerging technologies and the human connection, the growing
economic divide, and the increasingly differing views on the world.

CF has an annual turnover of around £7.5 million with 50 FTE staff.

Cheltenham Festivals is a registered charity and a company limited by guarantee subject to both
charity and company law. Its activities are overseen by a voluntary Board of Directors, also known
as trustees, elected by the members of the company. The day to day running of the organisation is
delegated to Co-CEOs supported by the Senior Management Team (SMT) Trustees are expected
to contribute to fundraising initiatives.

The full Board meets four times a year, the Chair also has regular meetings with the Co-CEOs and represents the Charity at various events and meetings with key stakeholders.

The Festivals take place over 31 days throughout the year, the current 2025/6 dates are as follows;

• The Times and The Sunday Times Cheltenham Literature Festival 10 th -19 th October 2025
• Cheltenham Jazz Festival 29 th April – 4 th May 2026
• Cheltenham Science Festival 2 nd June – 7 th June 2026
• Cheltenham Music Festival 3 rd July – 11 th July 2026

We are committed to providing a safe and welcoming experience for everyone

Our festivals are dedicated to providing a harassment-free festival experience for everyone,
regardless of gender, gender identity and expression, age, sexual identity, disability, physical
appearance, body size, race, ethnicity, religion (or lack thereof), or technology choices. We do not
tolerate harassment of festival participants or attendees in any form.

The Role of Trustee
New trustees will join Cheltenham Festivals (CF), the Charity, at a time of exciting growth and

development as we embark on our new 2030 Strategy which will be in place by the end of this year.
We are currently looking to appoint 3 new trustees with the following areas of expertise.

• Trustee to lead on Commercial
• Trustee to lead on the publishing industry
• Trustee to lead on media/social media

Our ambition is for the CF Board to represent and reflect the diversity of our communities, so we
are particularly keen to hear from people from under-represented groups.

Cheltenham Festivals is looking for up to 3 new trustees who will hold the Board and Co-CEOs to
account for the Charity’s mission and vision. Trustees will be expected to fulfil their duties and
responsibilities for the effective governance of the charity. Trustees will also support, and where
appropriate, challenge the Co-CEOs and ensure that the Board functions as a unit and works
closely with the entire senior team of the charity to achieve agreed objectives. They will be a
politically aware strategic thinker familiar with the local economic and political landscape. Most
importantly, they will have demonstrable interest in the arts and sciences, a clear commitment to
diversity and to engaging young people and will have an understanding of the opportunities and
challenges facing the Arts, Science and Cultural sectors. They will act as an outstanding advocate
for the organisation and be the public face of the charity in partnership with the Co-CEOs. They will
also be actively involved in fundraising initiatives with both individual donors and corporates.

The above trustees will have the knowledge and understanding to maintain an oversight of the
Charity’s positioning within the area of their expertise providing both a national and international
perspective,and be somebody who can contribute well informed views and a commitment to best
practice within the cultural arena. We are looking for trustees who can give advice to the Board on
the integrity, strategic direction and quality of the Charity’s work providing access to useful and
diverse contacts for the Co-CEOs. A Trustee’s ability to contribute in this way will often, but not
always, draw on professional and/or practitioner experience at a senior level.

Principle responsibilities of a trustee

Trustees are collectively responsible for the Charity and using their individual best judgement to ensure that the charitable purpose of Cheltenham Festivals is upheld, its broad purposes are achieved and that, at all times, it complies with the law and meets its contractual obligations. The four areas below provide the balance between conformance and performance.

• Policy Formulation and Foresight

Positioning the charity in its broad political environment and ensuring the overall direction and
control

• Strategic Thinking

Maintain a strategic overview of the work of Cheltenham Festivals, give direction to the
development of the Charity’s work and ensure everything the Charity does is consistent with the
purposes of the organisation as set out in the Articles of Association.

• Monitoring Management Performance

Ensuring that appropriate management and financial objectives are set and performance is
monitored whilst not micro-managing the executives from the boardroom.

• Accountability

Accept legal responsibility for the work of the Charity and ensure that the Charity complies with the
Charities Act 2011, the Companies Act 2006 and any other relevant legislation and regulations.
While their creative focus should be on issues of strategic organisational and financial
development, trustees should also familiarise themselves with the frontline activities of the charity in
order to be supportive and critical friends to the operational plans developed and implemented by
staff and volunteers.

Person Specification, skills and experience

Cheltenham Festivals trustees are expected to demonstrate all of the following personal competencies and the capacity to apply these to a small but relatively complex organisation:

Criteria

Essential

• Demonstrate a strong and visible passion, empathy and commitment  to the charity, its strategic objectives and cause
• Personal gravitas to lead a significant national organisation
• Strong networking capabilities that can be utilised for the benefit of the charity
• Ability to understand the local and political landscape, demonstrate tact and diplomacy with the ability to listen and engage effectively
• Demonstrate strong inter-personal and relationship building abilities and be comfortable in an ambassadorial role
• A willingness and ability to devote the necessary time to conduct the role well, including attending events out of office hours
• A willingness and ability to take part in the fundraising strategy of the charity

Experience

• Experience of operating at a senior strategic level within their area of expertise
• Experience of charity governance and working with or as part of a Board of Trustees
• Ability to think and apply knowledge strategically and creatively
• Ability to analyse and evaluate management information and other evidence

Communication and team working

• Ability to communicate clearly and sensitively and to take an active part in discussions
• Ability to influence, engage and be persuasive
• Ability to work effectively in a group
• Willing to express their own opinion in a reasoned way, while also listening to the views of others
• Ability to challenge constructively and ask questions appropriately

Accountability

• Ability to understand and accept the duties and liabilities of being a charity TrusteeWillingness to make and stand by collective decisions, including those which may be unpopular
• Ability to manage difficult and/or challenging situations
• Ability to maintain confidentiality on confidential and/or sensitive information

Term of Role & how to apply

Term: this post is voluntary and for an initial term of three years with the potential to hold office for
up to 2 further terms.

If you would like to have an informal and confidential discussion about applying, please contact Mark Philip Sorensen via the email address to the right of this advert.

Please click on Apply Now complete an application form and email, and including a cover letter/statement as to why you are interested in the role and what skills/experience you can bring to the charity, plus a copy of your CV. We would also be grateful if you can complete our equal opportunities monitoring form which can be downloaded from the website as well.

Final appointments formally nominated at the AGM in December 2025.