1. health and fitness
2. disease
3. heart disease

World Heart Federation
Finance or Legal Services Trustee
Candidate Information Pack
June 2015
Contents
Welcome from Chief Executive
About the World Heart Federation
Role Description
Person Specification
Timetable
How to apply
Welcome
Thank you for your interest in becoming a Trustee of our new UK Charity. This is an exciting time
for the World Heart Federation having recently undergone a change in governance to help
implement our new strategic plan. We have also recently established a UK base of the World
Heart Federation in London and setting up a completely new Charity in the UK is a significant step
forward in helping us to achieve our mission.
We are ideally looking for a Board which has a broad range of skills and Trustees who will have
expertise in finance and/or fundraising. Please find enclosed some essential information about the
role of the Trustee and some general information which we hope you will find useful. Further
information can also be found on our website www.worldheartfederation.org.
The World Heart Federation urges greater action from policy makers, healthcare professionals,
patient organizations and individuals to work together to reduce the burden of heart disease and
stroke, and ensure people all over the world can have longer and better lives. We have much to do
if we are to realise our vision of a world in which people’s lives are not limited by heart disease.
We hope that this pack will give you a sense of our ambition for the future and that you will be as
excited as we are about the potential we see ahead of us.
Yours sincerely,
Johanna Ralston
Chief Executive Officer
About the World Heart Federation
Founded in 1946, the World Heart Federation (WHF) is the world’s only global body dedicated to
leading the fight against heart disease and stroke. We do this by uniting a community of 200+
member organizations from 100+ countries, who are all dedicated to the prevention and control
of cardiovascular disease (CVD). CVD is the world’s leading cause of death, claiming more 17.3
million lives per year – more than cancer, HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis combined. With the
support of its Members, the WHF works tirelessly to build a world-wide commitment to improved
cardiovascular health, at the global, regional, national and community levels.
The vision of the World Heart Federation is to work with its members and the larger cardiovascular health community to hasten the day when cardiovascular health is no longer a privilege
but a right, and when cardiovascular disease (CVD) is transformed from a life threatening disease
to one that can be prevented and managed in all populations.
The role of the World Heart Federation is to serve as the global facilitator, convener, trusted
adviser and representative of CVD stakeholders, driving the global CV health agenda by converting
policy into action, through its members and a broader network of partners, including WHO, the
NCD community, governments, the private sector and all those affected by CVD.
In order to achieve its aim of reducing mortality by 25% by 2025, the WHF have decided to
establish a UK-based charity to support its Partnership and Communications Team based at the
British Heart Foundation’s offices in London. The new charity will work closely with the global
headquarters to carry out our new three year strategy, and serve as a fundraising vehicle for the
organisation’s efforts.
As a brand new charity it is essential that the right skills are engaged from the start to ensure
adherence to UK charity law, and to help further raise the profile of the WHF and its work here in
the UK in order to attract the sort of publicity and support the organisation will benefit from to
achieve its goals.
Further information about the WHF can be found by downloading in the WHF Annual Report
Role Description
The key responsibilities of a trustee are:
To hold the charity “in trust” for current and future beneficiaries by:
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Ensuring the charity has a clear vision, mission and strategic direction and is focused on
achieving these.
Being responsible for the performance of the charity and for its culture.
Ensuring that the charity complies with all legal and regulatory requirements.
Acting as guardians of the charities assets, both tangible and intangible, taking all due care
over their security, deployment and proper application.
Ensuring the charity’s governance is of the highest possible standard.
Duties of a Trustee
The duties of a Trustee are:
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Acting in the best interests of World Heart Federation, its beneficiaries and future
beneficiaries at all times.
To ensure that the charity complies with its Articles of Association, charity law, company law
and any other relevant legislation or regulations.
To be familiar with and ensure that the organisation pursues its objects as defined in its
Articles of Association and reviews them regularly.
To ensure the organisation applies its resources exclusively in pursuance of its objects.
To contribute actively to the Board of Trustees’ role in giving firm strategic direction to the
organisation, setting overall policy, defining goals and setting targets and evaluating
performance against agreed targets.
To follow due process at board meetings and respect the collective responsibility of the
board.
To understand accept and respect the difference in roles between trustees and staff
ensuring that every action is taken to develop and ensure a mutually supportive relationship.
To safeguard the good name and ethos of the organisation and act as a positive ambassador
for the World Heart Federation.
To ensure the effective and efficient administration of the organisation and its resources
To ensure the sound management of the charity’s assets, resources and the financial
stability of the organisation.
To appoint the Chief Executive Officer and monitor his/her performance.
To promote the organisation and its mission to a wider audience.
To maintain absolute confidentiality about all sensitive/confidential information received in
the course of trustees responsibilities to the charity.
To act fairly and in accordance with good equal opportunities principals.
To work with board members and staff to ensure the charity’s governance is of the highest
possible standard.
16.
In addition to the above duties, each Trustee should use any specific skills, knowledge, or
experience they have to help the Board of Trustees reach sound decisions. This may involve
leading discussions, focusing on key issues, providing advice and guidance on new initiatives,
evaluation, or other issues in which the Trustee has special expertise.
Person Specification
The successful candidate should be able to demonstrate and provide evidence of the following
criteria listed under Part One within your written application. These will be tested further at the
preliminary interview stage, along with the criteria listed under Part Two:
Essential
Finance trustee:
 Qualified Accountant: ACCA /ICAEW / CIMA/CIPFA or equivalent
 Good financial analysis skills
 Prior experience of senior level financial management
Legal trustee:
 Qualified lawyer or legal services professional from any sector
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Ability to communicate clearly, particularly when communicating financial
information to non-financially qualified colleagues
Is committed to being part of a team which is dedicated to the successful growth of
this new charity and can devote the necessary time required for this role
Knowledge of the responsibilities of a Trustee
Possesses strategic vision and sound independent judgement
Influencing skills and the ability to build rapport with a range of different people
including key stakeholders
Able to demonstrate personal alignment with the core values of the charity
Desirable
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An understanding of the World Heart Federation’s work an understanding of the
key constituent/stakeholder groups the organisations supports
Previous Board or committee membership in a charitable, public sector or
commercial organisation, with previous Treasurer or Finance Committee
experience, or Governance Committee desirable
Knowledge and experience of financial management and a proven track record of
preparing accounts preferably under SORP
Multi-sector finance and/or legal experience
Knowledge and experience of financial management and a proven track record of
preparing accounts preferably under SORP
Understanding and acceptance of the legal duties, responsibilities and liabilities of
trusteeship and an understanding of the respective roles of the Chair, Trustees and
Chief Executive
Remuneration
The World Heart Federation does not remunerate its trustees although reasonable
expenses in carrying out duties as a trustee will be reimbursed.
Time Commitment & Appointment tenure
 ? local board meetings per annum
 X2 international board meetings per annum
WHF is willing to be flexible for Skype or phone-in arrangements as necessary
Timetable
The closing date for applications is Monday 22nd June.
Please also note the following dates:
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Preliminary interviews with Trustees Unlimited: w/c Monday 29th June
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Final interviews with the World Heart Federation Nominations Committee:
from w/c 13th July
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Appointment confirmed mid-late July
** please advise us about any dates that are really not convenient for you when your
application is submitted so possible alternative arrangements can be made
How to Apply
To apply for this role, please supply the following documents:
 a short introductory statement demonstrating your motivation for applying for this role;
 supporting statement, explaining how you believe your skills and experience match the
requirements of the role, directly addressing the person specification
 a comprehensive CV including details of your achievements in each role, and including details
of two referees.
All of these documents should be uploaded via the relevant fields via the application link:
4554TU_WHF application link
For an informal and confidential discussion about the role, please contact:
Emma Patmore on 07825 459789 or email her at emma.patmore@@trustees-unlimited.co.uk