Trustee opportunity

Could you be a Two Destination Language trustee?

We are seeking to appoint up to two new trustees this summer.

Two Destination Language is a CIO, and its trustees are a key part of its governance. Trustees are responsible for agreeing the strategic aims, objectives, and direction of Two Destination Language, ensuring effective management processes are in place, protecting the charity’s assets and ensuring that the charity operates in compliance with its governing document, regulatory requirements, and good governance practice.  (The role is described fully by government advice here and in the Charity Commission's Welcome Pack.)

No previous board experience is necessary and we are keen to develop ourselves and others; we want to hear from people with enthusiasm, bold ideas and innovative thinking who are excited by creative work and what we do. We welcome applications from people from all walks of life and with lived experience or professional experience that will positively impact how we work.

About The role

The trustees meet four times a year for regular meetings, and once more for a strategy day. Dates are agreed at the start of each calendar year. Additional informal meetings to advise on matters in which you have particular interest or experience may be requested by the directors. Including preparation time, the time commitment does not normally exceed eight days a year.

Trustees are expected to attend some of the events the charity delivers, to familiarise themselves with our work and those who experience it.

Trustees are appointed for a (renewable) term of four years.

The position of trustee is voluntary, but reasonable expenses can be paid.

We welcome expressions of interest from a wide range of backgrounds (personal and professional), and experience from outside the arts is especially valuable, so if you’re interested in supporting the company as a trustee, please do get in touch. While meetings are held in the UK, trustees can participate by video-conferencing, so can be based anywhere.

We have identified two areas where we'd like to strengthen our board's knowledge and experience:

Fundraising

As we seek to diversify our income sources and establish multi-year funding relationships, we'd benefit from a new trustee who brings experience of organisational planning and leadership. This may have been built through professional or voluntary work including:

Communications

Due to the forthcoming retirement of a trustee, we would welcome a new trustee who brings an understanding of audiences, marketing and communication with stakeholders (funders, presenting partners, artists, participants, audiences). This may have been built through professional or voluntary work including:


More important than experience through other roles, however, is your commitment to:

Whatever your background, if you're excited by our work and want to help us grow our impact, we want to hear from you.

About us

Our vision is for a society in which art is widely understood and valued as a key method for understanding and celebrating difference -- between individuals, communities, places and cultures, exploring the complex challenges of life and helping people shift their perspectives on themselves, others and our world. 

To achieve this, we:

Two Destination Language is best known for its award-winning contemporary theatre. It is bold, visually arresting and stimulates conversations about the society we live in. Our stage work tours nationally and internationally. Our engagement projects transform communities. Our curation of microfests has introduced artists to new audiences, and audiences to new work.

Our work investigates identity: cultural difference and what happens when cultures interact, or don’t. The Total Theatre Award winning Near Gone, described in the Guardian as “gorgeous and wild”, uses differences in language – physical, verbal and emotional – to tell a story of family; by contrast, LANDED works with older people to place an often marginalised group at the centre of an intimate contemporary performance. Last year, Fault Lines was chosen as one of The Stage's top 50 shows around the UK, while the new 40/40 was "must-see" (Lyn Gardner) at Edinburgh Fringe and is in demand for touring in 2023 and 2024. Alongside developing new work this year, we're delivering The Scottish Borders component of a national covid memorial project, Remembering Together.

The organisation is led by artists Alister Lownie and Katherina Radeva, who have created all Two Destination Language’s projects, supported by a range of other freelance professionals across producing, fundraising, marketing, technical and performance. The trustees oversee the organisation’s work, offering support and challenge as Katherina and Alister research, create and share high-quality stimulating experiences.  We are at an exciting stage of development as we build on our profile both nationally and internationally and we are looking for wise and creative minds to contribute to the development of Two Destination Language.

To express your interest in joining us, just email alister@twodestinationlanguage.com a CV and a short covering letter explaining how you believe you can support us as a trustee -- the knowledge, skills and lived experience you bring -- and your motivation for applying. If you have access needs we can support, just let us know -- and if you'd prefer to apply by video or audio recording please just get in touch in the form which works best for you.

Deadline: Sunday 18th June
For shortlisted candidates, the next step will be an informal discussion with the directors and chair of trustees.

With any queries, please contact either:

A message from the Chair of Trustees, Lizzy Moriarty

As Chair of Trustees of Two Destination Language, I’m very excited that you are interested in joining our Board, to support us in engaging audiences, communities and artists. 

We’re keen to strengthen our trustee board's skills and experience in fundraising, communications and strategic development but we are keen to stress that this is an advisory role. We’re also particularly interested in recruiting new trustees from diverse backgrounds and ages. As a Trustee you have a key role to play bringing your own unique lived experience, skills and knowledge to our board. 

By joining the Board, you will be joining a small, committed and dynamic group of people who have a keen personal investment in arts for social change. As well as providing your voice, you’ll make friends and learn a lot, and have a lot of fun along the way. 

We are at a pivotal moment in our journey. Kat and Alister have built a reputation for creative and thought-provoking work.  They have developed their practice to give communities a voice and most recently, have used their convening power to provide safe spaces for fellow artists to think together.  This journey has taken Two Destination Language to a point where we are ready to make a step change which will enable us to have greater impact on the communities, audiences and artists that we work with.

If this sounds like a challenge you would like to take on by guiding us in developing our impact on artists and audiences, and particularly the marginalised communities within both those groups, please join us. We’ve got a lot of ambition, we’ve got plans, we’ve got energy, and by joining the Board you can help us achieve them. We would love to hear from you.

Lizzy Moriarty