Report of the Trustees 2005/2006: Page Nine
Governance and management
Overall strategy and policy for the Charity are agreed by the Council of Management (known as the 'Board of Trustees'), advised by the Chief Executive and Directors who attend all meetings.
At the Annual General Meeting, one third of the members of the Council retire from office and new elections are held. Following a period of office, a member of the Council is eligible for re-election.
Officers of the Board (currently Chairman, Treasurer and Vice Chairmen) are elected for an initial term of three years. They are then eligible for election for a further, final term of two years.
Trustees are recruited by open advertisement to ensure the widest field of applicants. During 2005/06, five new Trustees were recruited to the Board, bringing an excellent mix of big business, legal, Government relations, fundraising and financial skills and enhancing an already strong team. Importantly, a number of the new Trustees have been personally affected by prostate cancer and one is from an African-Caribbean background (a section of the population with a heightened risk of prostate cancer).
New Trustees are provided with an induction programme in which they meet with staff from across the Charity and are provided with relevant background briefing information, for example, the Memorandum and Articles of Association, previous Board meeting minutes and best practice guidelines for Trustees from the Charity Commission and the National Council for Voluntary Organisations.
There are currently three sub-committees of the Board - the Finance Committee, the Remuneration Committee and the Nominations Committee. The Finance Committee reviews ongoing financial performance and makes recommendations to the Board on financial policy, plans and budgets. The Remuneration Committee recommends to the Board reward arrangements for the Chief Executive and Directors and the Nominations Committee makes recommendations to the Board on the appointment of new Trustees and Officers.
There are two further advisory committees of the Board; the User Advisory Group provides a focus for user involvement in the Charity's activities and the Research Advisory Committee advises the Board on research strategy, policy and investment. The need for further sub-committees and advisory groups will be kept under review.
Trustees met on 11 occasions during the year (either as a full Board or in the sub-committees) to review strategy, policy and performance and to set the operating plans and budgets.
The Chief Executive is responsible for the Charity's operational leadership. The staff team comprises approximately 35 employees, based in offices in Hammersmith, London and organised into four Directorates:
- Chief Executive – includes media and public affairs and central services (premises, offices services, human resources and governance support)
- Fundraising – responsible for all fundraising activity and for events management
- Operations – responsible for all 'front line' services, including Helpline, information production, website, specialist prostate cancer nurses, regional development and community involvement, together with underpinning policy support
- Finance and ICT – responsible for financial management, planning and knowledge management
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