Eligibility

In order to apply for a Student Trustee position, you must be a registered student at the University of Roehampton for the 2026/27 and 2027/28 academic years through to 30 June 2028, and meet the Charity Commission’s eligibility criteria for trustees.

You must also agree to RSU’s Trustee Code of Conduct, available on our website.

It is recommended that all applicants read the Charity Commission’s guide to being a trustee: The Essential Trustee: What you need to know, what you need to do.

Student Trustee Role Description

Student Trustees hold exactly the same legal responsibilities as all other members of the RSU Board including being formally appointed as Company Directors of the charity. But they bring something to the Board that no other trustee can: the current, lived experience of being a student at Roehampton.

Your role is not a passive one. We’re looking for an active, engaged, and independent trustee who happens to have a perspective that is uniquely valuable at board level.

Collective Responsibilities of All Trustees

Help ensure RSU works to fulfil its charitable purpose and acts within its Articles of Association.
Support RSU’s compliance with charity law, company law, and other applicable legislation and regulation.
Contribute to ensuring RSU is financially sustainable, with appropriate oversight of income, expenditure, and long-term resourcing.
Support effective strategic planning and engage with processes for monitoring and evaluating RSU’s performance against its goals.
Help ensure that effective governance policies and procedures are in place across RSU’s activities.
Contribute to identifying and managing risks to the organisation.
Actively participate in the work and decisions of the Board.
Support a culture of scrutiny and accountability in relation to RSU’s senior leadership, including the Chief Executive.
Uphold and demonstrate RSU’s values and protect the reputation of the organisation.
Adhere to the Nolan Committee’s seven principles of public life: selflessness, integrity, objectivity, accountability, openness, honesty, and leadership.
Help ensure robust safeguarding frameworks are in place and that any safeguarding risks are identified and acted upon.

Your Specific Contribution as a Student Trustee

In addition to the shared responsibilities above, Student Trustees play a particular role in:

Bringing an authentic and current student perspective to board discussions, helping trustees understand the real impact of decisions on the student body.
Ensuring that students from a range of backgrounds, including postgraduate, international, mature, and part-time students, are considered in board deliberations.
Acting as a bridge between the student community and the Board, while maintaining your independence as a trustee.
Contributing to RSU’s commitment to student-led governance at the highest level of the organisation.

You do not need prior experience of board governance to apply. We will provide a full induction, ongoing training, and support throughout your term to help you fulfil this role with confidence.

What We’re Looking For

We don’t expect you to arrive with all of this and many of these skills are things you’ll develop during your time on the Board.

But here’s a sense of the qualities we’re looking for across the trustee team as a whole, and in you specifically.

Skills and Qualities

The ability to think strategically, ask good questions, and challenge assumptions constructively.
Willingness to engage with financial information and organisational performance data.
Sound judgment and the ability to weigh competing priorities.
Confidence to contribute to group discussion and collective decision-making.
The ability to work as part of a team and collaborate with a wide range of people.
An understanding of, or genuine curiosity about, the issues affecting students and higher education.
A commitment to good governance, safeguarding, and equality, diversity and inclusion.

Personal Values

A commitment to RSU’s values, mission, and charitable purpose.
Enthusiasm for student wellbeing, student empowerment, and improving the student experience.
Willingness to take an active role in the leadership of RSU, including board meetings, committees, and working groups.
A passion for learning and personal development, including your own.
A strong sense of integrity and a willingness to be transparent and accountable.
A commitment to the collective decision-making principles of the Board.
A dedication to championing equity, diversity, and inclusion in all board decisions.

Support and Development

We take trustee development seriously. This isn’t a role where you’ll be thrown in at the deep end.

You’ll receive a thorough induction from the Chief Executive before your first Board meeting.
Your development will be guided by regular skills reviews, and you’ll receive training tailored to your needs.
You’ll have ongoing support from the Chair and Chief Executive throughout your term.
Reasonable travel expenses will be reimbursed.
On completion of your term, you’ll receive a formal reference from RSU’s Chief Executive.

Time Commitment

We want to be transparent about what the role involves so you can make an informed decision about applying.

RSU holds four to six full Board meetings per year, each lasting around two to three hours. These take place on our Roehampton campus.

We ask trustees to read the Board papers ahead of each meeting, usually around two hours of reading time.

There may be occasional additional invitations to attend staff events, away days, or working groups, these are optional but valuable.

How to Apply

To apply, please complete our online application form by clicking below. As part of your application you’ll need to provide a CV, tell us a little about yourself, and you’ll be asked to provide responses (max 300 words) to the following questions:

Tell us why you’d like to join RSU as a Trustee. Make sure to explain how your personal values align with RSU’s.
What knowledge, abilities, and experience can you contribute to our Board’s collective skills?

When answering, consider these in the context of the role description set out on page 8 of the recruitment pack.

We also recommend you read our Strategic Plan which is available on our website.

Key Dates

Applications close: 23:59, Sunday 22 November.
Shortlisting: Week commencing 23 November (you’ll hear by Friday, 27 November if selected).
Interviews: Week commencing 30 November.

We’ll let you know what to expect from the interview when we contact you about shortlisting including question themes.

We anticipate the first Board meeting for successful candidates will be 15 December 2026.

Notes

Position: Student Trustee

Vacancies: Two

Hours of Work: Four to six Board of Trustee meetings throughout the academic year (between two and three hours each), plus reading time.

Contract: Voluntary, unpaid. Reasonable travel expenses reimbursed.

Location: Roehampton SU, London.

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