More diversity needed to hold the fort at Jersey Heritage

Thursday 14 January 2016

The new chair of Jersey Heritage is looking for new faces to join his Board and help look after the Island’s history.

Ed Sallis, the old head of Highlands College, hopes to encourage greater diversity among volunteers and is organising an event this evening to give people more of an insight into the role of trustee.

Three trustees have just retired after six years on the Board of the charity responsible for the Island's castles, forts, towers, museums, art gallery and the archives. 

Mr Sallis said: “One of the new trustees needs to have a financial background and to have the time to chair the Finance and Audit Committee. The other two trustees could come from any relevant background and we are hoping to encourage people from all sections of our community.  

“While experience of Boards is not essential, an understanding of working as part of a team and a strong interest in heritage, cultural and historical issues is important as is an understanding of the commercial environment in which Jersey Heritage operates.

Jersey Heritage is now working with Visit Jersey and Ports of Jersey to develop the new tourism office in the foyer of the Jersey Museum.

Mr Sallis said: "We are looking for people who can add value to the Board, take an active part in meetings supporting and challenging our excellent senior team and setting out the strategy for the future, which includes working closely with Visit Jersey, La Société Jersiaise, the National Trust, and the Economic Development Department.

"Jersey Heritage is a community organisation and we believe that we should try to reflect the community in which we live. We do this by recruiting a large number of volunteers from all walks of life to support our work and we would like to see our Board being more representative.​"

Jersey Heritage is hosting an evening tonight at Jersey Museum for anyone who wants to find out more about the job. Those already on the Board will be sharing their experiences and a rep from the National Council for Voluntary Organisations will let you know what's involved at the event in the Ouless Room, starting at 5.45 pm.