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Non-Executive Board Roles

A clear reason for wanting a board seat, a board CV and pipeline that land a first trustee or non-executive role, and the routines, duties and committee skills that make you a director worth reappointing.

Free · Mac (Apple silicon) and Windows · v1.0.0 · Other platforms

Then open the Marketplace in the app, search for Non-Executive Board Roles, and click Install. It goes into your own files, and works offline from then on.

What it installs.

1

Pillar

1

Area

50

Projects

202

Starter tasks

🧭 Career Growth

Non-Executive Board Roles

Securing and performing non-executive director or trustee roles to broaden experience and influence.

  1. Board ambition statement and fit test
  2. Employer permission and conflict check for an outside board
  3. Time budget for board work across the year
  4. Board experience inventory and skills matrix
  5. One-page board CV
  6. Register of your own interests and connections
  7. Directors' and trustees' duties primer
  8. Reading annual and management accounts as a director
  9. Governance codes for your target sector
  10. Board vacancy pipeline
  11. Conversations with sitting chairs and directors
  12. Board apprentice or observer placement
  13. First trustee seat through a matching service
  14. School or college governor application
  15. Board application supporting statement
  16. Board interview and chair meeting preparation
  17. Due diligence before accepting a board seat
  18. Appointment letter and terms review
  19. First hundred days on a new board
  20. Board pack reading and preparation routine
  21. Boardroom question log
  22. Annual declaration of interests
  23. Board diary, time and fees record
  24. Quarterly catch-up with the chair
  25. Support and challenge with the chief executive
  26. Seeing the organisation first hand
  27. Risk oversight and the board risk register
  28. Audit and risk committee membership
  29. Remuneration and nominations committee work
  30. Safeguarding and compliance training for trustees
  31. Constructive challenge in the boardroom
  32. Director development plan
  33. Annual board evaluation and self-assessment
  34. Strategy away day preparation
  35. Annual report and accounts sign-off
  36. Annual general meeting preparation
  37. Board crisis readiness
  38. Chief executive recruitment as a board member
  39. Holding a first board seat alongside an executive job
  40. Trustee roles in retirement
  41. Public body and regulator board appointments
  42. Advisory board seats with startups and growth companies
  43. Chairing a committee for the first time
  44. Stepping down from a board well
  45. Building a portfolio of board seats
  46. Preparing for a board chair role
  47. Raising a serious concern as an independent director
  48. Merger, closure or major transaction oversight
  49. Readiness for a listed company board
  50. Mentoring a new trustee or director

Where it starts.

Each project arrives with its purpose, milestones and first tasks written out. Here is how the first three read.

Board ambition statement and fit test

People who go after a board seat because it sounds senior tend to end up on the wrong board, or on the right board for the wrong reasons, and nominations committees notice within minutes. Writing down why you want a seat, what you would bring, what you hope to learn and which causes or sectors you care about gives every later application a spine and stops you saying yes to the first offer.

First tasks

  • Write three reasons you want a board seat in a single sitting
  • List the causes and sectors you would and would not serve
  • Draft a two-sentence board pitch and say it aloud five times
  • Send the statement to one sitting board member for an honest read

Employer permission and conflict check for an outside board

Most employment contracts and codes of conduct require approval before an employee takes an outside directorship or trusteeship, and senior staff in regulated firms may face extra rules. Getting written permission early, with any conflicts named, protects your day job and means you can say yes quickly when an offer arrives.

First tasks

  • Find the outside interests clause in your contract and staff handbook
  • List any competitors, suppliers or regulators you could not serve
  • Email your manager or compliance team a short request for approval
  • File the written reply with its conditions and date

Time budget for board work across the year

A trustee role advertised as four meetings a year often runs to fifteen or twenty days once board packs, committees, away days, visits and the odd crisis are counted. Building a realistic yearly time budget before you apply shows how many seats you can carry and which weeks of your year are already spoken for.

First tasks

  • Ask two sitting trustees how many days a year their role really takes
  • Count the days you could give to board work in a typical year
  • Mark the weeks that are off limits because of work or family
  • Write the maximum number of seats you will hold

Make it yours.

Install Non-Executive Board Roles, then tell Aurum the date you're aiming for. It checks whether the plan fits the weeks you actually have.

Free · Mac (Apple silicon) and Windows · v1.0.0 · Other platforms

Blueprints are general information to help you organise your own work. They are not medical, financial, legal or other professional advice. See the Terms.