Here are the top resources I recommend for aspiring Non-Executive Directors. If you work your way through this list you’ll be well prepared to start the journey of finding your first role…
Organisations
- Women on Boards – Fantastic organisation which does what it says on the tin. Supporting women into Board roles. They have training courses and workshops, a pretty comprehensive list of NED and Trustee vacancies and lots of support resources. Well worth the £150 annual membership fee. I love WOB so much I am an official Ambassador for them and present their workshops in Scotland. Check out the podcast I did with them! https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/women-on-boards-success-stories-lisa-tennant-journey/id1438643410?i=1000423295231
- Changing the Chemistry – Another amazing organisation supporting Board diversity. Lots of great peer support for things like interview preparation, CV preparation, training and a vacancy list.
- LinkedIn groups – Search for and join the ‘Global Board Ready Women’ group and the ‘Non Executive Director Forum UK’. Useful conversations and networking available on LinkedIn.
- Board Apprentice – This organisation places appropriate individuals as board apprentices on boards for 1 year to gain first-hand experience, through observation, of the workings and dynamics on boards. If you can secure one of these it would be ideal experience for your first paid role.
Vacancies
- The Sunday Times Appointments – I look at all the vacancies as it’s a fairly short list. Tends towards higher end and more competitive roles.
- Guardian Jobs – Search for Non Executive and Trustee. Slanted towards third sector and less commercial roles.
- Indeed – Search for Non Executive and Trustee and choose the geographical area you’re willing to travel to. If nationwide leave the location blank. Indeed is a screen scraping site and it trawls the internet looking for job postings. It’s thrown up some results for me I wouldn’t otherwise have seen.
- Cabinet Office – A comprehensive list of UK Government public appointments. Also worth signing up for their newsletter.
- Appointed for Scotland – A comprehensive list of Scottish Government public appointments.
- Welsh Government – A comprehensive list of Welsh Government public appointments.
- NI Direct – A comprehensive list of Northern Ireland Government public appointments.
- Charity Job – Lots of charity trustee roles.
- KPMG Connect on Board – You need to send a CV to be considered as a member of this job posting and NED information site.
- Nurole – Has some NED roles not on any other platforms but you need to be invited to join. You can be invited by a current member so if you’re interested, send me an email at lisa@lisatennant.co.uk and I’ll have you invited.
- LinkedIn Jobs – Search for Non Executive and Trustee roles.
- Recruiters, head-hunters and search firms – This is whole post of its own. See my blog post on a comprehensive list of search firms, the relevant contact person at each and advice on how to approach them here (insert link)
Training
I can’t comment on the usefulness or standard of these programmes as I haven’t joined any of them. I’ve made the decision to focus my NED ongoing education around areas that support my Board USP (see my blog post on NED continuing education here (insert hyperlink).
Although these courses may be very useful, there’s no substitute for on the job learning which is why I always recommend starting with a charity Trustee role (see my blog post here (insert hyperlink) to post on Secret to getting your first paid Board role) –
- Edinburgh Business School Non Executive Programme
- The FT Board Director Programme
- Institute of Directors Role of the Non Executive Director Programme
- ICSA Non Executive Directors’ Programme
Books
Whilst a little dry, these do give a flavour of the responsibilities and roles of Non Executives and Trustees –
Articles
- Have you got what it takes to be a Non Executive Director?
- The 5 essential qualities of a Non Executive director
- How to find the right trustee role
I’d love your comments and feedback on the list. Have I missed anything? Have you completed any of the training course? How did you find them? Any questions? Please comment below.