Advertised from 20 June 2025

Role

Could you be the steady hand at the centre of something special?

Are you someone who leads with care and encourages confidence?

Do you bring warmth, curiosity and calm to the exciting, innovative and experimental spaces that you're part of?

Could you be a chairperson who empowers everyone to shine?

Vintage Vibes is an award-winning charity (SCIO SC054011) tackling loneliness and isolation in over 60s across Edinburgh. Since 2015, we’ve created hundreds of lasting friendships between local older people (our VIPs) and volunteers of all ages, transforming lives and communities in every postcode.

This year, we’ve stepped into an exciting new phase: becoming an independent charity after almost a decade of impact within a charitable partnership between LifeCare and Space @ Broomhouse Hub.

Our values are ‘We love doing things differently’ ‘We treat everyone as an individual’ and ‘We’re about real friendships’ and over the past decade we’ve achieved almost 40,000 hours of friendship across the city.

We're proud of our roots and full of ambition for our future. We’re looking for a Chair of Trustees to help build and nurture the culture and strength of our board and organisation.

What kind of Chair are we looking for?

You will support the secure foundation from which the Vintage Vibes strategy and day-to-day delivery can develop with our trademark confidence, experimentation and energy!

We’re looking for someone who is:

• Calm, grounded, and experienced - able to offer perspective in both steady and stormy moments
• A compassionate and firm champion of good governance, good relationships and good culture
• Passionate about empowering others - and skilled at knowing when to listen, when to guide, and when to let autonomy shine
• Comfortable with complexity, ambiguity and growth - and unafraid of thoughtful and healthy risk
• Adept at navigating some of the acronyms and buzzwords of the charity space, but who chooses to favour honest, human language and conversations in day-to-day practice
• Experienced in chairing or vice-chairing a board (or similar leadership), but open to evolving what leadership can look like and learning alongside a new organisation that values ‘doing things differently’

This is not a traditional top-down chair role. It’s not about leading the organisation’s strategy or developing big ideas — our community voices and staff team hold that role in collaboration with the board of trustees. Instead, you’ll be the incredible foundation that helps Vintage Vibes thrive: the sounding board, the sense-check, the collaborator, the calm facilitator of trust and transparency at the centre, from which the burst of energy that is our work can grow.

You’ll be supported by a committed board and a passionate team. You’ll help embed a healthy, hopeful culture of collaboration, and ensure our governance and relationships grow as we do.

Our board culture (and what we’re building)

Our current board culture is: Honest. Open. Down-to-earth. Practical. Warm. Reflective. Hopeful.

We’re professional, but never robotic. Personal, but always respectful.

We believe in being prepared, doing the work, and showing up as full humans.

As Chair, you won’t be expected to have all the answers. But you’ll be central in holding the space where great questions, supportive challenge and collective confidence can thrive.

What’s ahead

• Over the next 18 months, you’ll help us:
• Strengthen our foundations as a new charity – from governance and policy to values and rhythm
• Champion a collaborative board culture that supports the team and community to lead boldly
• Support a creative, community-led strategy process for 2026–2031, guided by the staff team and co-created with our community
• Ensure we grow sustainably – balancing ambition and experimentation with grounded, ethical practice
• We don’t want to replicate the usual systems. We want to learn from great examples and also grow new approaches where needed – balancing insight and imagination.

Find out more about our work:

Website |  Linkedin |  Facebook  | X  |  Instagram  |  TikTok  | YouTube

Application notes

How to get involved

If you’re interested or curious, we’d love to have a chat. You can reach us at hello@vintagevibes.org.uk for an informal conversation. 

First, we’d recommend you take a look at our General Vintage Vibes Board of Trustees Pack to find out more about our Board of Trustees approach and culture

Or, if you’re ready to apply, please send us a short expression of interest via our form here – a paper copy is also available upon request.

Our first round of Chair of Trustees recruitment will close on Monday 14th July at 9am, however, we will be opening further opportunities during the year.

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