Advertised from 25 August 2025

Role

Our mission is to enhance and promote the wellbeing of adults. Birthlink provides life changing support to adults affected by Adoption with a Scottish connection, adults who have experienced abuse in care in Scotland irrespective of where they live in the world today.

We are now seeking to recruit to our volunteer board of Directors to ensure our continued growth, future strategy and protect the interest of our stakeholders. We will achieve this by ensuring we have the right skills and expertise to continue to transform and drive the organisation.

As a member of Birthlink Board, you will play a key role in the Governance and Strategy to ensure we can continue to serve our beneficiaries.

We are looking to recruit five board members including a Secretary, Treasurer and Safeguarding Lead with professional subject matter expertise in the following areas:

• Adoption practice (historic to modern times) 
• Adult and Child Protection
• Business development, strategy and management
• Corporate Partnerships 
• Feminist issues impacting on our beneficiaries, their children and families and the intergenerational and 
• generational impact of these
• Fundraising and Philanthropy
• Human Resources including employee engagement and development
• Information governance and data protection 
• Membership organisations
• Risk Management 
• Senior Social Worker with practice teaching experience and experience of working in a psychologically safe 
• and trauma informed organisation
• Social impact measurement 
• Startups, non-profit, non-government, government or charity organisation
• Volunteer growth and management

All board members do not need to have professional subject matter expertise in all areas. However, an understanding of the impact of adoption, forced adoption, abuse in care and being in care in Scotland and an understanding of trauma and generational trauma is critical.

Birthlink are committed to representing the diversity of our beneficiaries on our Board and welcome applications from people who have family or personal experience of adoption and forced adoption or experience of being in care in Scotland. 

Excellent skills in using Microsoft Teams and associated packages critical. Knowledge of information management systems and electronic finance systems needed. 

Commitment

The board meets monthly online, a weekday at 1800. The expectation is that all board members will meet in person at a minimum twice per year. One of these sessions is a board development session. Twice yearly there is a meet the board session for all staff, one in person and one online. Subgroups and short-life working groups are also a regular commitment expected of the board. Extra ordinary meetings will occur as needed. The Annual General Meeting is in December, online.

Trustees serve for 3 years and are eligible for re-appointment up to a maximum of 6 years.

Birthlink trustees act in a personal capacity unconnected with their day job.

Application notes

To express your interest in all positions and arrange an informal discussion in the first instance please connect with 

Gaynor.Clarke@birthlink.org.uk (Chair) and Linda.McLeod@birthlink.org.uk (Vice Chair)

Closing date: 22 September 2025

Downloads