Sound Sense is seeking four new members to join its Board of Directors. As the UK’s professional association for community music, we are committed to representing and advocating for the diverse spectrum of music practitioners working across our communities today.

We would love to hear from you if:

- You have lived experience of the power of community music making
- You have skills in managing people, projects and/or organisations
- You can commit regular time for meetings and working groups, mostly happening over Zoom

In return, you will join a friendly and energetic team committed to promoting and developing community music practice in the UK and beyond, and will have your say in Sound Sense's future direction and strategy.


What's involved in being a Director?

Sound Sense is run for its members, by its members. Being part of the Sound Sense board is a really valuable thing to do for our community, writes current board member Dave Camlin:

"Community music is a diverse practice, because we all do things differently based on the situations we find ourselves in. The Sound Sense Board is one of the places where that diverse representation becomes an ongoing dialogue – having individual voices and perspectives is how we move our collective practice forward.

Being on the board is personally valuable, too. Connecting with other board members is a good way of developing your own networks. The board meetings are lively and engaging, and you get a sense of just how diverse we are as a community."

- Currently all Board meetings are taking place online, using Zoom, and we expect to continue with this for most meetings in the future.
- Regular full board meetings take place for 3 hours, 4 times a year (usually January, April, July and October).
- Working groups meet according to need and at times that best suit the members involved. Individual time commitments vary considerably (as a guide, we recommended allowing around 40 hours per year (spread through the year) for taking up a position on the Sound Sense Board).
- This is a voluntary role, in accordance with our governing documents.
- Your travel expenses will be covered where in-person attendance at meetings is agreed as part of your Director role.


We need you!

We want Sound Sense's Board to represent the diversity of the UK community music field as fully as possible, and we therefore encourage people of all ages, abilities and genders; educational, social and ethnic backgrounds; lived experiences, music genres/practices and geographic locations (within the UK) to consider this role.

If you want to find out more about being a Board member, please get in touch with Rebecca Denniff (chair@soundsense.org) or Sound Sense General Manager, Clare Adams (clare.adams@soundsense.org).


How do I apply?

To nominate yourself for Board membership, simply email clare.adams@soundsense.org by 9am on Monday 22 September 2025 with these details:

- your name, organisation (if any) and postal address
- your email address and phone number
- the statement "I wish to stand for election to Sound Sense's Board of Management. If elected, I undertake to carry out the duties of a charity trustee and company director, including attending board meetings and contributing to the work of a working group"
- a short note (100 to 200 words) about who you are and what you would bring to the board.

Note that, if you are not yet a member of Sound Sense, you will need to join before submitting your nomination. You can do that at: soundsense.org/member-services/join-sound-sense

If more than four people nominate themselves, we will hold an online ballot opening in September 2025. In order for the election to take place, we will share your name (but not your contact details) and your short note (about who you are/what you would bring) with your fellow members by email to help them cast their votes. The result of the election will be announced at our AGM in October 2025 (date to be confirmed).

We look forward to hearing from you!