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 Trustee?

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 chair Rebecca Denniff:

“Being a Sound Sense trustee is an incredibly enriching experience, and right now is a particularly exciting time to join the board. We’re currently working on a collective response to Turn It Up, the UK government’s new plan for music, as well as preparing for our national conference in 2027. It’s a fantastic opportunity for Sound Sense members to play a leading role in shaping the future of the organisation, and to make a real difference in the world of community music.”

• 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/November).
• Working groups (such as finance and HR) meet according to need and at times that best suit the members involved.
• Trustees are also actively involved in many aspects of Sound Sense’s work, including contributing to Sounding Board journal, hosting online Gatherings, representing Sound Sense at conferences, and advocating for community music in meetings with funders and policymakers. 
• Individual time commitments vary considerably. As a guide, we recommended allowing around 40 hours per year (spread through the year) for the Trustee role.
• 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 Trustee role.

You can find more information in the Sound Sense Trustee role description, which is available as a pdf download below. Plus you can find information and guidance on the statutory duties for charity trustees at gov.uk/guidance/charity-trustee-whats-involved-cc3a

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 to join the board of Trustees, simply email clare.adams@soundsense.org by 9am on Friday 9 October 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 candidates put themselves forward, we will hold an email ballot of Sound Sense members, with voting opening in October. 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 to help them cast their votes. The result of the election will be announced at our AGM on 9 November 2026.

We look forward to hearing from you!