Join our Board of Trustees

Help shape the future of access to justice in South London

Southwark Law Centre is looking for new Trustees to join our Board, particularly people with financial expertise and people with lived experience of the issues affecting the communities we serve.

At Southwark Law Centre, we believe everyone should have access to justice, regardless of their income, background or circumstances.

We provide free, specialist legal advice and representation to people across Southwark, Lewisham, Lambeth and beyond. Our work covers housing, immigration and asylum, employment, education, welfare benefits, public law and Windrush justice. We also work alongside communities to challenge unfair policies and practices and bring about lasting change.

Each year, we support more than 2,000 people, helping them protect their homes, secure their rights and challenge injustice.

We are now looking for new Trustees who share our commitment to social justice and can help guide the organisation through the opportunities and challenges ahead.

Who are we looking for?

We are particularly interested in hearing from people who can bring one or more of the following:

Financial expertise

We welcome applications from people with experience in finance, accountancy, financial management, audit or financial governance. You might work in the charity, public or private sector and be able to help us maintain strong financial oversight, manage risk and plan for long-term sustainability.

Lived experience and community insight

We want our Board to better reflect the communities we serve. We particularly welcome applications from people who have personal experience of the issues our clients face, including housing insecurity, poverty, immigration difficulties, discrimination or barriers to accessing justice.

Your knowledge and perspective are valuable in their own right. You do not need professional qualifications or previous Board experience to make an important contribution.

We are also interested in people with experience of community organising, grassroots advocacy and working alongside marginalised communities.

What does being a Trustee involve?

Our Trustees provide strategic leadership and oversight, working with the Executive Director and senior management team to ensure that Southwark Law Centre is well governed, financially sustainable and delivering on its mission.

As a Trustee, you will help shape our priorities, scrutinise important decisions, support our leadership and ensure we remain accountable to the people and communities we exist to serve.

This is a voluntary, unpaid role. We will provide induction, training and support, and we welcome applications from people who have never been a Trustee before.

Our commitment to inclusion

We believe that a diverse Board makes better decisions.

We particularly encourage applications from people from Black and minoritised ethnic communities, people with lived experience of disadvantage or discrimination, and people whose voices are underrepresented in charity governance.

We recognise that traditional recruitment processes and expectations about Board experience can exclude people with valuable knowledge and perspectives. We are committed to making our recruitment process accessible and supporting new Trustees to participate fully.

Interested? We’d love to hear from you.

You don’t need to be a lawyer, and you don’t need to have been a Trustee before. What matters is your commitment to our values, your willingness to contribute and the perspective you can bring.

We want to make it as easy as possible for people to explore becoming a Trustee. If you’re interested but unsure whether the role is right for you, we would be very happy to arrange an informal, no-obligation conversation with our Executive Director or Chair of Trustees.

You don’t need to complete a formal application to get started. Simply send us a short email telling us a little about yourself, why you’re interested and what you feel you could bring to our Board. We’re also happy to discuss alternative ways of expressing your interest if writing an application is a barrier.

To find out more, arrange an informal conversation or express your interest, please contact recruitment@southwarklawcentre.org.uk 

Closing date: rolling

Find out more about our work: www.southwarklawcentre.org.uk

Help us build a Law Centre that is accountable to our communities, resilient for the future and ambitious for justice.