DCA Trustee
The Board of Dundee Contemporary Arts (DCA) is seeking new trustees
Introduction
We are pleased to announce that the Board of Dundee Contemporary Arts (DCA) is seeking new trustees with a diverse range of professional skills and lived experiences to help us achieve our vision: to enrich people’s lives through art, culture and creativity; and to oversee a period of exciting growth and development.
The Trustee Role
As a trustee, you will be responsible for providing overall governance to DCA with the Chair and the rest of the Board, ensuring we are working to our vision and mission, and upholding our values of being bold, open, meaningful, magical and caring.
Trustees are expected to attend Board meetings, which are held four times a year, from 16:00-18:00 on a Thursday, usually in March, June, September and December. This are held in person at DCA in the centre of Dundee and are also hybrid, to enable Trustees to join the meeting using Teams. We expect Trustees to attend at least one Board meeting in person every year. There is also an annual Board development day in Dundee in September that Trustees are expected to attend. Travel, accommodation and childcare expenses are available for all meetings for those who live outwith Dundee, as well as support with access requirements and reasonable adjustments.
DCA board has three subcommittees: our Finance, Audit and Risk Committee, our HR and Organisational Development Committee, and our Capital Development Group. Meetings for subcommittees are also held quarterly, approximately two weeks before Board meetings. These are also hybrid meetings. All trustees are expected to join at least one subcommittee during the course of their term.
You must be able to give the necessary time to being an effective trustee, including reading reports and Board papers, attending Board meetings, and participating in sub-committees. Board papers are issued one week in advance of Board meetings and take 60-90 minutes to read. We also ask that Trustees attend major events, for example exhibition openings, which are held three to four times a year, and around three to four other launches of film festivals and learning projects. Attendance at these events is not mandatory but appreciated.
As with all charities, the role of a Trustee is voluntary. This means Trustees are not paid for their time, but we are able to reimburse people for expenses incurred in travelling to attend Board meetings, for any access needs and/or childcare, or care of other dependants, while attending meetings. Trustees are appointed for an initial term of four years. The maximum term for trustees is eight years (a maximum of two four-year terms).
Person Specification
You do not need any prior experience of being a trustee and DCA will provide a full induction.
We would like Trustees to have the following skill and attributes:
- A commitment to DCA’s vision, mission and aims
- A willingness to take on an important ambassadorial role for DCA
- An ability to think strategically and creatively
- Clear independent judgement
- A willingness to speak confidently and openly, with strong and constructive recommendations
- An understanding of the legal duties, responsibilities and liabilities of trusteeship
- An ability to work as a team member and to take decisions for the good of DCA
- A willingness to undertake training, including on safeguarding, anti-racism and disability awareness
- An ability to meet the minimum time requirement
For the purpose of this recruitment, and to ensure a breadth of skills at Board level, we are particularly interested in hearing from people with experience in:
- Fundraising
- Construction and engineering
- Risk management
- Environmental sustainability
- Delivering EDI programmes
- Working as an artist in Scotland.
Support and Access
We are committed to making our opportunities accessible to all and supporting those facing barriers to apply or to become a trustee. If you would like to have an informal conversation about the role and any access requirements or reasonable adjustments, please contact recruitment@dca.org.uk. We will also work with each appointed trustee on an access rider document in order to outline and address any access requirements.
As a Disability Confident Committed Employer, we are committed to offering an interview to candidates with a disability who meet the essential criteria for the role.
We offer an inclusive recruitment process including the opportunity to talk about the role in advance of applying, offering an informal online information session, and providing interview questions in advance.
The informal online information session will be held with DCA Director Beth Bate and DCA Chair Steve Grimmond on Wed 16 July from 13:30 - 15:00. To attend, please email recruitment@dca.org.uk.
How to apply
To read the key outputs and accountabilities, person specification and further information about this role, please download the DCA Trustee Recruitment Pack, located at the bottom of this webpage.
If you would like to have an informal conversation with DCA’s Chair and Director ahead of applying, please email recruitment@dca.org.uk.
An online Q&A session ran by Beth Bate, DCA Director, and Steve Grimmond, DCA Chair, will be held on Wed 16 July from 13:30 - 15:00. This is aimed at anyone who has questions about the role and responsibilities, or how to apply. To attend this session, please email recruitment@dca.org.uk.
To apply, please send an email to recruitment@dca.org.uk with the subject line: DCA Trustee application. We will also accept audio or video files. Please include the following information:
- A cover letter of no more than two sides of A4 or 4 minutes long for an audio or video file, outlining why you would like to be a trustee of DCA and how your skills and experience meet what we are seeking.
- A CV of no more than three sides of A4.
- Short application form
The closing date is 12:00 on Sun 20 July 2025.
