Two new trustees sought for APNO Board

The Active Partnerships National Organisation (APNO) has announced its search for two new independent non-executive directors to join the board.

Due to the nature of the work of this national charity, and that of the network of 43 Active Partnerships that it connects, strengthens and enables, the organisation is keen to hear from applicants who have a background in health and social care or who have experience of working in the area of children and young people (CYP), especially where reducing inactivity has been a priority.

When it comes to health and social care, the network is playing a leading role in connecting and convening key national and local partners, and also in advocating for the role that physical activity and movement plays in the prevention of long-term health conditions.

The Active Partnerships are already building strong relationships locally with organisations and networks such as public health bodies and integrated care boards. The APNO is therefore keen to amplify this work on a national stage and strengthen the connectivity between place-based work and national health organisations.

In the area of children and young people, the network plays a pivotal role in the co-delivery of the school games programme and, at a local level, it leads numerous initiatives that provide CYP with more opportunities to move, as well as helping them to access a greater range of activities.

The network is working collaboratively with many national and local partners to try and ensure that every child has the opportunity to be active for a minimum of 60 minutes every day, including leading on the Opening School Facilities initiative, helping schools to open up their sports facilities outside of the normal school day.

The successful applicants for these two new roles will need to contribute to helping APNO achieve its vision of making active lifestyles the norm for everyone and support the organisation to deliver on its four year strategy which was unveiled last year. This strategy has APNO’s mission to make it easier for everyone to enjoy an active life at its heart.

The new trustees will also need to have a clear understanding of the importance of the place-based approach that the network takes to tackling inequalities and increasing a local community’s opportunities to take part in more movement, and will need to be able to advocate for this at a national level and with key political stakeholders.

The Active Partnerships network is also working closely with Sport England and its other system partners to play an important role in delivering Uniting the Movement, a ten-year vision and strategy which seeks to tackle inequalities and transform lives and communities through physical activity and sport and so an understanding of and a passion for tackling the big issues that this strategy highlights is also crucial.

The successful applicants will be joining a board which includes experienced independent non-executive directors, Sport England representatives, and strategic leaders from within the Active Partnerships network, who have joined as ‘related members’ to ensure the network’s voice, energy, ideas, challenge and opportunities sits at the heart of the work of the board. You can find out more about current board members here.

If you have experience in one of the specific areas and would like to support the APNO in achieving its vision and mission, please take a look at the information pack. No previous board experience is required, and the application process is designed to be as simple as possible, with applications accepted in either email or video format.

The closing date for applications is 14 June.