Lynton and Barnstaple - Operations and Development

The next Planning Committee is on 1st April. Details here - Planning Committee | Exmoor
I can't see whether it's on the agenda, though!

 

I see from the website that the L&BR are advertising for an Honorary Secretary.
I can't help noting the ironic coincidence of it being April 1st

 

From what I know, this is not a joke. Failing health by both encombrates of the Trust and the CIC has made this become a priority. I am not sure if they are trying to get someone in position before all the work for the AGM needs to be done or not.

I think as time goes on, this role will need to become semi-professionalised, which in the long term will be a good thing. All that said, I do wish each of the current Co-sec's all the best for the future

 

Apply to be the Honorary Secretary
Published: 1st April, 2025




As part of the expansion of the Lynton & Barnstaple Railway’s activities and associated growth we are seeking a volunteer (unpaid) Honorary Secretary with responsibility across both the Trust and the Community Interest Company (CIC) which undertakes our operations.


As a critical function within the L&BR organisation the secretary’s role will include the following primary activities:

• Liaising with the chair, trustees and directors in arranging Trust and CIC meetings (predominantly online via Zoom / Teams with some face-to-face meetings at Woody Bay), agendas and papers, taking minutes and administration of such meetings and associated record keeping.
• Ensuring Trust and CIC awareness of its responsibilities in respect of the legal and regulatory requirements of the LB&R governing documents, charity law, company law, etc..
• Managing and facilitating the induction and training of new trustees and directors as and when required.
• Coordinating and organising other meetings as required, including joint meetings, AGMs and EGMs to timescales as per our Memorandum & Articles of Association.
• Ensuring compliance with charity regulations and governance standards.
• Maintaining the register of trustees, directors, and secretaries.
• Preparing and filing annual returns and other statutory documents with Companies House (and the charity regulator).

The following skills are considered essential for this role:

• An understanding of the heritage rail sector.
• Meticulous organisational skills.
• Diligent record keeping.
• Impartiality, objectivity and trustworthiness.
• Digital and IT proficient.
• Pro-active in planning for the future.

Should you have the skills and attributes described above we would welcome the submission of a short CV providing details of your professional background, including experience of similar activities and their associated outcomes together with references where possible.


Your CV, including your L&BR membership number, should be submitted to enquiries@lynton-rail.oc.uk by close of play Friday 25th April.

Late submissions will not be considered under any circumstances.

 

Long overdue. Not an easy job but it does have to be done properly.

 

I didn't notice this line originally,

But it seems like an odd addition. There is already a published deadline, and if the only suitable application isn't received until after that date, they will have to forgo a potentially ideal candidate willing to provide their services for free!

 

Yes, the wording of the advert seems a bit officious for a volunteer role, important though the role is.

 

On reflection, are they desperate for a suitable candidate to come forward, or is the situation that critical that it can't wait?

 

It is a very important (and necessary) role. The wording of the advert is a bit odd (I agree), reads formally (which is OK) but not quite right somehow. The job specification is quite rigid and I think they may well have difficulty filling it - unless they are prepared to compromise or have someone already in mind.

 

Can this not wait until after the AGM with a newly elected board of trustees?

 

Maybe it's a test to see how efficient the candidate is at keeping to a deadline ?

 

A good point. What if they appoint someone, only for some members of the incoming Board may prefer to have someone else for some reason?

 

That is what I was thinking. no mention of a trial period to see if you can do the job or not.
As it has been pointed out, this is a vital role, and if we were able to wait until after the AGM. I would suggest that we get a paid Co Sec from one of the many business support Companies for a while just to help us become more professional. There will be certain roles in the future that we can't leave to volunteers.

 

The NYMR are pretty good at doing this when seeking volunteers to do various jobs, as well. They need to realise that people volunteering are likely to be put off by such an approach. Much better and more likely to succeed if the request for someone to undertake the job was simply along the lines of ‘We are seeking someone to undertake the role of Company Secretary. If you feel you could help please contact XXX for a chat.’

 

Its a well written advert with an honest opinion on what is expect of a high profile roll , what's the issue with expecting potential candidates to be promopt and on time with applying martyn?

 

Very little, but there's a reasonable question about who is buyer and who is seller. I hope that the wording suggests that there's a candidate in mind, and the board wish to do a proper trawl before appointing; my fear is that it is (another) poorly judged piece of communication.

We don't know what the position is for the existing post holders, or whether there are factors meaning that replacement may be better not left to another time.

Given the (IMHO entirely justified) criticisms of the Co Secs in the past, I'm inclined towards a glass half full view, and be glad that the board are moving forward. We now need to hope that whoever come forward are of the calibre needed, and that a good appointment is made.

 

Nothing wrong with it at all - just that "under any circumstances" phrase at the end seems a little out of keeping with what is after all a volunteer (albeit very important) role. As has already been said, it is almost as if there is a suitable candidate already selected, so if that is the case, why not just appoint them? There is no need for a drawn-out selection process. I do hope somebody suitable and willing can be found quickly.

 

The Trust already spends over £4,000 on accountancy and bookkeeping (2023: £4,195) and that is on top of over £2,800 (2023: £2,779) at the CIC and £2,500 (8 months in 2023) for the L & B Blackmoor Co. - that's nearly £9,500 spent in 12 months on roles that, in my opinion after an accountancy career, could well be partially done in house with the right expertise or guidance, or could be carried out to some extent voluntarily. I did it for 5 years for the treasurer of a railway heritage group. Has it occurred to the Trustees to ask for volunteers to do this ? I was asked knowing what I did for a living - there was none of this job-application stuff. The Trustees should get out more. Exmoor Associates/Yeo Valley Trust works this way, why can't the Trust ? Before anyone asks me, I am an Octogenarian so I have retired from such activities (other than in a minor way for the bodies just mentioned). Certain roles, like the General Manager and the pub roles, clearly have to be paid ones, but surely we have to be practical when it comes to an organisation that relies on unpaid help to survive ? We must try and save paying people to do things in the same way as we do not pay Trustees (or Co. Secretaries), or all the income from visitors and members' subscriptions goes in costs.

 

I would be very wary going down that route: it is easy for organisations to grow the wage bill, much more difficult to shrink it. Read the NYMR thread for examples (and weep). And there are some concerns, justifiable in HR terms, about the subsequent difficulty of converting a formerly paid role back into a volunteer one.

The L&B is a small organisation, say £1m per year. One FTE, even on a fairly modest salary (for a skilled professional) of perhaps £30k-£35k per year probably costs you £50k with on-costs. Do you really want to create a paid role that immediately swallows up 5% of your annual budget? Undoubtedly there will be some roles for which a paid staff member is both inevitable and the correct thing to do, but you want to be really careful before you create such roles.

Tom

 

Certainly put me off! Well, that and being the wrong end of the country. They certainly aren't at the hub of the world down there. It exhibits a lack of empathy which is completely unnecessary, particularly for an unpaid position.
Almost as if they didn't want any applications?