Chair and Trustees (6 roles) – British Sign Language Broadcasting Trust

Chair and Trustees (6 roles)
British Sign Language Broadcasting Trust
Voluntary positions

The British Sign Language Broadcasting Trust (BSLBT) commissions TV programmes made in British Sign Language, and distributes them on Film4, Together TV and Sky Video on Demand as well as on its own app and website. Established in 2008 to offer an alternative way for commercial broadcasters to meet their regulatory requirements to provide sign language on their channels, we became a charity in 2012. Today, we cover both drama and factual programming, including comedy, wildlife, cooking, children’s, and magazine shows, and our vision is that we ‘reach every BSL user with more BSL programmes that they love to watch.’ Our work is fully funded by more than 70 television channels which subscribe to us from commercial broadcasters both large and small, and we have ambitious plans to increase the range and depth of our output over the next three years.

Our board renewal cycle means that we now have a number of exciting opportunities to join the board. The BSLBT Memorandum and Articles stipulate that our board must comprise an equal number of Deaf and hearing Trustees: of five Trustee places which will become available during 2022, three are designated for Deaf candidates, and two for hearing. As part of this recruitment process, we further wish to appoint a Chair to succeed Tim Patterson (who was formerly a trustee and has been Chair since early 2020 ), and our strong preference is that a Deaf person holds this position.

The particular areas of expertise that we seek include programme commissioning, legal and / or commercial expertise; we would like at least one of the hearing candidates to come from a broadcasting or television production background. Some knowledge of our sector would be an advantage for all the roles, although it’s not a deal-breaker – we recognise that Deaf people are involved in a wide range of other creative and commercial activities and may well have gained the skillset that we are looking for by a different route.

We are committed to representing the whole of the Deaf community and to providing a range of programmes and voices that truly reflects the diversity of the community, the different lived experiences of those within it, and the ways in which different forms of exclusion can intersect. We want to see more Deaf Black and minority ethnic people involved throughout BSLBT, and also in the production companies and among the talent we work with. Applications from people whose perspectives are too often absent from Boards are warmly encouraged, and we positively welcome interest from Deaf people who use BSL and meet the criteria set out in the Person Specification.

If you are interested in joining us, please visit www.bslbt-trustees.co.uk where you will find candidate information in BSL as well as written English. Alternatively you can contact Cadence Partners on +44 020 7947 4960 or via bslbt-trustees@cadencepartners.co.uk A video relay interpreter service is available for an informal discussion if required.

Closing dates:

Hearing trustee applicants: 16 March 2022.
Deaf trustee applicants: 30 March 2022.
Chair applicants (both hearing and Deaf): 23 March 2022.