Vice-chair

The vice-chair is a trustee with a specific role on the board. The vice-chair is elected or appointed to this role as set out in the charity’s governing document.

The vice-chair’s role varies from charity to charity:

• In some charities the vice-chair acts as a deputy for the chair, taking on the chair’s role when the chair is absent
• In some charities, the vice-chair is the ‘chair in waiting’ or ‘chair designate’ and will take over the chair’s role in the future.

The vice-chair can only take on specific roles if they have been authorised to do so. This authorisation might be set out in the governing document or related procedure, or agreed by the other trustees in a role description or some other document.