Recruiting honorary officers

The election or appointment process for honorary officers is usually set out in a charity’s governing document. 

For example, some trustee boards appoint the chair of trustees from within the existing board membership; others require the chair to be elected by members at an Annual General Meeting. 

It is good practice to review the roles and duties of an honorary officer when there is a vacancy:

• the duties might have changed over time – for example, a charity might have grown rapidly and brought in paid finance staff, changing the role of the treasurer
• the role might have evolved to fit the skills of a previous office holder
• the procedures in the governing document might not meet the needs of the charity - for example, the term of office for the chair might be felt to be too short to allow an individual to settle into the role.

Some trustee brokerage services advertise vacancies to people from particular professional backgrounds. They might be attracted to an honorary officer role where specific skills are required – for example, the role of a treasurer.