Seeking a Treasurer and a Trustee

Are you passionate about helping children develop a love of reading?

We are looking for a Treasurer with an accountancy background and Board level experience and a Trustee with fundraising and development experience to join our Board to support our small but mighty charity to bring the joy of reading to primary school children across the country.

Location: Online
Salary: Voluntary with reasonable expenses reimbursed
Deadline for applications: 31st October 2025

About Us:

The Children’s Bookshow is a national charity that inspires children with a love of books and reading through an annual programme of inspiring theatre and digital performances and engaging creative workshops. We showcase some of the best authors and illustrators of children’s books from around the world, and celebrate children’s literature in translation.

We are an Arts Council National Portfolio Organisation that has been running successfully for 23 years. Each year, we deliver 15 events in venues ranging from iconic theatres such as The Old Vic in London to community spaces and smaller scale theatres such as the New Wolsey in Ipswich, plus a programme of 60 creative workshops in primary schools. We target areas of high socio-economic deprivation, support environmental sustainability through our programme, and partner with local authorities, libraries and education providers. Every child who attends our theatre performances receives a free copy of the author’s book to take home and keep. This is integral to our offer - putting excellent books directly into the hands of children.

“Having Frank Cottrell-Boyce in for a free workshop really did make such a difference to our school and to our children. Frank was able to inspire every single child to write, no matter their need or ability, and children who would normally be reluctant to share their ideas in front of the class were confident to do so. Every single one of them went home talking non-stop about the amazing author they had met - with many now inspired to become authors. I can't put into words how grateful we are or how much of an impact those couple of hours have had on both the children and staff.”
Teacher, Winyates Primary, Peterborough 2024

The opportunities:

If you think you have the expertise and passion to support our work and help us to deliver the kind of impact and change experienced by Winyates Primary, then we would love to hear from you!

Thanks to successful fundraising The Children’s Bookshow is financially stable for the next two years. Iterative growth and continued financial sustainability are crucial for us to fulfill our aspirations for the future:

• Give more primary school children the invaluable experience of a live author event at a local theatre
• Enable children to work creatively with a world class artist in their own classroom
• Increase book ownership by putting a free book into the hands of every child who attends one of our performances

We are recruiting a Treasurer and a Trustee to join our Board of highly-skilled, committed and friendly Trustees to guide and support us in achieving these aims.

Both Roles:
Trustees share oversight of The Children’s Bookshow’s artistic programming, operations, fundraising and finances, to ensure good governance in compliance with our governing document and with UK charity and company law.

Time commitment: around 4-6 days per year.

Treasurer:
We are seeking a new Treasurer to ensure high standards of financial governance and decision-making, and to act as a key sounding board for the Co-Directors in the financial planning, management and reporting of our charity. This will include overseeing our annual budget and cashflow and quarterly management accounts, and advising on how best to invest our reserve fund.

We are looking for a qualified accountant with Board level experience with a UK charity and an interest in our work.

Trustee:
We are looking for a dedicated individual who has enthusiasm for our work as well as experience in fundraising and development in the UK charity sector, to advise on and support our longer-term strategic fundraising plans and assets (such as proposals and case studies).

A background in children’s literature, publishing or theatre would be an advantage, but not essential.

The Children’s Bookshow is committed to creating a collaborative Board of Trustees that is inclusive and representative of our society. We actively encourage applicants from diverse backgrounds and from all sections of society to apply.

Meetings:
There are typically four Board meetings a year lasting around an hour. Three of these meetings take place online and we endeavour to meet in person once a year in central London for a meeting followed by lunch. We welcome Trustees to attend our theatre performances and online events wherever possible to directly experience our work.

We also have a Finance and Operations Committee that occasionally meets online and reports to the Board, which Trustees are invited to opt into to share their expertise in specific areas such as Finance, Fundraising and Development.

How to apply

Please email your CV and a covering letter (each a maximum of 2 sides of A4) detailing your relevant expertise and experience for the role of Treasurer or Trustee, and why you would like to be part of The Children’s Bookshow. We look forward to hearing from you.

Email Kate Arafa, co-Director of The Children’s Bookshow: team@thechildrensbookshow.com