Chair of the Board of Trustees

Salary: Expenses paid

The Independent Cinema Office (ICO) is recruiting for a new Chair of the Board of Trustees.

The Independent Cinema Office (ICO) is the UK’s national support body for independent cinemas, film festivals and exhibitors. We believe passionately that everyone should have access to cinema that nourishes the soul and changes lives. We are looking for a Chair of the Board of Trustees who shares that passion.

Your previous governance experience will help shape the ICO’s future, working with the Board of Trustees and CEO Catharine Des Forges to ensure the organisation is strategically equipped to deliver its mission. 

Chairing the ICO Board is a great opportunity for a dynamic individual to support the vital work we do in delivering world-class exhibition training, audience development, equitable access to culture, support for new filmmaking talent and advocacy for the independent film sector nationwide. 

We welcome applications from a wide variety of professional backgrounds, be it film, media, business or government. 

Most of our meetings are held on Zoom, with the occasional in-person meeting in London.

We are open to a co-chairing model for this position.

Find out more

We are holding two open Q&A sessions on Zoom in which you will be able meet ICO Director Catharine Des Forges and the current Chair of the Board, Dorothy Wilson to find out more about the organisation and what the role entails.

You don’t have to attend these sessions to apply, but they may be useful to you. Feel free to ask us anything and find out more about the role and what we do!

If you would like to join, click the relevant link below to register and receive a Zoom joining link. If you register but are unable to make your session, you’ll be sent a recording afterwards.

• 12:30pm, Thursday 27 March (Register here)
• 5:30pm, Tuesday 1 April (Register here)

If you would like to have an informal chat with Dorothy separate to these sessions, email us at: info@independentcinemaoffice.org.uk

Full details 

Please download and read through our full Job Pack which includes the job description, person specification and a background to the ICO and our work.

Applications

To apply, please email your CV and a cover letter explaining why you would like to join the Board and the qualities and skills you feel you can bring to the ICO and the role of Chair to: info@independentcinemaoffice.org.uk

If you prefer, you can submit a video rather than a cover letter. If so, please send us a downloadable file (MP4, MOV or AVI) or a viewing link. Videos should be no longer than three minutes.

In your email, please state where you found out about this role.

Equality & Diversity Monitoring

We also request that you submit a completed Equality and Diversity Monitoring Form:

We are committed to offering equal opportunity to all and tackling underrepresentation in our sector. We request that you complete this form as it helps us monitor our efforts towards achieving an inclusive and diverse workforce.

This form will not be included in the information sent to the recruitment panel and the data recorded will be anonymised within the scope of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

The closing date for this position is 19/05/2025 at 10:00