Join our Board of Trustees….We’re looking for new people to help us shape the future of Puppet Place, and are appointing new Trustees to our Board.

Who are we? 
Puppet Place is a hub for all things animated on stage and film in the UK. We share our passion for puppetry and animation with the wider public, and offer support to artists working with these forms. Our building in Bristol’s Harbourside is home to a community of practitioners who produce brilliant work in puppetry, animation and associated practices. We support the creative sector through residencies, networking, and training, whilst offering a range of public events, workshops and activities in Bristol and beyond, including the internationally recognised Bristol Festival of Puppetry.

Why do we have trustees and what do they do?
As a charity Puppet Place is governed by a Board of Trustees. Our Trustees volunteer their time to ensure that the charitable objectives are met, good governance is maintained and to drive our mission forward. Our current trustees are seeking additional trustees to join the team. We are seeking people with ideas, energy and a new perspective. At Puppet Place, we strive for transparency and for shared decision-making with our resident artists, associate artists and the wider community. This requires the ability to think strategically and to work collaboratively.

What’s in it for you? 
Being a trustee is an incredible way to develop new skills and experience around governance, leadership and decision making. As well as helping to broaden contacts and make a socially responsible contribution to the arts. 

It’s also an extremely exciting and challenging time to join Puppet Place. We need people keen to help shape our future; to realise the enormous potential held within the organisation. We want to develop the organisation’s resilience beyond a subsistence model. We want to build on our social capital to develop our business plan. This is the chance to play a fundamental role in taking an organisation to the next steps.

What kind of experience are you looking for? 
We are looking for people who can help Puppet Place Board, our Finance & Operations Manager and our community build their knowledge and skills in any of the following areas:

• Social investment
• Charity law
• Business management expertise
• Building management, particularly co-working spaces
• Fundraising, Charity giving and sponsorship
• Financial expertise
• HR expertise
• Being a freelance creative practitioner
• Marketing and branding
• Education & public engagement
• Leadership experience

We’d like you to have:

• Previous trustee or board member experience 
• An understanding of the vision and values of Puppet Place.
• A willingness to devote the necessary time and effort to their duties as a trustee 
• Excellent communication skills 
• Tact and diplomacy 
• An ability to work effectively as a member of a team 

We are eager to increase and enhance the skills and diversity of our Trustee Board and would welcome applications from people across our communities.