Incorporations Officer
National Spiritual Assembly
nsa@bahai.org.uk
10 March 2016
10 ‘Alá’ 172 B.E.
To all believers in the United Kingdom
Dearly loved Friends,
After almost a decade of service, the National Spiritual Assembly’s Incorporations Officer, Mrs. Gillian Berg, will shortly be leaving her post due to personal commitments. Her services have been deeply appreciated and we are sure that all Local Spiritual Assemblies who have benefited from her support and assistance will also wish to join us in thanking her.
The National Spiritual Assembly would like to invite those friends with an interest in serving in this capacity to apply for this role which is a voluntary one.
The Incorporations Officer’s role comprises two core tasks:
- To advise and assist the National Spiritual Assembly with its obligations under the Companies Act, as well its registrations with the Charity Commission and the Scottish Charity Regulator
- To advise, support and build the capacity of Local Spiritual Assemblies in managing their obligations under the Companies Act and with charity regulatory bodies.
The role can be undertaken remotely though it would be helpful – but not essential – to be able to attend the National Hazíratu’l-Quds occasionally. The work takes around half a day or a couple of evenings per week, and can be done flexibly though there are peak periods each year in December/January (for Charity Commission submissions) and in May (following the Ridván elections).
From time to time, the Incorporations Officer works with the various Offices and Departments at the National Haziratu’l-Quds including Secretariat, Services and Finance, but it is essentially a free-standing and independent role.
The most important requirements are to be well organised and systematic; to be comfortable in working with administrative matters; to be willing to properly document the processes involved; to be happily unflappable in dealing with the many and various queries that arise; and to be able to nurture capacity in the local Assemblies so that they can become self-sufficient eventually. Reliability and consistency are other qualities that are required. Whilst it would be helpful for the Incorporations Officer to have some knowledge of Company Secretarial duties, this is not essential.
The National Spiritual Assembly would be very pleased to hear from friends who are able to consider volunteering to serve in this way, and ideally are able to commit to serving a minimum of two years in this role.
If you would like to discuss any aspect of this role, do please contact the Coordinator of Services in the first instance, by email at services@bahai.org.uk or by calling the National Office.
With loving Bahá’í greetings,
Patrick O’Mara
Secretary