Chair of the Craft Potters Association of Great Britain
The Craft Potters Association is looking for a new Chair. This is an unpaid position, although expenses are covered, and will ideally take over in late October at our AGM. A description of the key responsibilities can be found below. We exist to support our members, primarily through providing opportunities to bring work to market, and also to support the craft of ceramics in the UK as a whole.
Our current incumbent, Peter Snowden – a keen ceramicist with experience running a medium sized enterprise – is stepping down after three years. He is happy to talk to interested candidates.
ABOUT US
The Craft Potters Association is a co-operative of makers that has been representing the best makers in British studio ceramics since 1958, and today is the UK’s largest and most diverse ceramics community. With a membership well over 1,000, the CPA links a huge network of ceramists, collectors and enthusiasts from across the country. We are not for profit and owned by our members. We are financially independent and not reliant on any grants or external funding.
We run Contemporary Ceramics, our central London gallery opposite the British Museum, selling work by our members and mounting monthly exhibitions by top ceramicists. Founded in 1960, the gallery recently launched online sales.
Every two months we publish Ceramic Review magazine; the leading voice in international ceramics since 1970 with healthy subscriptions and a fast-rising online profile.
We run three major UK ceramic selling fairs, which have seen rapid rises in audiences over the past few years.
A summary of the duties and responsibilities of the Chair of Council for the Craft Potters Association
Overview
The Chair of the Council of the Craft Potters Association is responsible for three important functions.
1. To manage the Council’s activities effectively.
The role of the Council is defined in practice in its Rules of Association. In effect all members of the Council including the Chair are non-executive and so unconnected with the day-to-day management of the Association. However, while not directly conducting any executive roles, there are supervisory and support functions that the Chair or other Council members perform in support of executive functions through the Director. Council members are either elected by the members or co-opted by the current Council. As of 2023, the Treasurer and Chair are both co-opted.
2. To represent the interests of the members
The Chair should be impartial and independent from the day to day executive functions of the Association so that s/he can act in the interest of the Members. The Council should consider all significant changes in activity, and the Chair receives plans and proposals from
the Director and presents them to the board for approval. In particular the Chair should take interest in the strategic direction of the Association to ensure it is consistent with the interests of members.
3. To act as line manager to the Director of the association.
This is a standard line manager responsibility. In particular the support role is important. In a small organization it is always likely that expertise across all functions may not be complete and so the Chair should be prepared to advise and counsel the Director in functions and activities where he or she and his/her staff have less knowledge and experience.
PERSON SPECIFICATION
− It is not necessary to be a ceramic maker but you should have an interest in offering support to British ceramic art and craft through its main Association
− Sufficient free time to engage in the role for a day or two in total per month ideally for a three-year term.
− Experience in business management
− Ability to chair meetings efficiently
− A friendly and attentive team player who enjoys collaborating with others and contributing to the overall success of the organization
HOW TO APPLY
In the first instance please contact membership@craftpotters.com