Looking for a unique business challenge that puts your leadership skills to the test while gaining non-executive (NED) board-style experience?  

Be the Business is looking for confident senior leaders and aspiring non-execs willing to contribute to a volunteer programme designed to help SMEs tackle the most pressing business problems and improve their leadership capabilities.

Be the Business is an independent charity that inspires greater productivity, by connecting small business leaders to the expertise needed to answer today’s challenges.

As a volunteer you will make a difference to communities across the UK. By helping small and medium-sized businesses to improve their productivity, we will transform the UK’s productivity, raise the value of businesses across the country, safeguard jobs and improve standards of living.  Small business leaders on our new pilot – The Productivity Programme – receive non-executive style support from volunteer advisory board members enabling them to benefit from an advisory board of their own.

As a volunteer advisory board member, you’ll work collaboratively with your fellow board members to support two different business leaders to unlock the potential of their respective businesses. We ask you to commit to 12 hours over one year.   Working in two 6 month terms, you and your board colleagues will meet with each business leader, online, four times providing effective questioning, insight, and support. In addition, one of the board members will have the opportunity to provide two additional one-on-one sessions with the business leader to provide extra support.

You will be supported by a dedicated board administrator who will provide all the support you need for scheduling, pre-reading, sharing documents and taking actions.

What’s in it for you? 

You’ll have the opportunity to demonstrate your skills as a senior leader and build your CV in a non-executive director (NED) style environment. You’ll grow your professional network and enhance your skills and knowledge of sectors and business challenges that you may not have previously been exposed to.

In recent feedback from current volunteers, benefits of supporting Be the Business programmes include:

• Improved knowledge and understanding of different industries, sectors and SME needs
• Improved professional skills
• A feeling of having made a positive contribution

You’ll also have access to the Be the Business volunteer offer, including our deep dives into industry insights and research, as well as networking, skills development and learning events held throughout the year.

Evidence from Be the Business suggests that by finding and maintaining an annual one per cent improvement over a five year period, an average SME employer (1-249 employees) with a turnover of £1.3m, would increase their turnover by over £65,000.