Board Member with Legal/Governance experience

The Organisation 

Leopardstown Park Hospital Trust was formed in 1917 to cater for injured soldiers returning from The Great War.  The British government was responsible for running the care facilities until 1979, when the Irish state took on those responsibilities.  Veterans and their spouses continue to have priority of access to admission to the facilities. 

Due to various compulsory purchase orders of its land for the M50 Motorway and LUAS, the Board of Trustees has a modest investment fund.  This fund is used to support veterans of the British Armed Forces living in Ireland, who are injured or made ill as a result of their military service.  The Trustees recently extended this to cover veterans who more broadly may be suffering from ill-health. In 2017, reflecting the centenary, the Trust amended its deeds to provide support to veterans of the Irish Defence Forces. 

Leopardstown Park Hospital Trust mostly works through other organisations who can help veterans directly, and through other projects. 

The Trust also has a relationship with Leopardstown Park Hospital itself. The Trust owns the land and buildings but the hospital's Board of Management runs the facilities. 

The Trust is supporting the HSE to provide a new hospital in Leopardstown Park by gifting some of its land.  The process of transferring the land is at an advanced stage and will require the approval of the Charities Regulator.  Once this has been achieved the Trust intends to seek approval from the local authority for the rezoning of the remaining land for residential development so as to allow its sale to a private developer.  The proceeds of the sale would enable the Trust to continue its support for veterans.  This process will require careful management by the Trust in the short to medium term. 

For more information: lphtrust.org 

Current board members are: 

Larry Walsh, Chair 

Jimmy Duggan 

Peter Davies 

Joy Guthrie 

Philip Hamell 

Oonagh Maher 

Michael Murdoch 

The Role: 

Leopardstown Park Hospital Trust is seeking a Legal Board Member to join the board.   

Role requirements and key responsibilities include: 

• Legal Expertise:  The Legal Board Member will have a successful senior level background in law and governance and will assist on legal aspects of the organisation and pertaining to best practice. 

• Governance and Compliance Leadership: as a member of the board, the new board member will offer and advise on best practice in governance.  The board member will have a collective responsibility for adhering to the highest standards of corporate governance and leadership and for contributing to the development of a governance review of the Trust. 

• Strategy: participate in and contribute to the development of a strategy for the most effective management of the Trust’s funds for the support of veterans in the future. 

• Board Experience: While prior board experience is not necessary, experience of interacting at board level would be an advantage.   

Skills and experience required: 

• Legal Qualification:  
  The new board member should be a qualified lawyer having worked at a senior level.   

• Governance: a governance qualification would be an advantage. 

• Communication Skills: be required to engage effectively stakeholders and fellow board members. 

• Time Availability: The candidate must be able to dedicate sufficient time for board and committee meetings and any specific follow-on tasks arising from them. 

• Strategic Thinking: The successful candidate should demonstrate the ability to think strategically. 

Charities Regulator’s General Duties of a Charity Trustee 

• Comply with the charity’s governing document. 

• Ensure the charity is complying with its charitable purpose for the public benefit. 

• Act in the best interest of the charity 

• Act with reasonable care and skill 

• Manage the assets of your charity. 

Board Meeting: 

There are four board meetings a year, two are held in person, two are online via Zoom. Meetings usually take place in March, June, September and December. In person meetings take place in Leopardstown Park Hospital and run 4 to 6 hours over two days, commencing in the afternoon of the first day and resuming the following morning. They usually finish before lunch on the second day. This is to facilitate board members who travel to meetings. Online meetings typically last 3 hours and take place in the morning.  

There are two subcommittees, one of which deals with support groups for veterans based in the Republic of Ireland, the other deals with support groups for veterans based in Northern Ireland. There are no specific dates for subcommittee meetings who meet on a needs’ basis.  

Trustees with specific responsibilities, such as finance, are expected to pursue any outstanding Trust business between scheduled meetings, the time commitment for this varies in accordance with what is required at the time.