Operations Team

Terms Of Reference

A. Purpose

The Operations Team (OT) provides day-to-day co-ordination for Freegle Limited in line with the strategic direction, goals, and objectives of the Board of Directors.

B. Responsibilities

• The OT is responsible for drafting the Freegle annual work programme. Once drafted, the OT will submit it to the Freegle Board of Directors for approval.

• The OT is responsible for delivering and monitoring the progress of the approved annual Freegle work programme and its budgets.

• The OT is responsible for the work of any groups/teams set up to consider, make decisions on, and undertake any specific work. This responsibility includes ensuring that each group has clear terms of reference, agreeing on an annual work programme, monitoring progress on the delivery of the work programme, and ensuring that any difficulties/challenges faced by the groups/teams are considered and acted upon.

• The OT provides day-to-day direction and support for the functions and activities of the Chief Technical Officer, Director of Media, the Council officers and any other Freegle contractors/employees.

• The Directors of the Board are ultimately responsible for what they delegate to the OT, therefore they need a regular flow of reports, and alerts to any necessary deviations of plans. The OT Chair will report to each Board of Directors meeting.

C. Authority

The OT's authority derives from the Board of Directors, under its powers to delegate responsibilities outlined in Rule 64 of the Rules of Freegle Limited.

D. Membership

The OT membership consists of:

• Group 1. (Freegle Board Members)
  • 1. The Chair of The Freegle Board.
  • 2. Two other Freegle Limited Directors.

• Group 2 (Freegle Team volunteers)
  • 1. The Freegle Treasurer or their deputy.
  • 2. A representative from the Mentors Group.
  • 3. A representative from the New Groups Team.
  • 4. A representative from the Mailbox Team.
  • 5. A representative from the Spammer List Team.
  • 6. A representative from the Support Team.

If the appointed representative cannot attend a meeting, a deputy from the team may attend to represent the team.

• Group 3 (Freegle contractors)
  • 1. The Chief Technical Officer.
  • 2. The App Developer. (occasional attendance.
  • 3. The Director of Media.
  • 4. The Council Officers. (one of the two)

N.B. Representatives of other Freegle roles may attend ad hoc when an agenda item is relevant to their work.

E. Attendance at Meetings

• If for some reason a member cannot attend, please inform the Chair of the OT.

• Representatives of Freegle Teams can nominate a deputy from their team to attend in their absence. Please advise the Chair of the OT if you need to do this.

F. Information requirements

• The OT should ensure arrangements are in place to carry out its responsibilities effectively, including having information of appropriate form and quality.

• Each Freegle contractor and Freegle team volunteer representative has the responsibility to provide the Board and OT with the following items of information at least once every three months (or more often if requested by the Chair of the OT):

• A report of their or their Team's activities comparing their progress to the expectations outlined in the annual work plan.

• An explanation of the variations in the expenditure compared to the budget they are responsible for.

• Details of any staffing issues (i.e. does the Team have enough volunteers, their training requirements, recruitment issues etc.).

• Provide details of any risks and other issues needing attention.

G. Meetings

• Full meetings will be held monthly online, using Zoom, with an intermediate meeting with select members as operations require.

Meetings will be chaired by the nominee of Freegle Board of Directors; if they cannot be present, they will nominate a chair who can develop the agenda and circulate reports.

• The nominated Chair will develop the meeting agenda. The Chair should receive reports at least 72 hours before the meeting so that they can be circulated in time for members to read and review them.

• The Freegle Board will arrange for minutes to be taken.

Amendments, Variations or Modifications

The Board of Directors may amend, vary or modify these terms of reference in the light of operational needs.

Version 1.0 Approved by the Freegle Limited Board on the 5th February 2025.