Appointment Brief
Trustee Recruitment Concern Worldwide (UK)
December 2013
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Letter from Tom Levitt, Chair, Concern Worldwide UK
Dear Sir/Madam, Thank you for your interest in becoming a trustee of the Board of Concern Worldwide (UK). Concern Worldwide, the global organisation, was founded in 1968 in response to the devastating famine in war torn Biafra. In 2004, the UK operation was formally established, bringing together offices in Belfast and Glasgow with a base in London. Concern Worldwide (UK) is an integral part of Concern Worldwide, providing a vital link between UK humanitarian and development actors and the organisation’s country programmes. Concern Worldwide (UK) does not directly implement programmes overseas but supports Concern Worldwide to do so. Concern Worldwide is committed to achieving real change in the most difficult countries in the world. To contribute to this ambition, Concern Worldwide (UK) has developed an inspiring and ambitious strategy (2011-15) to significantly grow our organisation. Concern Worldwide (UK) is particularly focused on tackling hunger and malnutrition through influencing UK governmental policy, raising the profile and engaging with the public on these policy issues, and raising funds from the public and institutional donors to deliver programmes which alleviate hunger and extreme poverty. Over the past two years, Concern Worldwide (UK) has refreshed its brand and repositioned itself in the UK market as a leading voice in relation to hunger. Concern Worldwide (UK) is a member of the Disaster Emergencies Committee and supports the global organisation to respond to humanitarian crises. Concern Worldwide (UK) has a strong team who are taking the organisation forward to an expansive future, building links within the policy, campaign, humanitarian and development sectors. Trustees should have an interest or background in international development and, through strong strategic vision and leadership, will work with Concern’s (UK) management team to achieve its ambitions. If you believe that hunger affects everything for the world’s poorest people and want to use your talents and skills to help poor communities set themselves free from hunger, we’re keen to hear from you. Tom Levitt Chair Concern Worldwide (UK)
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Concern Worldwide (UK)’s identity, vision, mission and values Our identity – who we are: Concern Worldwide (UK) is a non-governmental, international, humanitarian organisation dedicated to the reduction of suffering and working towards the ultimate elimination of extreme poverty in the world’s poorest countries.
Our vision – for change: A world where no one lives in poverty, fear or oppression; where all have access to a decent standard of living and the opportunities and choices essential to a long, healthy and creative life; a world where everyone is treated with dignity and respect.
Our mission – what we do: Our mission is to help people living in extreme poverty achieve major improvements in their lives which last and spread without on-going external support. Concern Worldwide (UK)’s core values derive from a single central value: Extreme poverty must be targeted. • • • • • • • • •
Respect for people comes first Gender equality is a prerequisite for development Development is a process, not a gift Greater participation leads to greater commitment All governments have responsibility for poverty elimination Emergencies call for rapid response Democracy accelerates development The environment must be respected Good stewardship ensures trust
Concern Worldwide tackles hunger and transforms lives across the world. In 2012 we helped almost 24 million people in 26 countries. Concern Worldwide (UK) contributed funds to operations in 25 of these countries: Afghanistan Bangladesh
Kenya Democratic People’s Republic of Korea Liberia Malawi Mozambique Niger
Burundi Cambodia Chad Democratic Republic of Congo Ethiopia Pakistan Haiti Republic of Sudan In 2013 we also responded to emergencies in Syria/Lebanon and Philippines
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Rwanda Sierra Leone Somalia South Sudan Tanzania Uganda Zambia Zimbabwe
Case studies of Concern Worldwide's work: Providing alternative livelihoods for pastoralists in Kenya: Buke’s story Buke and her neighbours are traditionally pastoralists but, having lost their livestock to drought, many were finding it hard to make ends meet. As a widow with four children of her own and four of her brother’s children to support, Buke was struggling. “Before I started working on the farm I was selling charcoal and not making more than 50 shillings a day, not enough to feed the family.” To boost local people’s resources and protect them from future droughts, Concern and its partner agency worked with the community to create a farm and install a micro-irrigation system. Buke was given a plot of land on the community’s farm and training to ensure she could get the most out of her land. She says, “I’ve now been able to grow kale and onions which I’ve sold and also used to cook for the children. Now there hasn’t been a night when any of the children go to bed hungry like they used to.” Buke is looking to the future with hope and strength. Being involved in the project has increased her confidence and her standing in the community. “When you’re a widow people look down on you and don’t speak to you much, but that has changed completely. Now that people see how well I’m doing they want to know me and know what they can do to change their lives too.” “I feel rich in my own way with my farm.”
Transforming agriculture in Tanzania Concern Worldwide has been working in Tanzania’s Iringa District for over 30 years where farmers like Khalifan Khamis, pictured, have seen tremendous changes over the years. Hunger used to stalk the region and most people faced a yearly “hunger gap” – a period with very little food between harvests. Khalifan remembers how hard life was before. His main crop was drought resistant sorghum, which barely nourished his family and didn’t bring in much income. Each year his family faced food shortages. Concern has helped local farmers produce more food and now things are very different. A canal irrigates 300 farms. Schools for farmers and semi-professional trainers pass on new skills and sharing better farming techniques, while a recently installed rice processing machine adds value to people’s produce and boosts their income. Today Khalifan grows rice and uses newly learnt techniques to produce a surplus to sell. With this extra income Khalifan is able to send all his children to school.
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Role Description Trustee for Concern Worldwide (UK) Position:
Trustee
Location:
Battersea, London.
Works with: The trustee board has a maximum of 16 trustees; two of them represent our parent body, Concern Worldwide, based in Dublin, whilst the remainder are selected by trustees. There is one standing sub-committee, the Audit and Finance Committee, and other committees are established for defined timeframes for specific projects/tasks as and when required Background: Concern Worldwide (UK) is an international humanitarian organisation specialising in tackling hunger with the most vulnerable people in the world’s poorest places. Concern Worldwide, the global organisation, was founded in 1968 in response to the devastating famine in war torn Biafra. In 2004, a UK operation was formally established, bringing together offices in Belfast and Glasgow with a base in London. Concern Worldwide (UK) is an integral part of Concern Worldwide, providing a vital link between UK humanitarian and development actors and the organisation’s country programmes. The UK fundraising is crucial to the worldwide organisation, tapping into a wider marketplace to bring in 24% of Concern Worldwide’s global income. Key responsibilities: Concern Worldwide (UK) is a company limited by guarantee and all of the trustees are also full directors of Concern Worldwide (UK) for company law purposes. The company is registered as a charity with the Charity Commission for England and Wales (Charity Number 1092236). Trustees are expected to perform a number of duties, as outlined below, as part of their service to Concern Worldwide (UK). Our aim is that the skills of trustees collectively are appropriate to all aspects of our work. Individual trustees are particularly encouraged to engage with the organisation in their field of interest and expertise. •
ensure the charity acts within the law and all the regulatory requirements and complies with the requirements of good corporate governance
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attend and contribute responsibly to quarterly Board Meetings and appropriate Board Committees both according to individual Members’ experience and expertise, and more generally
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remain informed about and interested in the work of the organisation
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be available to give advice, support and encouragement to the Executive Director, senior management and staff, according to individual Members’ experience and expertise
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foster good relations with members of the staff of the office
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take appropriate opportunities for advocacy, raising funds, representation and promotion of Concern
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review organisational performance including that of the board and senior management team
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act with integrity and in the best interests of Concern avoiding any possible conflicts of interest
For more information on the roles and responsibilities of a trustee please refer to the charity commission guidance using this link: http://www.charitycommission.gov.uk/detailed-guidance/trustees-staff-and-volunteers/theessential-trustee-what-you-need-to-know-cc3
Person specification: These appointments require a variety of skills and a strong interest in international development, as well as the principles and practice of good governance. You will have a proven track record of success in your area of expertise, along with strong leadership skills. Crucially, you will be a team-player with excellent communication and interpersonal skills as well as unimpeachable integrity. Ultimately, it is important that you believe that Concern Worldwide (UK) is an organisation that you can identify with and actively promote and support. In particular, we are keen to recruit several highly networked individuals who are willing to use their networks to raise funds and the profile of Concern Worldwide (UK). We are also looking for trustees who have expertise in the following areas: • • •
international development policy and advocacy digital media
Concern Worldwide (UK) is keen to achieve greater diversity among our board of trustees so we welcome applications from all sections of the community. In particular we would like the board of Concern Worldwide (UK) to have a greater representation of females and individuals originating from developing countries. Terms of appointment •
Appointed trustees will commence in spring 2014.
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Trustees can serve for up to 9 years, with provisions for trustees to retire by rotation every three years. A field trip would ideally be undertaken at least once, though this is not mandatory.
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Board membership is not a remunerated position. However, expenses necessarily incurred in performing Board duties, will be borne by Concern.
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Board and Committee meetings are normally held in central London. Trustees should be available to attend meetings 4-5 times a year plus a Trustee Away Days meeting (Friday and Saturday) once a year.
To register your interest: To register your interest in becoming a trustee for Concern Worldwide (UK) please email a letter of motivation stating the skills and approach that you would bring to the post along with your CV to ruth.odonohoe@concern.net by closing date January 5th, 2014.
All emails will be personally acknowledged. The selection process is expected to take place in January 2014. In considering all applications and the appointment of Trustees, Concern Worldwide (UK) is bound to observe and comply with all applicable legislation and regulation, including but not limited to the Charities Act 2011, the Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986, and the Insolvency Act 1986.
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Code of Conduct and a Programme Participant Protection Policy Concern has a Concern Code of Conduct and a Programme Participant Protection Policy which have been developed to ensure the maximum protection of programme participants from exploitation and to clarify the responsibilities of Concern staff, consultants, visitors to the programme and partner organization, and the standards of behaviour expected of them. In this context staff have a responsibility to the organization to strive for, and maintain, the highest standards in the day-to-day conduct in their workplace in accordance with Concern’s core values and mission. Any candidate offered a job with Concern Worldwide will be expected to sign the Programme Participant Protection Policy and the Concern Staff Code of Conduct as an appendix to their contract of employment. By signing the Programme Participant Protection Policy and the Concern Staff Code of Conduct candidates acknowledge that they have understood the contents of both the Concern Staff Code of Conduct and the Programme Participant Protection and agree to conduct themselves in accordance with the provisions of these two documents. Concern receives a substantial amount of funding from external donors each year. Increasingly donors are introducing requirements whereby future funding is conditional on Concern ensuring that the names of any new employee or volunteer do not appear on terrorism lists generated by the European Union (List of person, groups and entities to which Regulation (EC No. 2580/2001 applies), the US Government (Office of Foreign Assets Control list of specially designated Nationals and Blocked Persons) and the United Nations (Consolidated List). Any offer of employment (either paid or voluntary) with Concern Worldwide will not be made pending a clearance check being conducted on the applicant. For additional information please consult our web site or contact the Human Resource Division in our Head Office. By submitting a formal application for paid or voluntary employment or for appointment as a Trustee to Concern, you agree to Concern carrying out a clearance check as outlined above and that Concern will not proceed to recruit you should your name appear on any of the aforementioned list.
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