The charity is looking for a Trustee to guide the organisation and partners in India through a potentially challenging period by supporting with risk mitigation and organisational leadership.
What difference will you make?
This role will support Educate for Life through a challenging period of transition, to support those we work with in rural Southern Rajasthan. We currently have six Trustees on our board and one part-time (1 day/week) member of staff. Our team are all passionate, knowledgeable and skilled individuals in their area of expertise and we continue to have a positive impact despite the organisation's relatively small size. Our work currently extends across three panchayats (local councils) serving over 2,500 households and a population of approximately 13,000 people. We work in partnership with an Indian organisation to implement the programmes, who bring considerable energy, ideas, expertise and a strong desire to bring about long-term change in the community. This role will ensure that the pregnant people, young children, secondary school students, and wider community that we work with are supported in a meaningful way through change events. You can find more information in the role profile. We welcome any questions and would be happy to have a call with anyone interested in the role.
What are we looking for?
* We are looking for someone with experience navigating disasters or periods of considerable change, particularly in an international setting. You will bring practical knowledge, skills, and tools to support EFL and partners. You will have experience in risk management and mitigation which you will bring to improve current risk management tools. This role requires someone who is self-motivated to lead this area of work. You will be friendly, confident and diplomatic. This is a sensitive role working through an emotional and challenging time, you will need to be able to communicate clearly, effectively and compassionately. You will be excited about working for a small international development organisation. Ideally, you will feel able to commit to a trustee role for a couple of years. Favourable attributes of board members Leadership skills Confident contributor to meetings Experience of committees and teamwork Value consensual decision making and demonstrate impartiality and fairness Possess tact, diplomacy, and excellent interpersonal skills Respect confidences, differences of opinion, and confidential information Have knowledge and understanding of the type of work undertaken by Educate for Life and a wider involvement with the voluntary sector and / or other relevant networks Confident to represent the charity Computer literate
What will you be doing?
Educate for Life's aim is to support community-led, long-term socio-economic transformation of indigenous Adivasi communities in Southern Rajasthan, India. We have two main areas of work 1) strengthening the provision of education to improve life skills for children and young people 2) providing community health programmes to support healthy pregnancies and childhoods. The charity requires an additional trustee to support the organisation and our partners as we navigate a potentially challenging period 1) Construction of a dam, which would submerge our entire project area and forcibly displace the communities we serve, has been approved. Leadership and expertise are required to support planning and navigation of changes in relation to this over time. 2) While we pride ourselves on the consistency of our provision and how we have navigated change over years, currently our leadership capacity to mitigate risks and support the organisation through rare and episodic organisational or operational challenges (e.g. team composition changes, safeguarding events, public health events etc.) is constrained. We require a trustee with capacity and the person attributes to support organisational leadership during such events if and when they arise. Alongside general Trustee duties, key responsibilities of this role include
* Providing leadership and guidance for EFL and our partners in India to navigate and plan for the changes that the dam construction will bring.
* Reviewing and advising on tools for monitoring and navigating organisational risk and supporting the board and leadership team in strategic decision-making during change events.
* Reporting to Trustees in meetings or at other times when appropriate on risks, progress on planning, and advised actions.
* Bringing knowledge and expertise on disaster risk mitigation and change management, providing challenge and scrutiny when appropriate.
* Attending meetings with partners during periods of significant change to review planning and strategy and to advise on action plans. If leading on this area of work sounds like something that you have the skills, time and energy to dedicate to, we would love to hear from you.