Charity Trustee

About us
Friends of Ibba Girls' School (FIGS) is a UK charity which exists to support the development of a community residential school for girls in South Sudan - Ibba Girls' Boarding School (IGBS). South Sudan is one of the toughest places in the world for a girl to go to school. Few girls complete primary education, let alone secondary studies and it is sad reality that a South Sudanese woman is more likely to die in childbirth than to complete her education. IGBS provides both primary and secondary education for girls, regardless of their family background or income, with a catchment area that covers the whole of the country's Western Equatoria State.
The aims of FIGS are to fundraise to support IGBS and to work towards the school's sustainability within South Sudan in the longer term. UK trustees provide professional support and advice to the school's South Sudanese leadership, governors, and trustees through a collaborative partnership approach to working in support of the vision and principles of the school.
About the Roles
We are looking for three new trustees to join our team, including a treasurer, a fundraising lead, and a further trustee whose skills and experience will contribute to the charity's purposes and aims. We are keen to recruit trustees from diverse backgrounds, including those from the South Sudanese diaspora or with a South Sudanese heritage.
Applications
Please submit your CV along with a brief supporting statement (maximum 750 words, explaining why you are interested in the role and what skills you believe you could bring to the charity) to our Chair David Lewis via david.lewis@friendsofibba.org by 1pm 1st July 2022. Your statement should specify whether you are interested in the Fundraising Lead or Honorary Treasurer roles. Interviews will take place by video conference in the weeks beginning the 4th and 11th July 2022.
If you are interested in finding out more, you can get in touch with our David to arrange an initial and informal discussion before you apply. You can also find more on our website: https://www.friendsofibba.org/news/recruiting-three-new-figs-trustees
Role Descriptions
General Responsibilities:

• Attend the six trustees' meetings each year, including reading through papers in advance.
• To be responsible, with the other trustees and under the leadership of the Chair, for maintaining the charitable aims and sound financial management of the charity.
• Ensure that FIGS and IGBS operate within the tight financial parameters and that procedures are followed.
• To promote the vision and activities of the charity, raising awareness and encouraging a wide group of supporters and donors.
• There are no faith requirements for the roles, but FIGS trustees are expected to have empathy with the school's commitment to core Christian values and being actively welcoming to people of all faiths and none.

Fundraising Lead responsibilities:

• To lead, review, shape and implement the overall fundraising strategy of the charity, and to identify priority next steps.
• To be able to express the fundraising aims and needs clearly and persuasively in written, conversational, and public settings.
• To oversee fundraising contractors, leading in vision and direction.
• To improve the fundraising skillset among the FIGS trustees, volunteers, and fundraising contractors
• To review and green-light fundraising materials, applications and communications [in coordination with the Communications trustee].
• To provide regular fundraising reports to the trustees.
• To foster an organisational culture where everyone contributes to raising awareness and funds for FIGS.
• To help to grow the charity's reach and develop connections with new networks.
• In coordination with the fundraising team, to strengthen relationships with potential major donors and grant funders.
• To act as the lead relational contact for a proportion of the major donors.

Treasurer responsibilities:

• To take the lead on financial matters for the trustees, including providing strategic financial advice to the trustees
• To work with the Senior Finance Manager at IGBS to ensure that there is an agreed annual budget for the school and to ensure regular payments to the school based on that budget.
• To draft the annual FIGS budget for consideration by trustees, and to plan for longer term budget items in advance.
• To coordinate with the fundraising team to plan and calibrate funding priorities and applications to financial priorities over a 6-to-24-month horizon. This includes obtaining quotes and accurate cost estimations.
• To coordinate with the fundraising team to ensure that donors are given receipts (when requested) and appropriately thanked.
• Either to oversee the bookkeeper and ensure that appropriate financial records are kept, or to undertake bookkeeping each month and ensure that appropriate financial records are kept.
• To pay suppliers and bills in good time and to oversee budget holders.
• To approve submission of Gift Aid claims to HM Revenue and Customs
• To produce regular management accounts for the trustees' meetings.
• To be responsible for the Annual Report to the Charity Commission which includes the annual accounts, including a written financial report, for independent examination and subsequent approval by trustees.
• To liaise with the Independent Examiner.
• To submit approved statements of account to the Charity Commission and Companies House.

Person Specifications
We are looking for trustees with compassion, vision and drive, who will be able to promote the charity to a broad range of stakeholders and expand the financial and practical support. The following attributes are therefore desirable:

Experience:

• Prior experience of trusteeship or a willingness to learn as part of the team.
• A working knowledge of international development, particularly education in sub-Saharan Africa.
• Experience of strategic planning, operational planning, and resource management.
• Experience of fundraising.
• Working with the press and media and an understanding of social media.

Skill and abilities:

• The ability to articulate the compelling strategic vision for FIGS and IGBS, and to work with the South Sudan trustees to align UK and South Sudan perspectives.
• Ability to undertake strategic thinking and action to address complex challenges in both the UK and in South Sudan.
• Ability to think strategically about fundraising and to work with a wide range of stakeholders in UK and South Sudan to raise funds for the long-term development of the school.
• Understanding of financial planning and management, and other resource management.
• Excellent communication skills (both verbally and in writing) with the confidence to engage a wide range of audiences.
• The ability to create alignment between stakeholders, build coalitions and negotiate.
• Excellent decision-making, problem-spotting and -solving abilities, including evidence of having dealt successfully with a range of challenges.

Personal attributes:

• Able to act as a motivational ambassador and professional advocate for the UK Trustees and the School, with strong personal credibility and the capacity to build relationships with a wide range of people from a local to global level.
• Excellent interpersonal skills arising from the ability to utilise active listening and an innate curiosity about people from a range of cultures and backgrounds.
• Pro-active in reaching out to people and the ability to network effectively.
• Empathy with South Sudanese society, having the tact, diplomacy and political judgement to manage a wide range of stakeholders.
• Excellent judgement, integrity, and sense of fairness, with the ability to handle disputes with tact and diplomacy and to deliver tough messages when required.