Trustees Description

Who we are

Hope Survivors Foundation (HSF) is an independent charity established by survivors of the Rwandan genocide living in the UK with concert with their British friends and supporters with a view to empower survivors with psychosocial support, skills and opportunities to live a better life with dignity and hope.  HSF intends to contribute to building a world free of genocides and other crimes against humanity.

Our strategic plan and more information about our current projects can be accessed on our website at www.hope-survivors.org.uk.

How to apply

• Prospective applicants should read this document in conjunction with information about HSF available on our website www.hope-survivors.org.uk. The Director Jean Louis Mazimpaka, is also available for informal discussion, and may be contacted by telephone +44(0)79 4795 1114, or email info@hope-survivors.org.uk.

• To apply, please send a CV and a maximum 1 page letter to info@hope-survivors.org.uk or by post to HSF office.  Please mark correspondence as “confidential”.  E mail is preferred.

• Your letter should outline your interest in HSF, your motivation to become a Trustee, and with your CV it should demonstrate what you would contribute to the success of our organisation.

• Trustees should be based in the UK and committed to the ethos and values of HSF.

• Closing date is on 31^st December 2010.  Please understand that we will only be able to contact short-listed applicants.  We will aim to do this within 2 weeks after the closing date.

• We are committed to diversity and welcome applications from people of all backgrounds in society.

Our Board of Trustees

The Board of Trustees is the governance body of HSF. The trustees collectively ensure that HSF:

• Is strategic -  by developing a regularly reviewed framework of goals and objectives for the organisation that serves to achieve the charitable objects of the organisation;

• Is effective – by overseeing that relevant leadership, systems, skills and incentives are in place that enable the organisation to be well-run and focused in its delivery on its strategy;

• Acts with integrity and to standards of good practice – by ensuring that the organisation uses funds put at its disposal only in furtherance of the charity’s objects, does not abuse funds and trust placed in it, monitors and adjusts policy to evolving good practice benchmarks;

• Is sustainable – by ensuring the organisation is and remains solvent, uses funds reasonably without undue risk to the organisation;

• Complies with the law – by ensuring awareness of regulatory environment and regular reporting to regulators, financial auditing, and required taking legal and professional advice.

What we expect from our Board of Trustees

Every trustee should:

• Share our interest in accountability as a hallmark of effective governance at global and relevant national level, and share our commitment to empower survivors with psychosocial support, skills and opportunities to live a better life with dignity and hope, and to build a world free of genocides and other crimes against humanity;

• Contribute actively to the collective governance and strategic guidance of the charity with his/her skills, experience and network contacts to enable the charity to fulfil its potential;

• Adhere and contribute as required to the implementation of the charity’s organisational policies and procedures, including our information disclosure, trustees conflicts of interest, complaints handling and equal opportunities policies;

• Be open to a regular review process in which the Board collectively or on a peer to peer basis seeks to assess its strengths and weakness to improve its performances and effectiveness;

• Be willing and able to represent the charity, and support its strategy, projects and value to society, to external audiences including donors, political decision makers and members of the community of research and practice as agreed in discussion with the Board of Trustees, the Chair and the Director.

What are we looking for at this time?

At the present time we are therefore recruiting for up to three new Trustees. We are looking in particular for experienced individuals who are able to:

• work effectively and with mutual trust on all issues of governance with the other Trustees including the Chair, the treasurer and the Director;

• support volunteers in communicating effectively the cause and work of the Charity to our private and institutional donors;

• bring in additional expertise in one of the following areas: Trauma Counselling, Trusts and Foundations fundraising, Financial Planning, Strategic Planning, I.T, Marketing.

Trustee positions are unpaid, with reasonable expenses being reimbursed.  Trustees serve for a maximum of two terms, each term being three years.  Towards the end of its term a review of the preceding period is undertaken on a peer to peer basis.

Who else is involved in the work of the Organisation?

The greatest asset of HSF is its volunteers. We are expecting to hire a full time paid Director and are currently advertising for additional corporate fundraiser volunteer. Led by the Director the team of volunteers conducts the day to day work on projects, from development of ideas, networking with a wide range of contacts across the world, to practical fundraising, implementation and evaluation.