Organisation : Amnesty International Australia
Location : Melbourne (Any Action Centre across Australia)
Time required : Board meetings held 6 times per year - 3 x two hours, 3 x day, plus approximately one day per week to participate on one or more board committees, which meet at least 5 x per year.
Duration of project : 3 years
Skill area : Board & Committee Members
Sector : Humanitarian, Indigenous
Application closing date : 31 Jan, 2025
About the role
The National Board of Amnesty International Australia is responsible for the leadership and governance of our organisation.
The Board’s six main functions are to:
- Promote and ensure the effective performance of the organisation
- Ensure effective stewardship of AIA’s governance standards: Board Charter (and Fact Sheets), Values and Behaviours Charter, Code of Conduct, and Member Undertaking
- Set and evaluate strategic priorities and objectives
- Monitor the organisation’s financial, ethical, legal and regulatory performance
- Appoint the National Director and hold them accountable for the organisation’s performance
- Liaise and provide leadership within the global Amnesty International movement.
The Board is governed by a Board Charter and its powers are detailed in the organisation’s Constitution.
Amnesty International Australia’s Innovate Reconciliation Action Plan embeds the National Board’s and the organisation’s commitment to broadening Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people’s representation within our movement and governance structures. To strengthen this commitment, the Board has identified the role of Non-Executive Director (First Nations) to join our governance leadership.
Key responsibilities of a Board Director are to contribute to collectively achieving each of the Board’s six main functions, including by:
- Contributing to AIA Board meetings and consensus decision-making
- Engaging with the work of National Board committees as required.
This volunteer position is for up to 3 years and is not remunerated. The successful applicant can be based anywhere in Australia as the meetings will be predominantly via videoconference and after normal business hours.
Board composition
The Board can have a maximum of nine directors who are identified and elected according to a set of capabilities, attributes and diversity as detailed in the AIA National Board Attributes Statement.
Seven directors are elected by the members at a General Meeting and up to two additional directors can be appointed by the Board. Currently the Board has 6 Directors including the current Chair.
Time commitment
The AIA Board meets six times a year, with three of those meetings being two hours, usually in the evening, and the other three being one-day long, usually on a Saturday. There may be other ad hoc short meetings to deal with particular issues. Meetings are generally held via videoconference.
Board directors are expected to participate in the work of one or more Board committees. Committees typically hold at least five meetings each year. In addition to this is the time spent engaging with papers tabled at each meeting.
The successful candidate will be able to demonstrate:
SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE
- Governance and/or management in a not-for-profit, community or other organisational context
- Collaborative decision-making and negotiation
- Strategic thinking, planning, implementation and evaluation
- Applied practical knowledge of corporate governance principles
- Financial literacy
ATTRIBUTES AND EXPERIENCE
- Excellent communication and interpersonal skills
- Impartiality and the ability to balance different perspectives
- Integrity and demonstrated ethical behaviour
- Understanding of and commitment to Amnesty International Australia’s mission, values, and strategic objectives
- Ability to dedicate time to the role as required
About the organisation
Amnesty International is an independent global movement campaigning for the human rights of all people, as set out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and related conventions and declarations.
As part of this global movement, Amnesty International Australia is committed to campaigning for an end to grave abuses of human rights and to raising awareness that respect for human rights improves people’s lives.
We are one of the largest not-for-profit organisations in the social justice sector in Australia. Our organisation comprises people who work alongside and on behalf of individuals and communities whose rights to justice, freedom, human dignity and equality are threatened, abused or at risk.
We are independent of any government, political ideology, economic interest or religion. This ensures that we can speak out on human rights abuses wherever they occur, and promote, defend and protect human rights for all.
How to apply
Please submit the following to nominations@amnesty.org.au
• A cover letter outlining your experience and attributes that you think would be relevant for the role, along with an explanation of why you are interested in this role
• A copy of your current resume.
For further information, please contact Kate Cooper, Nominations and Assessment Committee, kate.cooper@amnesty.org.au
Please quote in application: Non-Executive Director - First Nations via Pro Bono Australia.
