Chair of Supervisory Board

About the War Child Alliance

The War Child Alliance was formed in 2023. It brought together the five War Child fundraising members (in the Netherlands, UK, Germany and Sweden, plus Children in Conflict in the US) and 14 programme members based in and around conflict-affected areas across the world. The resulting Alliance integrated programme activities under one umbrella – all with the aim to multiply our impact for conflict-affected children. Inevitably there have been challenges along the road, which have required the Board’s attention. The Alliance is now entering a critical phase of its development, where strengthening shared governance across member organisations, deepening equitable partner models, and ensuring clarity of roles between Alliance and member entities will be central to delivering impact at scale.

The International Supervisory Board of the War Child Alliance (WCA) is the governance body for the organisation which manages War Child’s programme. The Supervisory Board is ultimately responsible for the War Child Alliance’s strategy, compliance with the law and sound financial management. The Trustees (currently eight in number) serve on a voluntary basis and meet four times a year – twice in person and twice online. There may be additional Board Meetings too when specific needs arise. There are also two sub-committees of the Supervisory Board – the Audit and Risk Committee (the ARC which covers financial and risk issues) and the Impact Committee (which covers programmatic issues), at least one of which the Chair would attend.

Main Purpose of Role

The Chair should provide effective, values-led leadership of the Supervisory Board, working with the Vice Chair and other Board Members to ensure strong oversight of strategy, performance, risk, integrity and accountability. The Board should enable the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and the International Management Team (IMT) to deliver War Child’s mission in line with the agreed strategy and policies and in line with relevant legislation and regulation

Strategy and Governance

• Lead the Supervisory Board in its strategic oversight role, ensuring that decision-making processes are robust and inclusive.
• Oversee the development and approval of WCA’s strategy, policies and annual plans and reports.
• Ensure the Board functions effectively in terms of its composition, succession planning, onboarding.
• Ensure that all Board Members are involved in major decisions, with the Vice Chair playing an accompanying role to the Chair so as to be able to stand in if necessary.
• Ensure the effective functioning of the ARC and Impact Committees and ensure that their outputs feed into Board discussion and decisions as appropriate.
• Ensure the Board’s own functioning is reviewed annually, alternating between self-evaluations and external assessments.
• Ensure that the Agreement covering the Alliance (and associated documents) are kept under review and updated as necessary.

Financial and Risk Management

• Ensure (with ARC and Board involvement) a sound financial overview of the WCA
• Ensure the setting of budgets in line with plans and timely accurate financial reporting and forecasting.
• Oversee high standards of financial management, including the appointment of an effective external auditor.
• Ensure effective oversight of risks and audits, including compliance, security, safeguarding and reputational risks

Managing Board Meetings

• Set the agendas for Board meetings in consultation with the CEO , identifying priority areas for discussion and ensuring the preparation of high-quality, brief documents that lead to clear decisions that can be followed up.
• Chairing Supervisory Board Meetings in a participatory manner, while ensuring they result in clear and timely decisions.
• Ensure that Board Meetings are properly recorded with responsibilities for follow up on agreed actions clearly documented. Follow up on decisions to ensure they are implemented.

Oversight of and Support to the CEO

• Manage the CEO lifecycle, including their appointment, performance evaluation, remuneration and dismissal (in collaboration with other Board members).
• Hold the CEO and the IMT accountable for the delivery of strategic goals, organisational performance, integrity, and compliance.
• Work together with the CEO to support them achieve the aims of War Child, while avoiding micro management. Provide support and guidance as requested as necessary and appropriate.

Relationships

• Work with the Alliance Members of the War Child family (Netherlands, UK, US, Germany Sweden) to ensure good relations, and that working procedures and fundraising plans/targets are clear and on track. Work to resolve any issues and disagreements that may arise.
• Act as the primary governance representative to key stakeholders and partners when appropriate, while adhering to the principles of shared power and accountability.

Ethics and Value-Based Culture

• Ensure integrity and ethical and transparent governance practices are maintained in the Board and throughout the organisation (including in relation to conflict-of-interest issues).
• Ensure that appropriate channels exist for staff/others to confidentially share any major concerns they may have with management and governance.

We are looking for someone with:

• A strong empathy with War Child’s mission to support children affected by conflict.
• Experience of organisations working in international conflict-affected, humanitarian and developmental contexts. Knowledge of evidence-based interventions would be an advantage.
• Experience of leadership positions in organisations of significant scale and complexity.
• Successful experience of operating on the board of a comparable charitable organisation.
• Experience of managing and overseeing financial and risk functions in a large organisation.
• Experience of working with federated, alliance-based or networked organisational models, including navigating shared governance, distributed authority, and cross-entity accountability.
• A proven track record of sound judgement and effective decision making.
• A track record of commitment to promoting equality and diversity.

Knowledge, Skills and Understanding

• Knowledge of the conflict/humanitarian sector, child rights issues and the role of NGOs.
• Strong analytical skills, independent judgement and strategic vision.
• A good understanding of the respective roles of governance and management.
• An understanding of the legal duties, responsibilities and liabilities of trusteeship.
• Able to hold the CEO and IMT to account, while allowing them sufficient space to operate.
• The courage to take hard decisions when necessary.
• Able to understand financial information, grasp the key issues and ask the right questions.
• Strong interpersonal skills, able to be diplomatic and negotiate to achieve outcomes in the best interests of War Child.
• Able to work with the team of Trustees in a collaborative way.
• Able to chair high level meetings, ensuring both good participation and clear decisions.
• A commitment to the highest levels of organisational integrity.
• A good command of English. Knowledge of other languages (especially Dutch, Arabic or French), would be an advantage.
• Able to devote sufficient time to fulfil the Chair’s responsibilities.

Apply For This Job

Name*

Email*

Phone*

A valid phone number is required.

Cover Letter*

Attach Resume*

Submit Close

By applying with us, you agree to Oxford HR’s Privacy Policy