Chair of the Board

About The Sunrise Project

The Sunrise Project is a global network of independent organisations that share a common mission to drive the transition from fossil fuels to clean energy. We are changemakers who believe in the power of social movements to change the world. From ending slavery to civil rights to women’s suffrage: social movements have achieved impossible things to make the world a better place. Now, more than ever, we need to nurture and scale powerful movements to solve the climate crisis.

Sitting at the intersection of social movements, and philanthropy, we’ve developed a ‘directed network’ model that supports networks of people and organisations to work together to achieve large-scale systems change that wouldn’t have been possible by individual organisations acting alone.

We essentially do six things:

• Analysis to understand the political, social, and economic systems driving the climate crisis;
• Strategy design for multi-organisation efforts that create systemic change;
• Collaborate with philanthropy to resource these strategies;
• Fund a diversity of organisations and support them to work together for collective impact;
• Support organisations and movements to sharpen their strategies and build their capacity to achieve real-world outcomes; and
• Drive strategic interventions that will hasten the transition beyond fossil fuels.

From experience, we understand that complex webs of power shape our society, and many factors usually need to come together to achieve large-scale change. Our strategies start with a focus on understanding who has the power to implement the changes we need, what motivates them, and how they can be influenced. Read more about our principles and values here – https://sunriseproject.org/about/

Governance

The Sunrise Project is a global network of independent organisations that share a common mission and common values. The Sunrise Project currently comprises:

• The Sunrise Project Australia Limited (Sunrise Australia), incorporated in Australia;
• The Sunrise Project Inc. (Sunrise Inc.), incorporated in the United States;
• Stichting Sunrise International (Sunrise International)

Each organisation is a fully independent legal entity with its own board of experienced Directors who bring deep expertise across climate change, social movements, law, finance, organisational leadership, and governance.

Alongside our shared mission, each entity is also guided by aligned charitable purposes to protect the environment, promote the transition to a clean energy economy, and prevent dangerous climate change.

All entities collaborating as the Sunrise Project operate in accordance with the legal and regulatory framework of the country in which they are incorporated. Each entity is responsible for compliance in their relevant jurisdiction and each entity’s financial accounts are audited annually by independent certified accountants. These reports are made publicly available on the relevant entity websites.

Job Summary

Sunrise International is seeking an experienced Chair of the Supervisory Board to provide independent governance leadership as the organisation continues to grow in scale, influence, and complexity. The Chair will play a critical role in ensuring Sunrise International maintains strong governance and risk oversight while enabling the organisation to pursue bold mission impact within a rapidly evolving global context.

The Chair leads the Supervisory Board of Stichting Sunrise International, providing independent governance leadership as the organisation scales in financial and political significance within a global network structure. They act as a steady hand and “container builder”, ensuring the entity remains legally robust and operationally disciplined in its risk oversight, while enabling bold mission delivery.

The Chair also helps to steward the evolving role of Sunrise International within the wider Sunrise network by:

• Maintaining strong relationships with the Management Board
• Connecting effectively with other boards across the Sunrise network and,
• Supporting coordination and alignment between entities where appropriate.

They also contribute to the cultural leadership of the Supervisory Board, helping the Board operate as a cohesive and effective governance body characterised by trust, constructive challenge, and shared responsibility. The Chair will also support the ongoing development and composition of the Supervisory Board.

Experience

• Prior Chair or board role within an international NGO, entity, or organisation of comparable scale and complexity across multiple jurisdictions.
• Institution building, including shaping governance and organisational structures through periods of change.
• Experience in legal and fiduciary duties of a board member, including strategic and financial oversight, governance, resource stewardship, and organisational safeguarding.
• Oversight of significant grant-making portfolios or international funding flows.
• Work within politically sensitive advocacy environments.
• Experience navigating founder-led or strong executive leadership dynamics.
• Engagement with funders or philanthropic stakeholders.
• Dutch or European governance experience is strongly preferred.

Skills and Expertise

• Strong understanding of fiduciary duties and governance responsibilities.
• Broad competence across key areas of organisational leadership including financial management, risk management, legal compliance and management culture.
• Strong groupwork skills and the ability to facilitate focussed, effective and participative discussions.
• Sound judgment in calibrating ambition and risk.
• Broad understanding of the political, social and economic dynamics relating to climate change the transition from fossil fuels to clean energy.
• Commitment to strengthening diversity, equity, and inclusion within the organisation and its leadership, and across the wider ecosystem in which Sunrise operates.

Personal Attributes

• Calm and confident leadership presence.
• Strong emotional intelligence and relational leadership, with the ability to act as a connector and “glue” across the Board and leadership teams.
• Confidence to provide executive leadership with both support and accountability.
• Low-ego leadership style aligned with Sunrise’s collaborative culture.
• Comfort governing in dynamic, non-steady-state environments, where strategies and structures may evolve rapidly.
• Willingness to dedicate meaningful time to the role beyond formal board meetings, including preparation, regular dialogue with the Management Board, and engagement across the Sunrise network.

Values

• Passion for achieving systemic change to advance climate justice.
• Belief that governance should enable impact and not unnecessarily restrict it.
• High standards of integrity and fiduciary responsibility.
• Commitment to building and sharing power through collaboration, partnerships, and collective action.

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