Governing Council Members

About the Global Standards Foundation

The Global Standards Foundation’s mission is to achieve the highest level of social and ecological impact in textile value chains through voluntary sustainability standards and related activities. It does this mainly by serving as shareholder of the Global Standard gGmbH.

The Governing Council (GC) is the foundation’s top decision-making body and plays a vital role in making sure the foundation achieves its core purpose. It oversees the overall direction and management of the organisation, mainly the Global Standard gGmbH. It ensures the Foundation and Global Standard gGmbH have a clear strategy and that their work and goals are aligned with their vision, mission, and values. It supports and challenges the executive team to grow, thrive, and achieve long-term aims and objectives.

The composition of the Governing Council team is changing, and the transition to a foundation requires additional skills. The foundation will retain four existing members and seek a variety of skills through new members.

Job Summary

GC membership provides an excellent opportunity to influence the future of social and environmental sustainability standards in the full value chain of the textile sector.

This is a great opportunity for our council members to share influence, have impact, collaborate with partners and learning from those partners.

The GC shapes the strategic priorities of the organisation and ensures it has adequate policies and resources to successfully fulfil its mission. GC members have a responsibility to govern collectively and independently.

All applicants welcome except those from competing textile Voluntary Sustainability Standards (VSS), certification or accreditation bodies.

Term of Office

GC members are appointed for a period of four years. Appointments may be renewed twice consecutively.

Time Commitment

Although participation will vary according to the current needs of the foundation, on average GC commitments require about 8 person-days per year.

Time commitments include, but are not limited to, preparation for and attendance at:

• At least in-person one meeting per year
• Four online meetings per year
• Up to four sub-committee or working group calls per year, if applicable.

In-person meetings are generally held in Germany but may occur at other locations. For some GC members, inter-continental travel may be necessary.

Compensation

While GC members receive honorary distinction, the foundation will reimburse reasonable travel, room, and board expenses for in-person meetings.

Conduct

Members of the GC serve in individual capacities, representing the best interests of the Foundation and Global Standard gGmbH, not their organisational and professional affiliations.

To facilitate independent decision-making, each GC member is required to complete a Conflict of Interest Disclosure Form, used to declare any real, potential, or perceived conflicts of interest.

GC members commit to ethical, business-like, and lawful conduct, including proper use of authority and appropriate decorum.

Therefore, as a condition of appointment, members are required to sign the Foundation Governing Council Members’ Code of Conduct.

The roles and responsibilities of GC are set out in its Rules of Procedure. These include, but are not limited to:

• Conduct strategic planning to ensure the Foundation and Global Standard gGmbH are well positioned to achieve their mission and vision.
• Monitor progress toward strategic objectives and take measures to assure their timely attainment
• Proactively identify and mitigate risks to the organisation
• Steward good governance practices in alignment with the Foundation’s and Global Standard gGmbH’s core values
• Appoint members to the GC
• Approve the annual financial statement, allocation of net income, and discharge of directors from liability
• Review new standards and standard revisions with regard to possible violations of the Foundation’s vision, mission and values.
• Oversee the performance of the management and appoint and dismiss Directors.
• Annually evaluate the performance of the GC as a whole, and take steps toward improving its way of working, including culture and inclusion.

In the course of duties, each GC member is expected to:

• Attend all GC and committee meetings
• Stay informed about Global Standard gGmbH’s policies, services, and workstreams
• Review agendas and supporting materials prior to GC and committee meetings
• Serve on committees or working groups and take on special assignments the GC decides on.
• Stay informed on sector developments relevant to Global Standard gGmbH
• Represent the foundation on the basis of this position to relevant stakeholders as and when required
• Abide by strict conflict of interest and confidentiality policies
• Refrain from making special requests to the staff.

It is essential for the right candidates to be committed to the ethics of sustainability in particular, textiles.

Personal Qualities

Successful GC candidates shall show evidence of:

• Enthusiasm for our vision and mission
• Willingness and ability to understand and accept their responsibilities and liabilities as members of the Governing Council, consistent with our Statement on Independence, Governing Council Members’ Code of Conduct, and Conflicts of Interest Policy
• Ability to think creatively and strategically, exercise good, independent judgement, and work effectively as a GC member
• Effective communication skills and willingness to participate actively in discussion
• A strong personal commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion
• Willingness to lead according to the core values of the foundation and Global Standard gGmbH
• Commitment to the principles of good governance: selflessness, integrity, objectivity, accountability, openness, honesty, and leadership.
• While previous textile standards experience is not required, previous experience in standard setting and regulations would be welcomed.

Essential Competencies

The GC has defined a set of competencies that target the ideal skills, experience, and expertise needed to build a strong governing body that is able to deliver on its responsibilities and challenge the management and staff to improve on the quality of its delivery.

The following competencies are essential for all GC members:

• Leadership experience in business, civil society, public sector or academia
• Experience of developing policy, strategic plans, and governance
• Familiarity with VSS
• Expertise in one or more aspects of the Foundation and Global Standard gGmbH’s operations, including:
  • Sustainability
  • VSS setting
  • Assurance
  • Textiles value chains
  • Responsible production and processing
  • Corporate social responsibility
  • Non-profit governance
  • Finance
• Proficiency in English (equivalent to Level C in CEFR standards).

Desirable Competencies

All applicants will need to have the essential competencies and possess one or more of the following desirable competencies:

GC members from civil society

• Breadth and depth of experience in driving change from having created, led, or served on the governing body or executive management of a not-for-profit civil society organisation
• Strategic development and implementation expertise
• Strong and unique perspective of social or environmental sustainability in the manufacture and distribution of textiles, independent of commercial or government interests.

GC members from business

• Experience in sourcing and procuring raw materials
• Experience with consumer facing sustainability marketing campaigns or labelling
• Strong expertise in business operations and social/labour issues
• Strategic development and implementation expertise.

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