Non Executive Director

Common Cause Foundation is looking for new non-executive directors to help us champion and reflect the human values that underpin our care for one another and our living planet.

We work in the belief that any proportionate and lasting response to the polycrisis will require a fundamental re-examination of the values that are prioritised in mainstream culture. We draw on an extensive understanding of social psychology to propose strategies for rebalancing cultural values, and we work with other organisations to prototype these approaches.

Established in 2015, Common Cause Foundation is a company limited by guarantee with an asset lock. We have three part-time staff who work remotely, each based in the UK. Our work is focused particularly in the UK, but we collaborate with people across the globe, and current and previous board members have been based overseas. Please take a look at our website for a deeper understanding of what we do and how we work.

As an organisation we are deeply committed to centring the lived experience and perspectives of people with minoritised identities.  This commitment infuses all our work. At present, for example, we are pursuing workstreams on identifying ways in which patriarchal and heteronormative perspectives surface in social and environmental campaigning, and we are collaborating with networks of indigenous people to challenge and strengthen our work. We see the oppression of human and nonhuman animals as deeply interconnected and we work to challenge human exceptionalism.

We are seeking to build a board which can support us in applying an understanding of values to help resist oppression in its myriad forms. As such we are particularly keen to recruit new board members with marginalised identities – people of colour, people with disabilities, LGBT+ people, women and anyone from a working class background – or people with a particular commitment to challenge human exceptionalism.  

You don’t need to have experience of being a trustee to apply, you also don’t need to have years of experience in the workplace or formal qualifications. We are working towards a better world, and accessible, inclusive systems that work for all; and for that to happen we need our work and organisation to be shaped by who we want to serve - and that’s all of us. We can provide training and support for anyone who wants to become a trustee. The organisation Getting On Board is a fantastic place to start if you’d like to find out more about what it takes to be a Trustee before you apply.

Positions on the board are voluntary – under the terms of our constitution, we are unable to pay non-executive directors for their time. However, expenses will be met – including, for example, to meet caring responsibilities while working with us. 

Non-executive directors are asked to remain in post for two-to-three years, after which they will be invited either to step down or re-enlist for a second term. 

Role Description

• As a non-executive director, you would be asked to participate in quarterly board meetings. In any calendar year, three of these meetings are held online, with the fourth held in person, in the UK, at a location that minimises average travel time for attendees. There would be scope for members of the board who live overseas to join part of these in-person meetings virtually, but members based in the UK would be expected to attend in person if possible, with all expenses paid for, including childcare or other accessibility requirements.
• You would want to maintain regular contact with the executive team, supporting them to deliver on our mission, challenging them to bring new perspectives and understanding to their work, helping to develop the organisational strategy, and promoting the wellbeing of staff and the effectiveness of the organisation. 
• You would want to contribute to building a great working relationship with other non-executive directors. 
• You would be keen to act as an ambassador for Common Cause Foundation with external stakeholders, advocating our work. 
• You would be happy to participate on recruitment or disciplinary panels, as needed.

We anticipate a time commitment of roughly one day per month, but if you’d like to join us and this is a barrier to you applying, please do let us know what’s possible in your application, or get in touch with us to discuss.

Person specification

• A belief in the necessity and efficacy of the work of Common Cause Foundation, and willingness to advocate this to others. 
• Understanding how privilege and power affect organisations, in both their internal and external work, and a commitment to identify oppressive behaviour and practices where these occur. 

We feel that the work of Common Cause would really benefit from   non-executive directors who can bring the following skills or passion for:

• Strategic planning - because we have identified long-term strategic planning as an area about which we need to think more deeply 
• Financial management - because we currently rely heavily on one of our non-executive directors for support with financial management and would like to distribute this work amongst more people
• Fundraising - because we would like to diversify our funding to be able to better resource our work
• Experience of working in non-hierarchical structures - because we are in the process of moving to a flat hierarchy organisation and would love the support of a non-executive director to help guide this process.
• Experience of working towards systemic environmental/social change outside the NGO sector (e.g. in the arts and culture sector, in sport, or as a grassroots organiser) - because we have experience of working a lot with NGOs and museums, but it would be helpful to work with non-executive directors who have experience of systemic change in different cultural sectors.
• Experience of working within or with the media - because we have just embarked on a new project working on values in the media

How to apply 

If you have any questions about the role, please get in touch with us at info@commoncausefoundation.org. To apply, please send us a cover letter, video or voicenote saying why you would like to join us, along with a resume. You can send these by email, to info@commoncausefoundation.org or, if you prefer, via WhatsApp 07776 467553. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis until the board decides to stop further recruitment. 

Applicants may be invited to participate in an informal, 45 minute online conversation via Zoom with one or more existing board members and at least one of the Common Cause team members. The purpose of the conversation will be:

• to find out more about each other;
• to hear more about your interest in the role and how you feel you can best support the work of Common Cause;
• to discuss how we might work together and expectations of the role, and to answer any further questions. 

This role is advertised as part of TPP's Free Giving Back Services. This volunteer advertisement copy has been supplied to TPP and applicants apply direct to the organisation. Please contact the organisation directly if you have any questions about this volunteer role.