Role Profile for Co-opted Members

Effective: October 2007

We are seeking 2-3 new board members to work with Friends of the Earth to complement our existing diverse range of skills and expertise. This will require commitment to our aims, regular attendance at meetings and an ability to apply your skills at board level.

The organisation

Friends of the Earth consists of two distinct organisations, a charitable trust and a non charitable company. They work closely together to implement solutions to the pressing environmental and sustainability needs of the day. The boards are complemented by four sub committees which exist to scrutinise the work in greater detail.

The job

The boards consist of 10 elected members and 6 co-opted members. The elected members are nominated by local groups in their region and elected for terms of three years. They are mostly active campaigners at local level and current elected members have a wide variety of backgrounds including architecture, law, academia, IT and local government. The co-opted members are chosen to add additional skills and experience to the boards and are selected as people who have experience or the aptitude for working at this level.

The task of a co-opted board member

To regularly attend all board meetings and at least one sub-committee
To play a full part in the work of the board and sub- committees
To participate in board working groups on specific issues from time to time as agreed
To very occasionally support our fundraising efforts through attendance at relevant events
To use your experience to constructively challenge issues within the board and at committees, and to propose constructive solutions of benefit to the organisation.

The qualities required

An understanding of Friends of the Earth's work and a commitment to its aims
An ability to articulate your views and concerns clearly
Self confidence, standing and independence

And preferably

Knowledge of another field. At present we are particularly looking for

co-optees with experience in fundraising, communications and branding (especially the use of new media), and academia/research (especially in a policy-driving context).

What your job is not

Board members role does not include any of the following unless specifically agreed

to direct or manage staff (this is done by the line management)
to promote a new personal issue or agenda to the board
to speak in public or contact the press as a representative of Friends of the Earth , other than by clear agreement with the Executive Director

The time commitment

Board meetings take place in London on three Saturdays through the year running from 10.30-5pm. There is also a residential Board weekend during January. Sub-committees are held four times a year, usually in the weeks preceding a full Board meeting: three (Resources, Strategy and Performance and Governance) are currently in London on a Friday and the other (Activism) is held on a Saturday in a different region each quarter.

In addition to attending meetings Board members will need to have time to:

read papers prior to each Board and sub-committee meeting and prepare to comment at the meeting;
read and respond to emails from the Chair and other members between meetings;
take the lead on discussion of particular issues from time to time, including liasing directly with staff and other Board members
become involved in particular board working groups from time to time depending on their specialist skills (as an example Board members have recently assisted with putting in place new IT contracts and overseeing their implementation, relaunching Friends of the Earth Ireland and advising on Friends of the Earth's requirements for premises); and
attend the annual conference of Friends of the Earth in September when possible.

The reward

The reward comes from being a central part of the governance team of Britain's most successful and vigorous environmental organisation. This has been very significant for many previous board and committee members.

Reasonable expenses are of course met.

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Last modified: Oct 2007