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Chair of the Board of Trustees
friends of ibba

Job Description

Chair of the Board of Trustees, Friends of Ibba Girls School (FIGS), South Sudan

(non-remunerated; expenses paid)

Friends of Ibba Girls’ School (FIGS) South Sudan is a UK charity set up in response to a direct request from local community leaders in Ibba in 2009. The aim of FIGS is to support the South Sudan Trustees, Board of Governors and Head-teacher as long term partners in the funding, building and development of a girls’ boarding school (IGBS) which aims to provide high quality primary and secondary education for 360 girls aged 10 to 18 years, from across the former Western Equatoria State in South Sudan (an area the size of Scotland).

Ibba School opened to its first pupils in 2014 and has achieved remarkable success in its first 5 years, raising £2 million in UK based funding which has been invested in the infrastructure, building and staffing, creating a school community with over 220 girls and 33 staff. We are now entering into a new phase of growth and strategy for the charity and are seeking a new Chair to lead the organisation through this exciting period.  A demonstrable heart for girls’ education and women’s’ empowerment in Africa is the core quality that is sought in this position.  

The new Chair will succeed our founding Chair, Professor John Benington, after his completion of nine years in the role this April. The role of Chair provides a unique opportunity to make an impact on an outstanding school, which is attracting attention across the whole of South Sudan; to consolidate its longer-term future, and to contribute to sharing good practice with other schools locally, regionally and nationally in Africa. The new Chair will lead FIGS, and its partners, forward into the next stage of development from a successful start-up, into a more sustainable and resilient organisation for the next 5 to 10 years. When in the UK, s/he will lead and manage the Board of Trustees and its 7 small sub-committees, line-manage the FIGS CEO, and represent both the Trustees and the School when in the UK at external meetings, functions, in the press and other media outlets.  The Chair will also need to be willing to travel to Ibba and work closely with the South Sudan Trustees and Board of Governors.

We are looking for candidates with experience of being a Chair or long-standing trustee of a Charity, with experience in, or with, organisations in sub-Saharan Africa. The person should have strong understanding of UK Charity Governance and legislation, experience of fundraising, possess strong business and financial acumen and the ability to develop and communicate a compelling strategic vision for the charity as we move into a new phase of growth.