Treasurer

Systemic Justice is looking for a Treasurer to provide financial oversight and support to an organisation that wants to truly live its values of anti-oppression, justice, and intersectionality as it works to fulfil its mission.

About Systemic Justice

Systemic Justice works to radically transform how the law works for communities fighting for racial, social, and economic justice. We are the first Black-led, majority BPOC (Black and people of colour) organisation in Europe working on strategic litigation.

Centring affected communities in joint litigation, Systemic Justice works to broaden access to judicial remedies for those fighting for justice and equality. This will help dismantle the power structures that underpin and fuel racial, social, and economic injustice. Systemic Justice’s initial thematic focus areas, following from a Europe-wide community consultation process, is climate justice and social protection.

About the Board

Systemic Justice is governed by an international Board, currently consisting of 5 members who bring a range of skills, experience, and expertise to our work. During 2022, the Board co-designed its vision and working methods for its governance roles, starting from Systemic Justice’s foundational values.

The Board provides strategic oversight and support to Systemic Justice by supervising, advising, and supporting Systemic Justice’s Founder and team, and plays a key role in ensuring that Systemic Justice holds true to its mission and values, and delivers its vision and strategic goals.

As a young organisation looking to build its governance and developing its practices and working methods with intention by grounding them in our values of anti-oppression, justice, and intersectionality, being a Systemic Justice Board member includes active questioning of perceived “best practices” in the NGO field, and exploring different ways of creating the accountability, power sharing, and compliance structures needed. The Board is integral in helping make sure this happens together with the team.

What you’ll do

• Participate in quarterly Board meetings: 3 online (up to half a day in duration), and 1 in person as part of one of Systemic Justice’s team retreats (multiple days) each year;
• Participate in other Board and Board/team subgroup work, including occasional periodic online meetings or attending occasional special events;
• Supervise, advise, and support the Founder and team on Systemic Justice’s strategy, policies, and operational decisions as well as risk strategy, organisational culture, and value alignment;
• Review and approve (multi-)annual plans, budgets, and accounts;
• Review externally audited annual accounts and engage with the organisation’s external auditors on behalf of the Board;
• Support fundraising and make connections within our respective communities;

We expect the time commitment to be 1 day per month on average. However, this may vary from month to month and, as Systemic Justice is still building its work and organisational structure, time invested during the first year may exceed this.

Terms

Board members are compensated for expenses made in the course of exercising their duties, including travel expenses for Board meetings. We can offer compensation to those for whom this could help take away any barriers in applying for the role.

The statutory Board term is three years, after which members may be reappointed for another three-year term.

What we hope you’ll bring

• We are looking for an individual who shares our values of anti-oppression, intersectionality, and justice, and for whom operationalising these in practice as a Board member is an exciting prospect.
• Candidates need to be ready to actively participate in shaping their role and the Board’s role in Systemic Justice’s governance structure. In doing so, they need to come prepared to question existing models and practices and ready to jointly develop a vision for, and the subsequent practices to operationalise, a governance model that is firmly grounded in our values.
• Excitement for Systemic Justice’s mission and enthusiasm about contributing to its fulfilment.
• Extensive experience in non-profit financial management and/or accounting practices, including experience working with auditors;
• Knowledge of, and experience with, the Dutch financial and regulatory framework for non-profits is considered an advantage;
• Experience with organisational risk management from a financial management point of view;
• Understanding of the funding environment for non-profit organisations in Europe.

Please note being located in Europe is considered a pre-requisite for this role for logistical reasons.

Deadline and how to apply

The deadline for applications is 19 March 2023, 23:59 CET.

We are organising an information call, where anyone interested in applying can join and learn more about our organisation, the role, and the process. The call will take place on 6 March at 18:00-19:00 CET. You can register here.

We ask that you submit your CV and – instead of a traditional cover letter – a written response to these three questions:

• What interests you in joining Systemic Justice’s Board?
• What would you consider the most important role of a Treasurer and Board member more generally for an organisation like Systemic Justice?
• If you could change one thing about the current practices in non-profit governance, what would it be?

Systemic Justice recognises that online application processes can pose barriers to people who have certain accessibility needs. If you have accessibility needs in relation to applying for this role, please get in touch with us directly on info@systemicjustice.ngo and let us know how we can best support you.

Our work is rooted in our foundational values of anti-oppression, intersectionality, and justice. We invite anyone who does not have lived experience with systems of oppression to reflect on their suitability for this role before applying, and to address this in their application if they choose to apply.