JOB DESCRIPTION

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL INTERNATIONAL SECRETARIAT

(AIIS)

JOB TITLE: International Board Coordinator

DEPARTMENT: Governance Programme in the Chief Finance Officer (CFO) Directorate

JOB PURPOSE: In view of the International Board’s (Board) role as the governing body
of the International Secretariat and line manager of the Secretary General, this role
provides high level advice, guidance and support to the International Board, and
coordinates effective communication to and from the Board. The role coordinates and
effectively manages work of the Board as mandated by the Amnesty Statute and advises
the Governance Programme and other key stakeholders on Board matters to ensure that
established principles of good governance are adhered to.

PROGRAMME PURPOSE: The Legal & Governance Programme supports the Amnesty
International Movement’s elected governing bodies, including the Global Assembly and
its committees, and the International Board and its Committees. The programme
ensures the development and implementation of high-level professional governance and
constitutional procedures and best practice to guide the movement's governance. This
ranges from developing and advising on good governance practice throughout the
movement, to international meeting delivery, ensuring the smooth running of the
international movement’s leadership and priority setting.

AIIS PURPOSE: The IS, which operates from a number of sites around the world,
gathers and communicates accurate and action-oriented human rights information
globally. We campaign for meaningful human rights change; enable effective human
rights activism and work to persuade governments and other actors to uphold universal
human rights standards. We provide strategic leadership, support and advice to the AI
movement globally, fostering AI’s contribution, presence and public accountability
throughout the world.

WORKING RELATIONSHIPS:

Reporting to: Head of Governance.

Posts that this job manages: Matrix management of colleagues and volunteers, when
applicable.
Other key relationships: Board Chair and members, Legal & Governance Programme
Director, Secretary General (SG), Coalition Leadership Team (CLT), other Amnesty
International governing bodies, Legal, Strategy, Finance, Movement Building,
Communications, IT, Regional Offices, sections and structures, other IS departments.

USEFUL INFORMATION:

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The Board comprises eight regular members, one of whom is elected as Chair, and the
International Treasurer. The Board can also co-opt up to two additional members.

The post requires a demonstrated high level of professional discretion, sound political
judgement, good interpersonal skills and a sophisticated grasp of planning, prioritisation
and management of conflicting demands.
The post ensures adherence to sound governance practice and legal requirements of
the Board to avoid exposing AI to risks at a high level both from external and internal
sources. Given the highly complex governance arrangement surrounding the Board this
role requires the establishment and maintenance of strict protocols and risk
management frameworks to ensure that agreed and transparent procedures are in
place. This post is responsible, in collaboration with the Board Chair, SG, Legal &
Governance Programme Director and Head of Governance, for the management and
coordination of the Board’s work, as well as direct management of the Board’s annual
budget (and those of other committees, as required) and the Board’s compliance with its
legal and fiduciary responsibilities.

This post attends, and where necessary travels to, most international events relevant to
the Governance Programme and all Board meetings, including the Board annual retreat.
The majority of Board meetings and other international events takes place over
weekends and AI operates a “time off in lieu” policy to compensate for any weekend
working.

Alongside colleagues in the Governance programme this post travels to the Global
Assembly Meeting which will be held over three days at the end of July / beginning of
August 2024 in a location outside of Europe, to be confirmed. The post holder will be
required to be available to attend this meeting for a period of up to 8 days.

LOCATION: International Secretariat, London.

MAIN RESPONSIBILITIES:
To be an independent, impartial focal point for the International Board for all their
decision-making processes, requests and communications. To enable the International
Board to carry out their work effectively during the global governance cycle. In particular:

• To prepare minutes of all board meetings and circulate the draft minutes in a
timely manner to board members and any other stakeholders as necessary for
comment and approval
• To support the Chair with the process preceding the International Board and
relevant sub-committee meetings including agenda development, strategic
relevance of discussions, meeting format, and due diligence.
• To support the Chair with the papers and future strategic discussion items
including liaising with those members of staff preparing papers for forthcoming
meetings. Ensure that all Board and relevant sub-committee papers address the
issues arising and are of appropriate quality; ensuring meeting procedures are
followed and provide appropriate strategic level of Board reports, ensuring that
accurate records of Board decisions are kept and disseminated as required.

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To support the Head of Governance and Director of Legal & Governance in
advising:

• The Board, CLT, IS teams and other AI governing bodies directly on matters
relating to the Board’s work plans and those of several of the Board’s sub-
committees, such as approval schedules in the organisational cycle, maintenance
of the register of interest, power of attorneys etc.
• On relevant legal, fiduciary and governance deadlines and procedures, ensuring
regulations are adhered to avoid reputational and organisational risks.
• On the best practice and course of action for developing and proposing improved
practices for Board processes and plans for the professional and continued
development of the Board members, including delivering the induction of new
Board members and overseeing the departure of outgoing Board members.
• On the strategic work plan for the Board for the SG and CLT to review and Board
to approve.
• On the Board channels of communication with the movement, in collaboration
with the Board Chair, and to decide on proactively developing innovative methods
to ensure effective communication between the Board and the movement and
other key stakeholders.

Coordinate
• The distribution of all documents to the Board and to the movement from multiple
sources to ensure smooth communication with the global movement.
• The Board members’ workload and travel related to the Board/relevant sub-
committees/SG/CLT/global governance calendar to ensure that all members can
manage and fulfil their responsibilities; the maintenance of effective and efficient
filing and archiving systems, and any other ad hoc processes to ensure that high
levels of confidentiality are kept and maintained.
• With groups of people in a high stress and high expectation environment to
enable the delivery of the Board priorities and agenda.
• With all relevant stakeholders to ensure alignment of global agendas and
strategy.
• With Governance Programme and other sources to advise the Board on effective
governance practices.

Monitor
• Potential reputational, financial and legal risks associated with Board practices
and behaviour and advice course of action on any issue arising.
• The quality and level of information being provided to the Board, to ensure
effective decision-making and manageable Board (and other key stakeholders)
workload.
• Board expenditure in accordance with accounting procedures to ensure financial
compliance, and accurately report on the Board budget of c. £100k-£120k during
re-forecast and at the close of financial periods.
• Intra- and inter-Programme consultations for critical and potentially contentious
policy areas to ensure Board input and oversight as required.

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Support and assist
• Other tasks as requested to assist in the smooth running of the team, notably
during other international events throughout the governance cycle, to ensure
delivery of decisions.

WHAT DOES SUCCESS LOOK LIKE IN THIS JOB?

• A transparent and accountable process for ensuring the Board meets its legal and
fiduciary duties to avoid high level risks to AI as a movement.
• A high level of confidentiality, diplomatic skills and organisational and political
awareness is maintained with the highest level of leadership within the AI
movement.
• Strong stakeholder management ensures that key persons are informed at the
right time to take decisions that affect the AI movement as a whole.
• High level quality of communication between the Board and the rest of the
movement to whom they are accountable.
• A high level of supervision and coordination is maintained in accordance with the
requirements of the Board calendar and workload.
• A strong professional relationship is developed with the AI Board and other
leaders within the movement. The coordination allows the members of the Board
to contribute to AI fully.
• Communication to and from the Board, and with the global leadership of AI on
behalf of the Board, is effective and timely.
• Meetings, travel and events are effectively planned, run smoothly and to budget,
to ensure best quality of decision-making by the Board.
• The Governance Programme and the AI movement are briefed on the Board
decisions that affect them.
• The Governance Programme is supported in other international events throughout
the year.
• The confidentiality and sensitivity of the material discussed, and documents
produced is maintained by those in receipt of the information.
• The post holder has an overview of the Board’s work and budget and can advise
on value for money and report to the Board and senior management on progress
as necessary.

SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE:

• High level of knowledge and engagement around the confidentiality and
sensitivity of the work; high level of professional discretion, political awareness
and diplomacy around governance and executive management.
• Extensive knowledge concerning legal and fiduciary requirements for Trustee
Boards in the UK as well as the internal processes and requirements of Amnesty
International.
• The ability to work closely with, advise and brief senior management and to work
to tight timelines. Confidence to draw to the attention of the International
Board/SG/CLT appropriate information.
• Demonstration of initiative, proactive problem solving and information sharing,
and to influence decision makers to ensure principles of good governance are
adhered to.

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 • High levels of financial awareness and experience of managing budgets and
working with financial transactions in multiple currencies. Ability to report in
accurate detail on budgets to the senior leaders of the organisation.
• Training and formal education around legal matters affecting Trustee Boards
either at university level or from specialist training providers.
• A law degree is desirable.
• A qualification from, or ongoing study with the Chartered Governance Institute is
desirable.
• A high level of written and spoken English.
• Ability to work (written and spoken) in French and/or Spanish, in addition to
English, is desirable.
• Experience of working with, and managing, high-level volunteer leadership.
• Ability to network resources within the IS.
• Strong flexibility around working, pre-empting and reacting to changes in plans.
• Experience of leading on and developing own and others’ work plans and working
independently.
• Highly proficient administration skills including Word, Excel and PowerPoint and
AI systems. High level of logistical and event organising skills.

HOW WE WORK – OUR BEHAVIOURS:

Our organisational culture, which essentially represents how we behave, our working
relationships and our ability to collaborate as a movement, underpins everything we do
and is pivotal to the success of our impact. Our five behaviours form the basis of the type
of culture we want to have in Amnesty:

· Accountable - I consistently strive to reach my goals in a thorough, timely way that I

can be proud of, and I re-empower others to do the same

· Considerate - I support my colleagues and try to find out what motivates them to do
their best, and what pressures they are under, so that I can consider this when we work
together

· Creative - I continuously look for new and creative solutions and encourage others’
ideas so that we can adapt and succeed in an ever-changing and uncertain global
environment

· Decisive - I make sound judgements within my work so that a project or activity can
progress with pace and confidence

· Respectful - I treat my colleagues with equality and dignity, and assume they have
integrity. I value the different perspectives of my colleagues as well as my own and show
them that their contributions and expertise matter

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EQUALITY STATEMENT
Equality and diversity are at the core of our values and staff are expected to work
collectively and individually to promote a constructive and sensitive approach to others
from a variety of backgrounds, where the work of others is valued and respected.

CONFLICT OF INTEREST
Public or other activity, affiliation to or support for any group or organisation, personal
association or other factor which may generate a real or perceived conflict of interest
with AI’s principles (specifically independence and impartiality), or raise a security
concern, or otherwise prevent the candidate from carrying out key functions of the
specific post and would therefore disqualify the candidate from being appointed.