Emergency response volunteer volunteer roles in newcastle upon tyne, northumberland

Chair of Trustees - Terms of Reference

Introduction

Emergency Nutrition Network (ENN) is a well-established and highly respected UK-based charity working to reduce malnutrition globally. ENN strives to enhance the effectiveness of nutrition policy and programming by building evidence, convening critical actors and transferring knowledge. We are passionate about being field driven and are globally recognised as thought leaders and conveners in nutrition. Our vision is a world where ‘Every individual confronted by malnutrition has access to the knowledge, tools, services and resources they require to meet their needs.  We work with governments, civil society, UN, donor and academic organisations to achieve mutual goals. Through these collaborations we support agencies to implement evidence-based nutrition programming, predominantly in low- and middle-income countries.

The Trustee Role

ENN is seeking to appoint a new Chair of Trustees to lead its Board with strategic insight, collaboration, and a deep commitment to the organisation’s mission. This is a significant and rewarding opportunity to guide the governance of a globally respected charity at a pivotal time in its journey.

As Chair, you will play a key leadership role in ensuring that the Board of Trustees operates effectively, provides strong oversight, and supports ENN to fulfil its charitable objectives. You will work in close partnership with the CEO and fellow Trustees to shape and monitor the delivery of ENN’s strategy, ensuring that the organisation complies with its purpose, charity law and company law and that the organisation pursues its objectives as defined in its governing document.

The Chair will also ensure that the Board functions properly and that effective decisions are made and implemented.

This role calls for someone with strong leadership presence, relevant experience, and a collaborative approach. Someone who can lead inclusive, focused meetings and create a supportive, respectful for both trustees and the senior management team.

A helpful summary of trustee roles and responsibilities can be found in Charity Commission guidance ‘The essential trustee: what you need to know, what you need to do’

We are looking for a Chair who brings substantial leadership and governance experience, including at board level within the charity, public, academic, or international development sectors. While a background in nutrition or humanitarian work is not essential, a strong interest in global health, development, or social impact is important.

Your Responsibilities as a Trustee:

As Chair of the Board, you will play a key leadership role in ensuring the overall effectiveness of ENN’s governance and strategic direction. You will guide the Board in fulfilling its collective responsibility to uphold ENN’s mission and values, while supporting the organisation to thrive in a complex and evolving funding landscape.

Your responsibilities will include:

• Chairing the Board of Trustees: Leading quarterly Board meetings and the Annual General Meeting, ensuring well-structured and inclusive discussions, clear decision making, and effective follow-up on actions.
• Strategic Leadership: Working with the CEO and fellow trustees to shape and review ENN’s strategic direction and priorities, especially in light of changes in the global funding environment.
• Supporting Fundraising and External Relations: Acting as an ambassador for ENN, supporting engagement with key stakeholders including donors, partners, and networks. Where appropriate, the Chair and trustees may play a role in donor cultivation or advocacy.
• Governance and Compliance Oversight: Ensuring that ENN complies with its Articles of Association, charity and company law, and sector best practice. Overseeing the effectiveness of risk management and ensuring proper financial controls are in place.
• Board Development and Succession: Ensuring the Board remains diverse, skilled, and effective by leading on trustee recruitment, development, and performance review processes. Championing a culture of inclusion and learning.
• Relationship with the Executive Director: Building a strong, supportive, and transparent relationship with the CEO. Providing guidance and challenge as a critical friend and ensuring effective communication between the Board and ENN’s Management Team.
• Safeguarding and Ethical Oversight: Promoting and safeguarding ENN’s reputation, values and policies including its commitment to safeguarding, equity, and ethical conduct.
• Adaptability in Financial Stewardship: Supporting the Board and Executive Team to respond proactively to funding challenges and opportunities, including exploring alternative funding models and revenue diversification.

The Chair will be expected to attend quarterly Board meetings (held virtually and occasionally in-person), subcommittee meetings where relevant, and represent ENN externally when needed. This is a voluntary position, with reasonable travel and related expenses reimbursed.

Required Knowledge and Skills

• Demonstrable experience of senior leadership, preferably at board level, within the non-profit, public, or international development sectors.
• Strategic vision and the ability to identify and understand response to changing contexts.
• Proven ability to chair complex meetings effectively, enabling inclusive, strategic, and outcomes-focused discussions.
• A strong understanding of governance responsibilities, including the legal duties of charity trustees, and a commitment to high standards of ethical and financial stewardship.
• Experience in guiding organisational strategy, change management, and performance monitoring at a senior level.
• Insight into the UK charity sector, the Charity Commission’s regulatory framework, and good governance principles.
• A good understanding of global development funding trends, with an appreciation of how geopolitical shifts have impacted international donors and the wider NGO landscape.
• Experience in supporting income diversification and navigating financial uncertainty, including stewarding fundraising strategy, major donor engagement, or building new funding partnerships.
• A collaborative and inclusive leadership style, with the ability to support and challenge constructively, build consensus, and maintain a strong, positive relationship with the CEO and senior management team.
• An ability to serve as an ambassador for ENN’s mission, engaging confidently with external stakeholders, donors, and sector leaders.
• A clear alignment with ENN’s values, commitment to equity and inclusion, and passion for reducing global malnutrition.

Previous experience of charity trusteeship is desirable but not essential if the candidate demonstrates equivalent governance or board leadership experience in another sector.

Membership and Operation of the Board

The ENN Board of Trustees comprises individuals appointed by the Trust Members, selected for their diverse skills, experience, and commitment to ENN’s mission and values. Collectively, the Board provides strategic leadership, ensures good governance, and supports ENN in delivering its charitable objectives.

Trustees are appointed for an initial term of four years and are eligible for reappointment at the discretion of the Trust Members at a General Meeting, in accordance with ENN’s Articles of Association.

The Chair of Trustees is elected by the Board from among its members. The Chair serves for a term of up to three years and may be re-elected for one additional term. This ensures a balance of continuity and renewal in Board leadership.

The Board meets quarterly and may convene additional meetings as required. Trustees are expected to attend meetings regularly and actively participate in subcommittees, working groups, and strategic initiatives as needed.

Time Commitment – And our Commitment to You

Your commitment in an average year is likely to be 4 pre-fixed board meetings, each of half a day.  Each of these are preceded by sub-committee meetings, usually of ninety-minutes, and each trustee is expected to participate in one sub-committee. Other committee and ad hoc meetings and additional support will be arranged as agreed. We encourage active participation and engagement, and Trustees often give more time outside of this, on their own terms.

Board meetings are held virtually, with an intention to hold one facilitated face to face meeting at the ENN HQ in Kidlington, Oxfordshire, every two years. Additional sub-committee meetings will be convened remotely. 

Ideally you will join the Board in 2025, though we can show some flexibility on this for the right candidate, and in your first few months you should allow for additional time for induction and orientation (including meeting a number of the Leadership Team). 
Remuneration

This is an unpaid, voluntary position.  Reasonable expenses will be reimbursed for attendance at Board meetings and other Trustee activities in line with ENN’s policies.  Some employers encourage and enable trusteeship as part of wider career development and corporate social responsibility; please check with your organisation and their relevant policies. 

Our Values and Commitment to Equality, Diversity & Inclusion

ENN is committed to diversity and inclusion, and to building a culture where every staff member and volunteer is recognised and valued as an individual.  We actively encourage applications from a broad range of experiences and backgrounds and are particularly interested in improving representation of younger people and minority ethnic groups on our Board.

To Apply

If you believe you’re the candidate we’re looking for please submit a CV and a covering letter of no more than 2 pages describing your motivation behind applying for the role, as well as explaining how you believe your skills and experience match what we are looking for.

Closing date for applications: Sunday 28th September 2025  

It is expected that shortlisted candidates will be invited to an informal interview during the week commencing Monday 29th September 2025

Screening Checks

All candidates who we progress will be screened through Accuity World Compliance to comply with counter terrorism and financial sanctions regulations. Appointment will be subject to a satisfactory enhanced DBS check (or equivalent criminal records check where available, for non-UK citizens) and 2 satisfactory references.  If you already have a transferrable enhanced DBS, please state this in your application.

Additional Information About ENN 

A Letter from the Board of Trustees

At ENN we are truly passionate about what we do. Over the past 27 years ENN has become a powerful and recognised name in the nutrition sector, working with others to influence outcomes around the world. We produce highly regarded research and publications that inform and inspire practitioners worldwide and we convene technical interest groups and communities of practice who are the ‘go to’ networks for their specialisms. Our partners know and trust ENN for quality, rigour and impartiality.  Our work makes a real difference in the lives of children in some of the most difficult parts of the world. The ENN-led Operational Guidance on Infant Feeding in Emergencies has become the key global policy guidance and has been endorsed by the World Health Assembly, and our technical leadership and convening has facilitated real change in awareness and a new narrative, challenging siloed approaches to Wasting and Stunting management.

Our work has never been more important. Nutritional challenges are growing across the world; undernutrition rates may be slowly decreasing but other forms of malnutrition are on the rise.  The positive progress that is being made is unequal and many countries are now facing the double burden of both under and over nutrition. Crises around the world are increasingly protracted and the historical and artificial silos of ‘humanitarian’ and ‘development’ don’t reflect real needs which are much more fluid. Emerging threats, such as the broader impact on nutrition of the COVID-19 pandemic bring new challenges to address.

At present our annual turnover is around £1.8m (c. USD2.27m), we employ 28 staff and engage 20 - 30 specialist consultants. With our new strategy, we are keen to drive even greater impact by exploring new and innovative approaches and increasing our reach further still. We do so with funding in place from a range of institutional partners and private foundations.

As an organisation working across numerous technical areas relevant for countries experiencing high burden of malnutrition, we look to the board, and those trustees with a more technical focus in particular, to discuss new technical gap areas with us to ensure we maintain a responsive and balanced portfolio, to help us further develop our network, funding and connections, and to help us navigate the important work we do to influence structural and impactful change in the sector, including advising in situations where there is potential for strategic risk. We are looking for a Technical Trustee to join the board who can bring their technical knowledge and extensive experience to this role.

We hope the enclosed information helps you to explore ENN and the role.

With best wishes,

The ENN Board of Trustees 

Vision

Our vision is  ‘Every individual confronted by malnutrition has access to the knowledge, tools, services and resources they require to meet their needs’

Our History

Founded in 1996 in Ireland, ENN has a long and rich history in global nutrition.  Following an evaluation of the Great Lakes Emergency in 1995, implementing agencies identified an urgent need to establish a vehicle for capturing programming experiences and preserving institutional memory in the emergency food and nutrition sector. This gave rise to ENN’s publication, Field Exchange, which was first produced in 1996, designed to stimulate critical thinking and learning, influence research agendas and cross-fertilise information and exchange.  ENN was generously hosted by Trinity College Dublin for its first eight years, before relocating to Oxfordshire in 2004 and is now a UK registered Charity. 

"To me, ENN is one of the most long-standing focal points for emergency nutrition technical information and coordination." (ENN partner) 

Who We Are Now

Our Strategy aims to enhance the effectiveness of nutrition policy and programming by improving knowledge, stimulating learning, building evidence and providing support and encouragement to practitioners and decision-makers involved in nutrition and related interventions.  We take a particular lens on fragile and conflict affected, and high burden, states.  We have three core principles guiding our work:

· Independent, neutral and impartial

ENN is not bound by the views or positions of any one institution and is not a nutrition implementing agency. Any opinions expressed are based on the available evidence and the experience of our rich and diverse network.

· Driven by our network

ENN’s network is made up of practitioners, decision-makers and academics working on nutrition and associated fields all over the world. By supporting their learning and sharing their knowledge, ENN is able to make a unique contribution to turning knowledge into practice.

· Based on experiential learning and evidence

ENN believes that policy and practice can, and should be, informed by evidence and experience. Where this exists, ENN seeks to share the learning from this evidence and experience; where it is missing, ENN advocates for it to be developed or directly supports, and often brokers, its development.

Our People

ENN’s team is made up of a range of technical experts in nutrition, with decades of collective experience, and a small operational team.  ENN’s Management Team comprises of the CEO, 2 Technical Directors, a Finance Manager, HR Manager & Projects Coordinator Lead. As well as our 28 staff, we engage a significant number of experienced specialist consultants on our projects.  ENN is highly committed to diversity and inclusion, to enabling and promoting flexible working for our staff, and to supporting continued professional development.

Our Finances

ENN is financially supported by a range of institutional donors (including the Irish and US governments), charitable foundations (including the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Eleanor Crook Foundation), as well as UN agencies and INGOs.  Our income has grown over the last few years, with income in the current FY 2023 projected at around £2m (c. $2.5m).

Our Governance

ENN is a UK-registered charity (Charity Registration Number: 1115156) governed by the Board of Trustees and a set of ‘Articles of Association’. The Board is currently comprised of 8 Trustees and meets regularly throughout the year, with full board meetings on a quarterly basis. The Board currently has three sub-committees, one covering Governance & People, another Technical and the other Finance, which are responsible for ensuring the highest standards in terms of finance, personnel, and technical expertise and application.

As a UK-registered Charity, ENN also files accounts as a UK-registered Company with Companies House (Company Registration Number 04889844).

Why This Matters

Every funding application you write could help open our first specialist refuge, provide emergency support to survivors, or deliver training that changes how authorities respond to Black women facing abuse. Your words will directly translate into life-changing services.

Our recent research revealed that 97% of Black women do not feel confident that reporting abuse would lead to fair treatment from authorities. Sistah Space exists to bridge this gap - and we need funding to continue this vital work.

What You'll Gain

• Real-world experience writing actual funding applications for an award-winning charity

• Portfolio building - successful bids you can showcase in your professional development

• Mentorship and guidance from our Head of Marketing and leadership team

• Written reference upon successful completion of your volunteer period

• Sector insight into charity operations and the domestic abuse sector

• Flexible working that fits around your existing commitments

• Meaningful impact - the satisfaction of directly contributing to life-saving work for Black women

• Skill development in grant writing, research, and stakeholder communication

Your Main Responsibilities:

• Writing funding applications - your primary focus (we'll provide templates, examples, and support)

• Researching funding opportunities that align with our mission and current priorities

• Gathering impact stories and data from the team to strengthen applications

• Maintaining a simple tracker of applications, deadlines, and outcomes

With Support, You May Also:

• Help with funder relationship follow-ups (we'll make introductions)

• Contribute ideas for strengthening our funding strategy

• Attend monthly check-ins with the leadership team

• Collaborate on other funding-related communications

Who We're Looking For

Essential:

• ✅ Previous experience with grant writing, bid writing, or funding applications

• ✅ Previous experience successfully securing funding, or at least being shortlisted 

• ✅ Passionate about racial justice and supporting survivors of abuse

• ✅ Strong writing skills - perhaps from professional reports, proposals, academic work, journalism, or communications roles

• ✅ Organised and able to meet deadlines with good time management

• ✅ Self-motivated - able to work independently while staying connected with the team

• ✅ Available to commit 6-8 hours weekly from November 2025 - May 2026

• ✅ Comfortable communicating via email with team members and occasionally with external stakeholders

Bonus Points For

• Understanding of issues affecting Black women and domestic abuse services

• Experience in the nonprofit, social justice, or community sector

Don't worry if you don't have all the "bonus" experience. We value passion, commitment, and strong writing over specific credentials. If you have transferable skills and the desire to learn, we want to hear from you.

How We'll Support You

We know volunteer roles need to work for you too. Here's what we provide:

• Comprehensive induction session covering our mission, impact data, and funding priorities

• Regular check-ins with the team (bi-weekly, 30 minutes)

• Responsive support via email/messaging when you have questions

• Complete flexibility - work hours that suit your schedule, whether that's evenings, weekends, or weekday mornings

• Warm, collaborative team - you'll work alongside passionate, welcoming colleagues who value your contribution

• Leadership visibility - present your findings to our CEO and leadership team

Ready to Make a Difference?

Please refer to the attached job description with details on how to apply. We look forward to hearing from you. 

Our Commitment to You

Sistah Space is committed to diversity and welcomes applications from all backgrounds. We particularly encourage applications from individuals with lived experience of the communities we serve. We recognise that the best volunteers come from diverse experiences and perspectives.

All volunteers will be supported with appropriate training, regular supervision, and flexible working arrangements. We are committed to making this a valuable and rewarding experience for you.

Thank you for considering this opportunity to use your skills for social justice. Together, we can ensure that every Black woman survivor has access to the specialist support she deserves.

Proxy by IWI Overview
The mission of Proxy by IWI is to provide and encourage an engaged, thoughtful feminist response to mainstream media,
popular culture, legal discord and advocacy.

To be published daily on the web, Proxy by IWI is ambitious, distinctive journalism about the people, ideas, laws and institutions that matter most from a feminist perspective - and beyond. Featuring hard-hitting original reporting as well as smart analysis, provocative argument, and first-person perspectives.

Principal Responsibilities
• Maintain a comprehensive overview of trends and developments on women's human rights globally;
• Must be able to submit a minimum of two (2) articles a month for publication, avg 600-800 words;
• Verify accuracy of facts and obtain supplemental material and additional details from files, reference libraries, and
interviews with knowledgeable sources;
• Organise material and report conforming to specified length, style, and format requirements;
• Interview people in a range of different circumstances as needed;
•Build contacts to maintain a flow of news, for example, police and emergency services, local council, community groups, health trusts, press officers from a variety of organisations, the general public, etc;
• Work closely with the Proxy team to produce concise and accurate copy according to our house style; 
• Research and write feature articles, sometimes for subsidiary publications and supplements;
• Create news content for the Proxy by IWI website.

Requirements
• 4+ years' experience in research and /or reporting;
•Excellent interpersonal and collaboration skills, and the ability to work independently and as part of a team;
• Flexibility, initiative, and good problem-solving abilities;
• Multicultural experience and sensitivity to cross-cultural differences;
• Desire to work in a women's human rights environment;
• Strong listening skills;
• Excellent writing ability, including the ability to write in different styles and to other people's direction;
• Good analytical skills to gain an accurate understanding of the subject in question;
• Organisational ability to manage multiple projects, often to tight deadlines;
• Creative approach, both in coming up with ideas for new projects and for getting a message across innovatively; 
• Good attention to detail, including the ability to proof-read your own work;
• Excellent written English skills.
 

The Board of Trustees exists to inspire and guide both the Executive Leadership and the Senior Leadership Team through the application of Choose Love's vision, mission, and core principles, providing inclusive leadership. The Board Governance ensures that each trustee fulfils their duties and responsibilities for effective charity governance, whilst supporting and, where appropriate, challenging the Chief Executive and Deputy Chief Executive.

The trustees ensure that the Board functions as a cohesive unit and works closely with the entire Executive of the charity to achieve agreed objectives. They act as ambassadors and the public face of the charity in partnership with the Chief Executive, representing Choose Love's values and mission to stakeholders and the wider community.

We are looking to strengthen our existing board. Choose Love is seeking to recruit two additional trustees. 

1. TRUSTEE VACANCY ONE: TRUSTEE DEDICATED TO ADVANCING CHOOSE LOVE’S HUMANITARIAN PROGRAMMES
2. TRUSTEE VACANCY TWO: TRUSTEE DEDICATED TO ADVANCING CHOOSE LOVE’S COMMUNICATIONS STRATEGY

We are seeking trustees who are ready to do more than fulfil statutory requirements or attend scheduled meetings. The work of Choose Love, and the impact we strive to achieve, depends on trustees who are proactive, engaged, and generous with their time, expertise, and energy.

We encourage candidates who are willing to be accessible and responsive outside of formal board settings, whether that's by advising on urgent matters, attending events, mentoring staff or volunteers, or participating in advocacy and outreach activities. This role will involve reading and reflecting on reports and proposals in advance, giving thoughtful feedback, and being available for consultation as required.

Being a trustee at Choose Love is a dynamic commitment that extends beyond the boardroom. We are seeking individuals who will play an active role in shaping our vision, supporting our team, and ensuring the charity remains resilient and responsive to the needs of the communities we serve.