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Chair of the Board — United St Saviour's Charity
For almost 500 years, we've supported Southwark's communities. Now we're looking for a new Chair to help lead our next chapter — including delivering the RIBA Stirling Prize-winning legacy of Appleby Blue into a bold ten-year strategy.
United St Saviour's Charity is a place-based community investor in Southwark, providing almshouses, grant-funding and community programmes that build resilience and connection across the borough. Over the last decade we've nearly doubled our housing provision and delivered Appleby Blue — a social housing development for older people that went on to win the RIBA Stirling Prize, the UK's most prestigious architecture award.
This role is for you if:
- You have board leadership experience, ideally including previous experience chairing a board or significant committee
- You've held senior leadership roles within a medium-to-large charity or purpose-driven organisation, ideally through periods of growth, complexity or strategic change
- You bring strength in one or more of: housing and property development, organisational governance, community development, or finance and accounting
- You have a genuine, lived or learned understanding of Southwark and its communities
- You're as comfortable challenging and questioning as you are supporting — leading with influence rather than authority
What you'll do
As Chair, you'll lead our Board of Trustees and work in close partnership with our Chief Executive, Martyn Craddock, providing support, guidance and constructive challenge to help the organisation deliver its strategic plan. You'll ensure the charity remains well governed, financially sustainable, and focused on delivering lasting impact for the people of Southwark — while acting as an ambassador for our values, purpose and reputation, including in situations that require urgent decision-making.
You'll be joining at a pivotal moment: we're scaling up our housing development pipeline, delivering a new Community Investment Strategy for 2025–2030, and increasingly being asked to share what we've learned with other boroughs and housing providers as our national influence grows.
Location and time commitment
Based in the London Borough of Southwark — Board and committee meetings take place at our offices and almshouses. This is a voluntary role (reasonable expenses met) requiring approximately 2–3 days a month, including four Board meetings a year, a Strategy and Reflection Day, and membership of one to two committees.
How to apply
Send a CV and covering letter to Alison Benzimra, Director of Strategy and Operations by 14 October 2026, setting out why you're interested and how your skills, experience and background fit what we're looking for. Shortlisted candidates will be invited to interview with a panel drawn from the Board in 23 November 2026.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
Thank you!
Role overview
Trustee — Policy, Advocacy & EDI
About us: Could you help us get millions of separated children Back to Family?
Orphanages don’t protect children, they harm them. Put simply: the last thing an orphanage can provide is the first thing a child needs - someone to love them.
Right now, 5.4 million children around the world are locked away in orphanages — even though over 80% of them are not orphans. Orphanages expose children to abuse and trafficking, and physical and psychological trauma that can last a lifetime. A century of evidence shows that the bond between a child and their family is what every child needs to grow, thrive and be safe.
The role
As our Policy, Advocacy & EDI Trustee, you will help shape and strengthen HHC's influence on the global stage, bringing senior expertise to bear on the policy and financing decisions that determine the pace of care reform worldwide. Working closely with our Chair, CEO and senior advocacy and programmes colleagues, you will contribute to our ambitious 2030 goal by:
- Advocacy strategy — providing strategic guidance and constructive challenge to strengthen HHC's global advocacy approach, helping sharpen our positioning, messaging and campaign strategy on care reform.
- Policy and financing influence — advising the Board and Executive on opportunities to influence the decisions of governments, regional bodies and multilateral institutions, and supporting efforts to shift public and donor financing away from orphanages and towards family-based care.
- EDI leadership — championing equity, diversity and inclusion across Board governance, organisational culture, safeguarding, and HHC's external voice, including how we portray the children, families and communities we support.
- Stakeholder relationships — using your personal networks and credibility to open doors with policymakers, multilateral bodies, coalition partners and international fora relevant to care reform.
Who we are looking for
You will bring senior-level experience in public policy, government relations or international advocacy, ideally connected to child protection, social welfare or human rights, and a demonstrable track record of influencing policy or financing decisions at national, regional or international level. Beyond that, we are looking for someone who brings:
- A strong, practical understanding of equity, diversity and inclusion principles and how to apply them to governance and organisational culture
- An active network among policymakers, multilateral institutions, donors or the wider international child rights community
- Experience working across cultures and in international contexts, including in lower income countries and fragile and conflict-affected states
- The ability to translate specialist expertise into clear, practical guidance the Board and Executive can act on
Above all, you will share our belief that every child deserves to grow up in the love and safety of a family, and our commitment to driving that change with courage, integrity, excellence and being deeply human.
What we offer
This is a voluntary, unremunerated role. In return you will:
- Engage with our work across nine countries
- Contribute to systemic change at global scale, helping to shape the future for separated children worldwide
- Be part of an organisation approaching its 2030 goal — a worldwide consensus that orphanages have no place in any child's life
Time commitment
The role requires approximately 12–18 days per year, comprising:
- Four Board meetings per year (in person, London or virtual)
- Five subcommittee meetings per year (virtual), as a key member of our Programmes, Advocacy, Research and Accountability Committee (PARAC)
- An annual two-day awayday, which may take place in one of our countries of operation
- Additional time for preparation, ad hoc queries and induction in your first year
The initial term of office is three years, with the possibility of two further three-year terms by mutual agreement.
Closing Date: The final cut off for applications is 17.00 UK time on Thursday 8 October 2026 so please get in touch if you have the right skills, experience and passion for our cause.
To apply, please upload your CV and a brief covering letter indicating why you are interested in joining the Hope and Homes for Children Board and how your experience, skills and values map to the requirements of this role.
Diversity
Hope and Homes for Children actively encourages equity, diversity and inclusion, and we look to recruit a diverse range of people to reflect the communities in which we live. We are keen to see a diverse membership of both the trustee body and committees as we believe diversity brings us closer to our mission of eliminating orphanages.
Thank you for considering this role. Every child deserves to grow up in the love and safety of a family
Contract type
Volunteer
Hours
12 - 18 days per annum
Salary
Voluntary (expenses paid)
Thank you!
Location: Worldwide
Term: Voluntary – Unpaid (reasonable travel expenses can be claimed)
Closing date: Friday 2nd October 2026
Inspired by the Islamic faith and guided by our values, we envisage a caring world where communities are empowered, social obligations are fulfilled, and people respond as one to the suffering of others.
We provide lasting routes out of poverty, empowering people to transform their lives and serving all communities without prejudice.
As an independent faith-based humanitarian and development organisation, Islamic Relief Worldwide (IRW) has been serving humanity for over 40 years. With an active presence in over 40 countries across the globe, we strive to make the world a better and fairer place for the three billion people still living in poverty.
Since we were founded in 1984, Islamic Relief has grown into one of the world’s largest relief and development charities, touching the lives of over 120 million people.
Islamic Relief Worldwide (IRW) is seeking to appoint additional independent members to join our International General Assembly (IGA).
Following appointment to the IGA, independent members are eligible for nomination to the BoT after 1 year as an IGA independent member.
Appointments on the BoT are for a 4-year term limit.
The IGA is the highest body of the new Islamic Relief Worldwide governance structure and consists mainly of representatives elected by Islamic Relief family members across five continents, creating a body that is truly globally representative. It is from the IGA that IRW draws its trustees.
We would like to hear from exceptional applicants with considerable experience and specialist knowledge in a range of professional backgrounds: law, accountancy, audit, humanitarian programming, PR/communications, marketing or fundraising, IT, charity financial policy and strategy, shariah compliance. Those selected will play a vital role in IRW’s strategic work and in helping us respond to key challenges.
As a member of the IGA, it is expected you will be fully committed to the organisational objectives of IRW, sharing our vision, mission and values. You will be expected to attend meetings and be willing to devote the necessary time and effort to the role and to act in the best interest of IRW’s work and its rightsholders.
The Role
Key responsibilities:
- Participate in the oversight of the organisation in accordance with its statutory obligations, making sure that IRW satisfies its regulatory and legal requirements as a charity
- Act in a manner which supports the organisation in meeting aims and objectives as set out in IRW governing documents and in ensuring IRW long-term security
- Focus on strategic planning and governance when setting IRW priorities and objectives
- Participate in the approval of annual plans, strategies and budgets
- Support the financial stability of the charity and contribute to its effective and efficient administration, reviewing and approving financial strategies and monitoring income and expenditure, to ensure the organisation is in good financial health
- Promote IRW’s vision, mission and values and demonstrate IRW’s values in all of the IGA’s work.
About You
We are seeking exceptional candidates with a breadth of leadership experience who can enhance the strategic development of IRW and have the following skills and qualities:
- A deep commitment and passion for IRW’s faith-inspired values, vision and mission
- An understanding and acceptance of the legal duties, responsibilities and liabilities of trusteeship
- Considerable professional experience and specialist knowledge in one or more of the following – law, accountancy, audit, humanitarian programming, PR/communications, marketing or fundraising, IT, charity financial policy and strategy, shariah compliance
- Strategic vision and critical thinking skills
- Skills in problem solving and conflict resolution
- Legislative and operating framework for charities/voluntary and community sector organisations, especially an understanding of Charity Commission requirements
- A good understanding of the context IRW operates within
- Excellent communication and interpersonal skills; enjoys teamwork
- Willing to be an ambassador for IRW
- Demonstrates past public conduct, statements and behaviour that are in line with IRW’s values and expectations of the role
If you are interested in this role, please review the information pack before applying.
How to apply:
To make your application for the IGA position, please send a current CV and cover letter.
The deadline for applications is Friday, 2nd October 2026
PLEASE NOTE: Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.
Applications without a cover letter will not be accepted.
If you are interested in these roles, please review the information pack before applying.
How to apply:
To make your application for the IGA position, please send a current CV and cover letter to the address within this application.
The deadline for applications is: Friday 2nd October 2026
PLEASE NOTE: Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted
Registered Charity
101 - 500
Islamic Relief is a faith-based relief and development agency working to save and transform the lives of some of the world’s most vulnerable people.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.