• Act for Peace is a dynamic humanitarian aid and development agency
• Vacancy for a non-Executive Director on our Board
• Location: Australia

About Us

Act for Peace Ltd is the international aid and development agency of the National Council of Churches in Australia (NCCA) and has been a wholly owned subsidiary of the NCCA since 2017. The NCCA is the sole Member of Act for Peace. We are a company limited by guarantee, registered with the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission, and a member of the Australian Council for International Development.

Our History and Identity

Act for Peace has a long history, with its beginnings in 1949 when the Victorian, Rev Frank Byatt instigated the first ‘Christmas Bowl’ by placing an empty bowl on his family’s Christmas table and asking quests to give what they considered would be the cost of an additional person at the table. He was particularly unsettled that we in Australia could be so safe and well fed while so many around the world were suffering homelessness as a result of World War II. He was not alone. Many other people and groups around the world were horrified by what they had witnessed in the aftermath of global conflict. And there was an appetite for collective effort.

We continue to believe all people are created equal and should be treated this way. We believe we should treat our neighbours as ourselves. Yet, right now, we’re living in a world of ‘us’ and ‘them’. Divisions are deepening, conflicts are escalating, and climate inaction is placing lives in peril. This means that every day more of us around the world are forced from our homes by violent conflict and disaster.

Our purpose is to create, together, a world where people uprooted by conflict and disaster have a safe place to belong. Today’s global displacement crisis poses one of the greatest challenges in human history; our team believes this is a crisis we can and must do something about.

Our work and approach

Act for Peace works in collaboration with long-term local partners who take the lead in our work. We collaborate with local, regional and global networks, academics, governments and the UN to ensure people uprooted by conflict and disaster have a safe place to belong.

Our approach is to:

• Back Displaced People, working in solidarity with local partners
• Build Unity, reducing division and creating a more compassionate society
• Transform the System, advocating for a radically different response to the displacement crisis

Our goals are to work with others to ensure:

• Safety in Exile; people live in safety, with dignity, while displaced
• Uprooted people find a permanent place to belong
• Reduced displacement, with fewer people forced to flee their homes

Act for Peace has refreshed our strategy for the next five years. We are sharpening our focus on the experience of forced displacement, wanting to be even more informed and led by uprooted people.

To this end we are seeking a new director with lived experience of displacement.

Selection Criteria:

1. Our search is informed by our Constitution, which requires us to have directors with a sound understanding of the church, the wider community and be committed to the Object of Act for Peace, and its international humanitarian activities.
2. In line with our new strategy we are seeking Directors with lived experience of forced displacement. We aim to expand the ethnic diversity of the Board and to include directors who are younger than 40. Expertise in innovation and business development, and knowledge of new funding models for not for profit organisations are desirable skills.
3. We are also looking for directors with an ability to work well with others, who reflect our values of humility, courage, creativity and integrity.

If you share our passion for creating a world where everyone has a safe place to belong due to your own experience of displacement, have some understanding of the governance of organisations and are interested in joining our board, we are keen to hear from you.

Expectations and commitments required, and what we offer:

• The Board meets four times a year: twice face to face if possible and twice virtually during business hours, with one overnight stay in Sydney to facilitate board culture.
• The Board currently has two ongoing committees, and one that meets as needed. One has a focus on policy, partners and programs; the other supports our finance, risk and business innovation work. The third, the Nominations Committee meets as needed. You would be invited to join one of these committees.
• All expenses incurred with fulfilling your director duties will be reimbursed.
• We currently pay half of directors’ AICD or equivalent membership.
• We support new directors through a thorough induction program, providing a new director ‘buddy’ and all directors have an individual professional development plan that is reviewed annually. Related courses and workshops attended that are part of your development plan are paid for by Act for Peace.
• If successful you would be required to undergo a WWCC, a Police check, and counter-terrorism checks. .
• Once appointed you will be required to undertake two online training modules of about an hour in length each.

Application

Please apply by clicking Apply Now.

A position description is attached.

Your application will need to include:

1. Your CV.
2. A statement which outlines how you see yourself meeting the requirements of our Constitution, the extent to which you have the skills and competencies we are interested in, and the ways you share our values.
3. A declaration that you are not a disqualified person by ACNC, and are willing to undergo our required reference checking, and other safeguarding and counter terrorism checks we will undertake before you are appointed as a director.

For more information please contact our Chair, Ginie Udy ([email protected] using the subject line: Non-Executive Director - Flexible Location enquiry via EthicalJobs or on 0408 020 836)

Thank you for your interest in this position.

Act for Peace prioritises the safeguarding of all people, including the prevention of sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment, and the protection of children. Employment and engagement is conditional upon the outcome of an Australian Federal Police Background check, as well as an equivalent police background check for any country in which the applicant has lived for more than 12 months during the last five years and each country of citizenship and Working With Children Checks where possible. Our policies, including our Child Safeguarding Policy, Prevention of Sexual Exploitation, Abuse and Harassment Policy and Code of Conduct can be found at: http://www.actforpeace.org.au/our-policies