Are you passionate about changing policies that hold women back? Know what it takes to shift national policy and influence political or business decision-makers? Do you understand the ways in which layers of oppression and disadvantage intersect and compound for different women in Australia? Then apply now to join the Fair Agenda board!
About Fair Agenda
Fair Agenda is a community driven by 37,000 Australians who are campaigning together to bring us closer to a fair and equal future for all women.
Right now our communities top priorities are: addressing gendered violence, improving women's representation, and protecting reproductive rights.
Since Fair Agenda launched our first campaign 3.5 years ago we have:
- Stopped thousands of calls to the national domestic violence hotline from going unanswered, by winning $4 million of additional federal government funding for 1800 RESPECT,
- Kept a media spotlight on the federal government’s decision to leave thousands of women without access to the family violence services they need to be safe – and partnered with services and survivor advocates to push the federal government to announce an additional $150 million for family violence response (including for services like Family Violence Prevention Legal Services).
- Stopped scheduled cuts to working parents’ time to care for their newborns that would have hurt 79,000 families per year, slashing the time they could afford to care for their new baby.
- Partnered with university students and survivors to help secure a commitment from Universities to provide a 24/7 trauma specialist telephone hotline for people affected by university sexual assault.
- Pushed more than a dozen universities to improve the transparency and quality around their training to prevent sexual violence; and established the first public record of the training policies of Australia’s university residences.
Fair Agenda frequently works in partnership with policy experts, service providers and people with lived experience to campaign on issues of gender inequality; and brings critical rapid response campaigning capacity to the women’s movement.
What's involved
The Directors of Fair Agenda are collectively responsible for:
- Upholding the mission of the organisation and ensuring the organisation is in the best position to foster a bold and inclusive community winning positive changes to bring us closer to a fair and equal future for all women,
- Ensuring long term strategy is in place - including approving, evaluating and refining strategic planning,
- Ensuring the organisation remains compliant to relevant regulatory bodies,
- Organisational oversight, including approving major strategic and financial decisions,
- Driving organisation review and risk review processes,
- Ensuring the organisation uses its finances in a sustainable way,
- Assisting with fundraising where possible, as part of the Board’s role in ensuring the organisation’s financial sustainability,
- Selecting, supporting and reviewing the performance of the Executive Director, and
- Providing expert and strategic advice and mentoring to the Executive Director as required.
Therefore, all Fair Agenda Board members are required to:
- Be willing and able to oversee governance and organisational strategy,
- Be available for Board duties, including:
- Attending 2 hours of Board meetings each month (via teleconference if preferred),
- Completing 1 hour pre-reading for board meetings each month,
- Attending 2 x board retreats each year (these will generally last up to one full day),
- Providing mentoring and ad hoc support to the Executive Director in areas of their expertise,
- Serving on at least one subcommittee (for example finance, risk management, setting remuneration), and actively participating in any other ad hoc discussions,
- Attending two Fair Agenda events annually (where possible).
- Prepare for and participate in the discussions and deliberations of the Board,
- Be aware of, disclose and abstain from any conflict of interest.
With these obligations in mind; we ask that applicants for this role commit to an availability of at least 8 hours per month for Board duties.
We also note that the intention to stand as a candidate for public office is considered a conflict of interest incompatible with holding the position of Director at Fair Agenda.
Recruitment criteria for this Role
Core criteria we’re considering in applications for this role are:
- A passion for tackling structural gender inequality, and campaigning for a fair and equal future for women,
- An understanding of what it takes to shift national policy and influence political and/or business decision-makers
- Familiarity with community driven campaigning and how it works,
- An understanding of the ways in which layers of oppression and disadvantage compound for different women in Australia, and
- An ability to provide input and oversight on organisational strategy
Additional skills and experiences considered valuable in applicants:
- An understanding of and/or training in anti-oppression,
- Experience developing and/or delivering campaigns on a national scale,
- Familiarity with areas of social policy affecting women,
- Previous governance or board experience,
- Understanding of the media and political landscape,
- Experience managing or overseeing organisation level finances,
- Familiarity with the funding models of community campaigning organisations with non-financial membership,
- Experience working with an organisation in start-up phase,
- Fundraising experience or relationships.
Please note that we particularly encourage Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women to consider applying for this role.
There is no location requirement for this role, so we also encourage people based outside of metropolitan areas to apply.
The full position description and application details for this role are available for download here.
Please note that expressions of interest for this role have been extended and will close Monday 16th October at 5pm Melbourne time.
*Fair Agenda are also advertising other Board roles. You can find out about all opportunities to work with Fair Agenda here. You can also find out about other opportunities by following us on facebook here.