ACCESS NL > Features > Vacancy: Two Members of the Supervisory Board of the Foundation (Stichting) ACCESS
Vacancy: Two Members of the Supervisory Board of the Foundation (Stichting) ACCESS
2019-12-09 | By Chair ACCESS Board
ACCESS, a not-for-profit Foundation (Stichting), one of the oldest support organisations for expats and internationals in the Netherlands, currently has two vacancies on the Supervisory Board. Are you the person we need to help take us into our next phase of development? Do you have an interest in, and pulse on, the challenges of global mobility in the Netherlands?
Background information about ACCESS:
Stichting ACCESS is a national, professional, not-for-profit, volunteer organisation established in the Netherlands in 1986.
ACCESS provides free information in English to internationals that have come to the Netherlands through our helpdesk, website and a quarterly magazine. Since 2010 we have extended our support to personally respond to and serve internationals face-to-face through partnerships with municipal expat centres in The Hague, Amsterdam, Utrecht and Leiden. In addition, ACCESS provides services to the community through our on-call counsellors’ network, our childbirth courses and our trainers.
ACCESS also works together the governmental and municipal agencies to advise and support the relocation of foreign companies and their employees to the Netherlands and liaises with a network of service suppliers who support the international community.
ACCESS does this by consistently maintaining a trained staff of approximately 150 volunteers often from over 40 countries, each one of whom brings to ACCESS their own personal international experiences of living and adjusting to the cultures of countries other than their home country and in particular the Netherlands. These volunteers are the essence of ACCESS’ understanding of and empathy for the challenges inherent to individual and family integration into a new culture.
ACCESS and its volunteers are managed on a day-to-day basis by an Executive Director who is employed by and reports directly to the Board. In addition there is a paid Back Office & Operations Manager, and paid Project Managers in our main locations.
ACCESS is mainly funded through working agreements with the local authority expat centres and through sponsorship agreements with a variety of companies who support the international community.
The Supervisory Board:
The Board of ACCESS supervises the management of the Foundation and indirectly therefore the delivery and quality of its services. The Board is the employer of the Executive Director and hence appoints and appraises this person, in addition to assisting with advice and serving as a sounding board. The Board consists of five members and due to resignations after a number of years will shortly have two vacancies.
The Supervisory Board provides oversight and perspective. Oversight, especially of the finances, ensures that the organisation is financially sound, that the organisation is following its own rules, and that the accounts are done correctly and properly reported. The provision of perspective is in terms of mission and strategic direction, areas where the Board should also play a strong role, based on their experience, fields of expertise and networks. Furthermore Board members are expected to ensure legal and ethical integrity, checking that standards are being met. Guardianship of the organisation is an integral part of each Board member’s role. Oversight is characterised as ‘hands on’, but not ‘hands in’ the organisation (which is the role of the Executive Director and her team).
The duties and responsibilities of the Board are described in the Articles of Association. The latest version date from 2012 and the Board has been in the process of updating these, with the intention to change from an Executive Board (‘Bestuur’) to a Supervisory Board (‘Raad van Toezicht’), which is seen as the next logical step for the Foundation.
Strategic and operational challenges for Stichting ACCESS:
- Positioning of the Foundation in a rapidly changing environment
- Financing (the Foundation has built up a solid financial position in the last few years for a not-for-profit organisation, but the continued provision of high-quality services requires continued financial attention)
- Adequate balance between supply and demand from volunteers (with a high turnover) and clients
- Continued advocacy for the challenges faced by internationally recruited talent and their families in order to impact talent retention
What we are looking for in our new Board members:
- An affinity with and understanding of the challenges of moving as an international to a new country/culture
- Board members who are complementary in terms of knowledge, experience and networks, including profit/non-profit sector, public/private sector, business, social, governmental, administrative, financial, economic, diversity, legal and political backgrounds
- Willingness where/when required using their networks in their ambassadorship of the Foundation and its aims
- Ability to endorse the objectives of the Foundation with conviction
- Ability to test (and help formulate) the strategy and direction of the organisation and operate at a strategic level, whilst being able to analyse and form an opinion on matters submitted to the Board by the Executive Director
- Ability and attitude to assist the Executive Director with advice and as a sounding board
- Ability to provide advice and supervision in a team context, whilst keeping the balance between involvement and distance
- Integrity, sense of responsibility, an independent attitude, adhering to the Values of ACCESS (see below)
- Knowledge of management, finance and marketing are all advantages
- Knowledge of developments in the international/expat area in the Netherlands
- Interest in, or an understanding of, the specialities of a mainly volunteer organisation
- Based in the Netherlands
In addition it may well be that at least one of the candidates will have one of the following:
- A business profile (which includes the understanding of finance and strategy), perhaps/preferably at an international employer
- A national Dutch perspective of the international community
- A connection with Talent (acquisition and retention)
Selection procedure:
Candidates are invited to express their interest by sending a short motivation and a current CV to Dr Gary Hays, Chair of the Board of ACCESS, by e-mail at board@access-nl.org before the end of the year (31st December 2019).
The current Board members will determine which candidates will be invited for interview and will form the interview panel and selection committee. The Board may solicit the advice and assistance from previous Board members and from the Executive Director of ACCESS.
Additional information about the vacancies can be obtained from Gary Hays either via the dedicated e-mail address given above or via the telephone (+31655838162 or 0655838162 in the Netherlands)
Remuneration:
Board membership is an unpaid position, given the nature and objective of the organisation. Nevertheless the Supervisory Board views its role as a professional task and expects its members to provide sufficient time to carry out its duties. The Board currently meets 4-5 times a year, although additional time might be occasionally necessary in the support of the Executive Director and her team, at Foundation events and in meetings with external stakeholders such as City Governments.
Further information about ACCESS – including the mission, vision and values, can be found on the website.
To download a pdf of this announcement, click here.2019 ACCESS Board Vacancies
