STIR Education is looking to recruit three new trustees to join our board to offer strategic support. You will join a strong, committed Board to strengthen further the breadth of experience. We are particularly looking for trustees with education sector experience, a background in communications and marketing and/ or corporate sector leaders.
About US
Education and learning are not the same thing. Despite greater investment in government schools and huge improvements in attendance, children in low- and middle-income countries are still not learning. More than half of the world’s students are not on track to gain the most basic skills they need to get a job or participate in society (Theirworld). A lack of access to quality teaching is preventing quality learning.
To solve the global learning crisis, we must also solve the global teaching crisis. A staggering shortage of 44 million teachers (UNESCO) and high levels of burnout and attrition pose existential challenges for systems around the world to deliver quality education. Increasingly, we also demand that they tackle complex social issues such as climate change, gender inequality and social justice. As a result, teachers feel undervalued, demotivated and disregarded by their education systems. It’s not enough to improve teachers’ skills – we need to address their mindset and motivation. We cannot improve learning for our children until we change the way that teachers think and feel.
We believe that there is no greater education intervention than a teacher who loves teaching. But cultivating a love of teaching at a global scale is far from simple – to create it sustainably will take time and great effort. If we can shift teachers’ mindsets, we can change the mindsets of our children too, and create the positive classrooms that all education systems desire.
OUR VISION: A world where teachers love teaching and children love learning.
OUR MISSION: We support education systems to reignite intrinsic motivation so that every child, teacher and official is motivated to learn and improve.
We’ve been investing in teachers since 2012, starting with a small pilot for 25 teachers in Delhi. We have since grown to reach more than 550,000 teachers and 12 million children across India, Uganda, Indonesia and Ethiopia. We are now seeking bold, aspirational partners to join us in unlocking global learning through the power of teachers.
OUR PROGRAMME
We focus on improving learning outcomes for all children by inspiring intrinsic motivation in teachers. Those who engage with our programme experience a transformative change in how they feel about their jobs. Our model uses peer networks to motivate and support teachers in government education systems at large scale. Through our monthly meetings, teachers see that their decisions matter, they see themselves improving, they feel connected to their peers and they feel accountable to the children that they teach. Classrooms brim with possibility, so that every child’s potential can be unleashed, and their aspirations realised, to develop a lasting love of learning.
Every programme activity is delivered through government systems. This helps us to achieve scale sustainably, and ensures that we reach every child, with a special focus on girls. Together, we co-design programmes that better understand local needs and contextualise our work to them, and support governments to deliver each activity. We also build ownership so that each programme is eventually delivered independently by our partner governments.
OUR VALUES
How we approach our work is as important as what we do, and our core values guide the way:
- Humility – We don’t have all the answers upfront.
- Ownership – We empower each other with high expectations and support
- Openness – We will listen, learn and improve, and lead through obstacles.
- Purpose – We’re united by a shared vision we’ll build and achieve together.
BOARD MEMBER ROLE DESCRIPTION
As the highest leadership body of the organisation the board is responsible for:
Sharing and aligning with the STiR’s values of Humility, Openness, Ownership, Purpose
Ensuring that the organisation complies with guidelines, legislation and any other legislation or regulations.
Making sure that the organisation pursues defined goals in line with its stated objectives.
Monitoring the financial position and ensuring that it operates within its means and that there are clear lines of accountability for financial management.
Contributing to the board of trustees’ role of providing strategic direction and supporting the development of policies, goals and targets.
Amplifying STiR’s profile both in the mainstream and the educational sector.
Making sure that the administration of the company is carried out efficiently.
Ensuring the financial stability of an organisation.
Using specific expertise to assist in given areas.
Developing fundraising through Board Members’ connections and networks.
Assessing its own performance as the governance body of STIR Education.
EACH INDIVIDUAL BOARD MEMBER IS EXPECTED TO:
Attend four board meetings a year, at least one in person, and one away day
Provide ad hoc advice where necessary to the Executive Team
Adhere to STIR’s policies and procedures including those related to confidentiality, equality, diversity and inclusion and safeguarding
Serve as active advocates and ambassadors for the organisation and fully engage in identifying and securing resources and partnerships necessary for STIR Education to advance its mission through advocacy, profile building and fundraising
The Board is looking to fill 3 trustee roles with the following broad skill sets:
EDUCATION SECTOR experience including advocacy & policy influence, research and M&E – to provide strategic guidance and advice in positioning ourselves as a key education organisation
COMMUNICATIONS /MARKETING background – to help build profile and communicate our work effectively through diverse communication channels including digital communications
CORPORATE SECTOR LEADERS (finance / banking / legal / technology / FMCG) – to support developing corporate partnerships and expand our high net worth individuals’ initiative
BOARD MEMBER WITH EXPERIENCE IN THE EDUCATION SECTOR
A vacancy exists for a Board Member with experience in the education sector, especially in one of more of the following functional areas of expertise: Advocacy & Policy Influencing, Research and Monitoring, Evaluation & Impact Assessments and Communications. This person will play a crucial role in providing strategic guidance and expertise in STIR Education’s advocacy and influencing efforts, developing a research programme and in deepening our culture of evidence. This position requires a strong background in the education sector with deep knowledge and background on programme development, providing education advisory services, advocacy, policy, communications and fundraising architecture (philanthropic / institutional) within the education sector, with strong networks within the sector. A background in a corporate or a policy/research organisation would be welcome.
PERSON REQUIREMENTS:
Proven experience in public provision and improvement of education in diverse countries (preferred Africa, Asia. Latin America).
Experience with working in partnership with governments, academia and philanthropy in the field of education.
Experience of working with co-developing and scaling programmes in education.
Strong analytical and critical thinking skills, with the ability to interpret complex data and generate actionable insights.
Proven experience in monitoring and evaluation, preferably within the non-profit or international development sector. Knowledge of the education sector is desirable
Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to collaborate effectively with diverse stakeholders.
Demonstrated commitment to STiR’s mission and values.
Previous board experience or familiarity with governance responsibilities is desirable but not mandatory.
Strategic mind set and the ability to think long-term while balancing immediate organisational needs.
BOARD MEMBER WITH A COMMUNICATIONS / MARKETING BACKGROUND
STiR’s fundraising is closely linked to its ability to develop and articulate a compelling narrative of its programmes. Our work is about long term behaviour change, working through the education systems for a systems wide reform. Our interventions are thus very indirect and we do not run our own projects. While this is important in terms of achieving scale and sustainability, it invariably creates complexities and challenges while communicating with our prospective donors (organisations and individuals). We are therefore seeking board members who have a strong background and experience in communications and marketing, with a proven ability and experience of communicating complex messages in an effective manner across diverse audiences to provide strategic guidance and advice to our teams. They would have an impressive network of individuals and agencies they have worked with who can support us to get sharper and clearer in our messages, while also enabling us access to key communications channels that can help with positioning STiR as a credible organisation for raising income and for our influencing agenda with policy makers.
PERSON REQUIREMENTS:
Senior level experience in marketing and communications, preferably in advertising, retail / consumer products or in mainstream media outlets (print / television/digital)
Proven ability to communicate complex messages preferably on behaviour change
Understanding of consumer preferences and audience segmentation and experience of running highly successful communication / digital campaigns
Background in creating and launching brands with proven success
Should have extensive networks in the communications / PR sector across diverse communication channels, especially digital, and willingness to leverage these
Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to collaborate effectively with diverse stakeholders.
Demonstrated commitment to STiR’s mission and values.
Previous board experience or familiarity with governance responsibilities is desirable but not mandatory.
Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to collaborate effectively with diverse stakeholders.
Strategic mind set and the ability to think long-term while balancing immediate organisational needs.
BOARD MEMBER WITH CORPORATE LEADERSHIP EXPERIENCE
Ideally London based, this board member will be someone working at a senior leadership, governance or advisory level with extensive corporate connections (finance / banking / legal/technology/FMCG). This person will have the explicit responsibility of enabling us to connect with major corporate CEOs/ CSR leads / wealth managers to help us develop our corporate partnerships and our high net worth individuals’ initiative. A large part of our income is from restricted sources, and while this is still important and we need to continue to grow this pipeline, it is also important for us to raise unrestricted funds from a range of philanthropic organisations or individuals and / or through corporate partners (e.g. through Charity of the Year appeals).
Senior leadership in highly reputed corporate entities, preferably in the finance, banking, legal, technology or consumer products businesses
Demonstrated commitment to philanthropy and building strong partnerships between the corporate sector and not-for-profit sector
Deep understanding of CSR and philanthropy with personal experience in these areas being desirable
Strong conviction about the power of the private sector being agents / catalysts of transformative change through innovative partnerships for social change
Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to collaborate effectively with diverse stakeholders.
Demonstrated commitment to STiR’s mission and values.
Previous board experience or familiarity with governance responsibilities is desirable but not mandatory.
Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to collaborate effectively with diverse stakeholders.
Strategic mind set and the ability to think long-term while balancing immediate organisational needs.
HOW TO APPLY
To express an interest, please send your CV and a short statement setting out why the role of trustee interests you, how your values align with ours and which of the specific skills/experience that we are looking for you believe you bring.
Please send these to Jenny Willmott, our Senior Director, Programme Delivery jwillmott@stireducation.org
Deadline for expressions of interest is Friday 1st December.
If you would like to discuss the role or have any questions, please email Jenny directly.