PROSPECT • BURMA

Porters’ Lodge Rivermead Court,RanelaghGardens,London SW6 3SF

Telephone: 020 7371 0887 Fax: 020 7371 0547

E-Mail:

Website:

Executive Director – Prospect Burma

Applications are invited for the position of Executive Director of Prospect Burma. Interested candidates should send their CV and covering letter to the Vice-Chairman Ms Patricia Herbert by email () before 30 April. The aim is for the new Director to start work in June. The current Director Fraser Wilson would be happy to provide advice on 020 7371 0887.

What Prospect Burma Does

Prospect Burma is a small UK registered charity whose purpose is to help the education of Burmese citizens wishing to promote democracy in their homeland. It fulfils this mission by granting scholarships for study courses at tertiary level at educational institutions outside Burma, and by supporting small-scale educational projects, both inside and outside Burma.

Job Summary

The Executive Director is responsible to the Board of Trustees for making policy recommendations, implementing Board decisions, and organising the day to day management of the charity. He cooperates with and leads the work of the self-employedDevelopment Director and Programme Adviser, and cooperates closely with trustees, especially the Vice Chairman, and volunteers who contribute to the work of the charity.

The key duties are:

  • Liaison with the Chairman and other trustees on policy
  • Planning and organising the annual cycle of scholarship awards together with the Vice Chairman (who chairs the scholarship sub committee)
  • Supervising the fundraising and public relations activities of the Development Director
  • Taking a leading role in maintaining relations with major donors
  • Assessing and taking action on project proposals
  • Planning and implementing the administration of the charity
  • Budgeting and planning financing with the Programme Adviser
  • Organising trustee meetings and finalising the minutes
  • Making annual reports to the Charity Commission and ensuring compliance with charity law
  • Supervising the maintenance of databases.
  • Attending donor and student meetings in the UK and abroad

Required Skills, Knowledge and Abilities

A) Experience

i) Essential

  • A track record in management, including financial management
  • Working with governance systems
  • Working with email, word processing, spreadsheets and (desirably) databases

ii) Highly Desirable

  • Active experience of charity work
  • Academic assessment
  • Fundraising methods

iii) Desirable

  • Work in developing countries and specifically in Burma
  • Work with academic institutions
  • Administering websites

B) Knowledge

  • Legal & moral obligations of charities and their trustees
  • Fundraising strategies and funding sources
  • Tertiary level educational systems

C) Abilities

  • Strategic thinking
  • Effective communication
  • Leadership
  • Hands on and adaptable working methods

Terms of Service

These are negotiable. The present situation is that the Director works a three day week in the charity’s modest offices in Fulham. His salary is £18,000 pa which carries no pension or formal holiday entitlements.

Main Operations

Scholarships

The scholarship awards system operates on an annual cycle. We request applications at the beginning of the year to be submitted by 8 March. On arrival the applications are registered on a spreadsheet, sorted into countries of study (mainly ThailandIndia) and into institutions. The applications are assessed according to agreed criteria by the “Scholarships Committee” (principally at present the Director, Vice Chairman and Programme Adviser) and a shortlist of grantees is compiled.

When the decisions are firmed up, the Director informs each successful student and issues a formal grant letter. Once a signed copy of the grant letter is returned, payment may be made by international bank transfer (or by cheque to students in the UK). Correspondence with and about applicants is carried out by the Director and, occasionally, the Vice- Chairman.

Our aim is to make all grant decisions by end July and complete payments by the end of August. This process requires close and detailed cooperation with our representative organisation in Rangoon and Chiang Mai who also work for the other main grant giver, the Open Society Foundation (OSF), and some smaller grant givers. They make recommendations, provide background information and pay the students. We have cooperation over awards to students in India, who provide a good deal of work, with the StudentInformationCenter (SIC) in Delhi (set up by OSF). Once we have compiled our Indiashortlist, SIC vet it by confirming identities and enrolments. When the grant list is confirmed, they pay the students on our behalf. We deal directly with students studying elsewhere in the world.

Projects

The Director maintains administrative oversight and funding of ongoing projects (including a teacher training project now based in Burma, an English Language teaching school in Delhi, and a small English language teaching school in Kachin State), and assesses project proposals with the trustees. The work includes checking budgets, involvement in some management issues, occasional monitoring visits, making payments, and producing reports for donors.

Fundraising

Fundraising is mainly the responsibility of the Development Director who edits and despatches the twice-yearly newsletter, manages the website, organises events, makes applications to funding institutions and interacts with donors and supporters. The Executive Director makes applications to the principal funder, the US State Department, and administers their reporting procedures, and maintains relations with other major donors

Management & Administration

The Director is responsible for liaison on strategy with the Chairman, Vice Chairman and other trustees. He also carries out most day-to-day management tasks including overseeing the ordering of supplies, maintaining agreements, paying bills, keeping a cash flow record and dealing with queries. He provides financial records to the Programme Adviser who carries out banking of deposits, prepares quarterly and annual accounts, and maintains Gift Aid records. The Director is responsible for preparing the annual return to the Charity Commission.

The Director and Development Director delegate some tasks where possible to volunteers. Moreover, the Vice Chairman plays a major role in the scholarship process.

The Director maintains contact with the trustees and takes the lead with the Chairman in preparing for, recording and following up Trustee meetings.

January 2013