Campaign Against Arms Trade is looking for up to 3 new members for our Steering Committee, which acts as our governing board, overseeing CAAT’s work.
What does CAAT do?
At Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT) we carry out research on and campaign against the UK arms trade. We expose weapons sales, human rights abuses and corruption, and campaign for a better future. We believe that the arms trade is not only devastating to human rights, but also damages economic development both in the UK and abroad.
We want to see a vision of security that addresses the main causes of insecurity, like social and economic inequality, white supremacy, and climate change, not one that is led by arms companies and the military.
CAAT structure
CAAT was set up in 1974. It is a non-hierarchical, not-for-profit Company Limited by Guarantee. Steering Committee members, who include CAAT staff alongside volunteer non-staff members, are the company Directors of CAAT. Together, the Steering Committee has overall responsibility for the running of the organisation. Steering Committee meets four times a year, currently online or in hybrid form, usually on a Saturday. The meetings address matters of policy, long-term planning and general guidance of the campaigns. Occasionally, there are additional online meetings outside the regular schedule, to deal with particular issues.
At present there are 8 staff at CAAT, and 6 non-staff members of Steering Committee. We are currently going through a Governance Review, as part of which we will be adding an Advisory Board alongside the Steering Committee to provide new strategic thinking and critical reflection on CAAT’s work, along with other changes to our governance. CAAT is also embarking on a process to develop our Vision, Mission, Values, and Theory of Change, as a first stage of a long-term strategy process.
CAAT is currently seeking up to 3 new volunteer members of Steering Committee to help oversee the organisation as we continue our period of transition. We hope that new members will serve for at least one year, and if possible three years or more, but of course there is no obligation to do so.
Steering Committee main responsibilities
- To keep up to date with CAAT’s campaign work
- To actively participate in SC meetings, offering guidance to the organisation’s campaigns, financial and long-term planning issues.
- To scrutinise CAAT’s budgets, management accounts and financial statements, ensuring they meet the organisation’s needs and regulatory requirements.
- To ensure CAAT submits accurate information on time to Companies House and any other appropriate statutory body
- To act as the employer of all CAAT staff, including participating in recruitment processes, deciding on salaries and conditions of employment, and involvement in other HR procedures as necessary
- To ensure CAAT is following and regularly reviewing its policies and procedures and keeping them up to date
- To participate in and support CAAT’s current change management process, including the Governance Review, and the transition to the new governance structure.
- In the coming months, to participate in the upcoming Vision, Mission, Values and Theory of Change process, including attendance at one or more 1-day facilitated workshops
Person specification
The main qualities we are looking for in potential new Steering Committee members are:
- Willingness to devote time, enthusiasm and effort to the duties and responsibilities of a CAAT Steering Committee member
- Ability to offer strategic advice, support and guidance to a not-for-profit campaigning organisation
- Commitment to the collective running of CAAT, sharing responsibility for organisational strategic planning and making decisions by consensus
- A good understanding of and commitment to Justice, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
- An understanding and acceptance of the legal duties, responsibilities and liabilities of a Director (not a pre-requisite: training will be provided for this as necessary as part of your induction)
- Commitment to CAAT’s aims and objectives
What we are looking for
We seek to recruit people to Steering Committee with a diverse range of skills and experiences, to be able to collectively support and scrutinise the work of the staff in all areas of our activities. At present, the particular areas we are looking for people with experience in are listed below. We do NOT expect applicants to meet all of these – rather, we hope that different candidates will bring different and complementary sets of skills and experience to the Steering Committee. Experience in any one of these areas is therefore an advantage.
– Knowledge and understanding of fundraising in the not for profit sector (from both Trusts and supporters)
– Experience of organisational strategic development processes
– Basic understanding of accounts and financial/budget management
– Practical experience, in particular lived experience, of dealing with issues of power and privilege, relating to race and/or other axes of oppression, in an organisation
NB: Steering Committee meetings for the remainder of 2023 are planned for Saturday 30 September and Saturday 9 December. Typically, meetings are held in March, June, September/October, and December, although this can vary subject to availability. Ideally, Steering Committee members should attend all these meetings, although it is understood that this may not always be possible. The meetings will most likely be fully online, although a hybrid meeting with both online and in-person participation is possible.
If you want to know more about what being a Steering Committee member involves, email [email protected], and one of us will get back to you.
Remuneration
The Steering Committee role is a voluntary position. However, travel expenses and accommodation necessary in order to attend meetings (where they are held in-person or hybrid) will be paid for.
How to apply
To apply for a position on Steering Committee please send an email of up to 500 words to [email protected] by 23:59 on Sunday 13th August outlining your relevant experience and demonstrating your commitment to CAAT’s aims. You do not need to send a formal CV. As this is a volunteer role there are no formal interviews, and we will follow up with candidates by phone or Zoom/Teams to discuss your experience in more detail, so please include your contact details. Due to the sensitive nature of our work around the arms trade, we request two personal references from you. Successful candidates will be inducted to the role before the next Steering Committee meeting on 30 September.
Thank you for your interest.
