Member of the Board

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Member of the Board

At OpenEmbassy we are looking for two Members of the Board to join our team. We expect one member to take on in particular the role of Treasurer, and the other member to advise and guide the organization in the application of technology and Artificial Intelligence (AI) in its Business model and operations. 

Volunteer

About OpenEmbassy

Our vision

OpenEmbassy works towards a just and effective government policy and practice approach and a welcoming society for all newcomers.

Our mission

Our mission is to ensure that Dutch (local) governments design and implement laws, regulations, policies and interventions that are developed with and for newcomers, and are based on the lived experience of newcomers. In due course, we have the ambition to expand the scope of our work to other countries of the European Union area. 

Our history and where we are now

OpenEmbassy was founded in 2016 by action researcher Renée Frissen and developer Ahmad Kabakibi. They designed an online helpdesk, where newcomers ask questions and native or experienced Dutch people provide answers. We evolved into a data driven and community informed social enterprice that uses individual support, monitoring and evaluation and learning to design and implement solutions for integration. Our solutions are always grounded in the lived experience of newcomers. After eight years, we are ready to grow our impact and seek two new Board members to guide and inspire us in making further progress.

Our numbers

OpenEmbassy has impacted more than 19,000 newcomers directly through their online and offline communities, and they have reached over 175,000 newcomers through their integration programs across 94 cities in the Netherlands (27% of all cities). Our programs have led to over 260 changed practices and changed policies across the Netherlands, both on a local and national level.

Our team

  • We are 16 people in our core team, and are supported by 3 interns and a flex pool of self-employed team members and cultural mediators

  • 30% of our team has the lived experience of seeking refuge

  • Over 50% of our team has a bicultural background and/ or lived experience with migration (forced or by choice)

Our current Board

Our Board was established in 2022 and now consists of Chairperson Peter van Tuijl and Margot Strijbosch and Farshida Zafar. Peter has an extensive background in transnational civil society and recently retired as Director of Nuffic in Southeast Asia. Margot is a strategic change manager with a broad experience in Dutch academia and currently manages the Beethoven programme for the TU/ Eindhoven. Farshida is Director of the Erasmus Centre for Entrepreneurship. 

About the role

As OpenEmbassy is growing and implementing a new scaling strategy. We want our Board to grow with us.  We are looking for a new Treasurer and a member with a background in AI/technology to join the Board, to support and advise the senior management of OpenEmbassy: founder and CEO Renée Frissen and COO Robert Hehakaya.

About you

We are looking for two people who feel enthusiast to support our mission and are able to draw from a combination of the following skills and features:

  • You are naturally interested in other people, in what they do and what drives them

  • You recognize yourself in our core values ​​of equality, authenticity, independence and curiosity

  • You preferably know Dutch society well

  • You want- and have the time to actively contribute to OpenEmbassy

  • You are a team player who values ​​an unbiased and open understanding

  • You preferably have lived experience with (forced) migration are familiar with the context of (im)migration and integration, ideally by lived experience

  • You have knowledge about and affinity with public affairs and the social domain

  • You have experience in a leading or supervisory position

  • You have experience with a social enterprise 

    In addition, we are specifically look for:

    a Board member with a financial background.

  • You have experience in corporate financial management, Tax, cost accounting  and auditing in a leadership position 

  • You preferably have experience working with a social enterprise or a philanthropic foundation

  • You have a network and are comfortable interacting with impact investors

  • You have an understanding of financial management as part of a growth strategy

  • You can contribute to expanding OpenEmbassy scope of work beyond the Netherlands into the European Union   

  • You enjoy sharing your experience, and know how to listen and ask the right questions

a Board member with an IT-AI background

  • You have knowledge and experience as a researcher or practitioner with applying IT/AI to social causes 

  • You have a particular sense of the opportunities as well as the constraints in applying data and IT/AI in a business model for OpenEmbassy that is grounded in its mission and values

  • You can advise how to create a solid knowledge management process that will further help OpenEmbassy to turn data into valuable knowledge production

  • You have both quantitative and qualitative skills

  • You are a sparring partner for the Senior management and you know how to bridge the gap between your in-depth knowledge and their entrepreneurship

Open Embassy welcomes candidates from all backgrounds, including but not limited to gender, race, ethnicity, age, religion, sexual orientation and ability. 

How often does the OpenEmbassy Board meet?

The Board meets normally every 3-months. We organize these meetings online or in-person at the OpenEmbassy office, on the Marineterrein, not far from the Central Station in Amsterdam. A quarterly meeting lasts 3 hours. OpenEmbassy ensures good preparation and high quality sustainable food and drinks. The spoken language is Dutch or English. Between the meetings you need to be sufficiently available for consultation and, if relevant, representation.

What is the term and how do we assess the performance?

We appoint the members of the Board for 3 years, and every year we assess the cooperation together. The position of member of the Board is a voluntary position and is not financially compensated.

Apply

Does your professional background and experiences respond to the above profiles and are you interested to join our team as Member of the Board? Do not hesitate to contact us!

OpenEmbassy develops knowledge by, for and about new comers. With this knowledge we work on a fair system and a responsive society for all newcomers in Europe

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