Chair of the Board of Trustees

Candidate Pack
Chair of the Board of Trustees

Contents:

1. Message from the Chair of Trustees

2. Introduction to SEED

3. Governance structures

4. The Chair of Trustees role and person specification

5. Time commitments and requirements

6.  Recruitment process

SEED Madagascar: UK Charity No. 1079121, Company No. 3796669

1. Message from the Chair of Trustees

The Trustees represent different backgrounds and experiences, but what pulls us together is a
commitment to SEED’s work on the ground in Madagascar. Several of us have been to Madagascar
and have either volunteered or worked with SEED, so we have seen first-hand how important our
work is, and the positive impact SEED has in the communities we serve. Madagascar is an
extraordinary country with exceptional biodiversity but has severely lacking infrastructure and a
high level of anthropogenic threats due to extreme poverty and considerable dependence on
natural resources.

We are looking forward to welcoming a new Chair of our Board of Trustees to join the amazing
team of dedicated staff and volunteers who are delivering sustainable development, conservation
and community work through a range of projects based on local needs. The current Chair has been
in post since 2022 and served as a Trustee for 2 years prior to that. A change of leadership and a
fresh perspective is timely and will ensure we approach the next phase of our growth and
development with new ideas. You will be assured of a warm and supportive welcome with the
benefit of a team containing years of experience, combined with new members who bring global
expertise in their field.

SEED is growing thanks to successful marketing, fundraising project development and delivery. We
are now looking to build on our implementation of our strategic plan, to deliver sustainable
development for the people of southeastern Madagascar. We are privileged to work with its
wonderful people, and we hope that you will want to join us.

2. Introduction to SEED

SEED has been working in the southeast corner of Madagascar for over 20 years. SEED stands
for Sustainable, Environment, Education and Development and we focus on building
meaningful, sustainable change in one the poorest regions of one the poorest countries in the
world.

Our projects range from school building to maternal health, from Agroforestry to Lemur
Conservation and rights. Check the breath of our work here: https://madagascar.co.uk/projects

SEED Madagascar: UK Charity No. 1079121, Company No. 3796669

Our website provides a good feel of our work, with wonderful photography of the
people, countryside and unique wildlife of Madagascar https://madagascar.co.uk/

We are active on social media where you can find us on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, X, and
YouTube. The majority of our staff are Malagasy, working in Fort Dauphin to design and
deliver projects on the ground, alongside our international team, who bring external

expertise and international best practices. In Madagascar, we have 95 staff in total (70
Malagasy and 25 international). They are supported by a small UK-based and remote working
team of 10.

3. Governance structures

SEED’s Board of Trustees has 8 members, including the Chair, who meet quarterly. There are three
sub-committees of the board focusing on: Audit and Risk; Marketing and Fundraising; and HR. These
are chaired by a Trustee and consist of at least one other Trustee and up to two of the Senior
Management team. We also have lead Trustees for Safeguarding and Whistleblowing.

The Board is international with Trustees based in a number of different countries, so the Board works
remotely.

The operations are run by the Managing Director and the Director of Programmes and Operations
who are both long standing senior managers.

You can find more information about our Board of Trustees here:
https://madagascar.co.uk/about/trustees

4. The Chair of Trustees role

Chair of Trustee Board

In addition to the general role of Trustee, the Chair of SEED’s Board of Trustees holds overall
accountability for the charity delivering its mission. Working closely with the Board and the staff
senior team , they will provide leadership and direction to ensure SEED fulfils its charitable aims and
objectives and abides by its governing documents and relevant legislation. They will work
collaboratively with board members and senior management to ensure SEED delivers maximum
benefit to the communities it serves.

Chair Role Description

SEED Madagascar: UK Charity No. 1079121, Company No. 3796669

Terms and conditions: Voluntary role
Responsible to: Board of Trustees
Base: The Board works remotely

Line manager of: Managing Director

Overview of SEED

SEED Madagascar is a successful, growing British Charity working in partnership with communities in
the southeast of Madagascar. We integrate high-quality community health, rural livelihoods, schools
and conservation programmes to support long term, sustainable change and add to

international best practice through research and publication.

SEED has been working in Madagascar for over 20 years and has a wide range of impactful
projects ranging from school building to sexual health, from beekeeping to improving lemur
habitats. More recently, SEED has been working to address the famine in the southeast with
emergency food distribution.

Employing most of its staff in Madagascar, SEED also engages international staff and interns as well
as running a volunteer programme. Full details of our operations can be found on our website which
includes our annual report and accounts, fundraising advice and information on our staff and
Trustees: https://madagascar.co.uk/

The role will carry the usual responsibilities of a Trustee as defined by the England and Wales
Charity Commission http://www.charitycommission.gov.uk/publications/cc3.aspx and we encourage
all applicants to read through this prior to making an application.

Accountability:
As a Trustee you are responsible and liable for the governance and functioning of the charity and are
accountable in varying degrees to a variety of stakeholders including service users, members,
funders, the Charity Commission, and Companies House.

SEED Trustees should uphold the fiduciary duty required of all charity trustees to act in the best
interests of both current and future beneficiaries of the charity, being held personally liable for
any breach of that duty.

Key Responsibilities
• To ensure that the Board of Trustees understands and fulfils its responsibilities for the

SEED Madagascar: UK Charity No. 1079121, Company No. 3796669

governance of the organisation
• To provide strategic oversight and ensure that all decisions are taken in the best
interests of SEED and its charitable aims.

• To provide leadership for the Board of Trustees in their role of developing and
agreeing the strategy of the organisation.
• To ensure that SEED has the effective policies and procedures needed to function properly,
legally and safely including those for safeguarding, whistleblowing and anticorruption.
• To effectively chair the Board meetings, facilitating debate and bringing about
consensus and clear decision making.
• To work with the Board to bring about strong and constructive working relationships
and sharing of the workload across the areas of expertise.
• To oversee the membership of and effective working of the subcommittees
• To build and maintain a constructive and supportive working relationship with the
MD. To be overall line manager for the MD, assessing their performance and discussing
development needs with them.
• To work closely with the MD to support them in achieving the vision of the
organisation ensuring they have the support needed for the effective running of SEED
and bring scrutiny as needed so they are held to account for achieving agreed strategic
objectives.
• To plan with the MD the annual cycle of Board meetings, setting agendas and
monitoring the decisions taken at meetings are enacted.
• To review the Board’s performance and composition to ensure that SEED has a
diverse, high performing Board working together in support of SEEDs strategy and
Charitable objectives.
• To support recruitment and onboarding of new members to the board as needed to
ensure continuity of the board responsibilities.
• To work with each Trustee to support them fulfilling their duties and responsibilities
for the effective governance of the charity.
• To ensure the Board regularly reviews major risks and associated opportunities.
• To lead the Board in fulfilling its duties to ensure the sound financial health of the
charity, with systems in place to verify financial accountability and that SEED is
operating within the legal and financial guidelines set out in the current legislation
• To represent the interests of the board and charity externally as and when needed

Person specification
• Knowledge and understanding of the role and responsibilities of a Chair of a Charity
and Board Membership – experience as a board member as a minimum
• An understanding and experience of strategic planning within the corporate or charity
setting.
• A proven leader with the ability to think strategically and creatively and to challenge

SEED Madagascar: UK Charity No. 1079121, Company No. 3796669

proposals with clear logical thinking
• A strong commitment and passion for international development and an
understanding of this sector, ideally able to bring experience of working within it.
• Demonstrable alignment to the charity’s mission, vision, and values
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills
• Experience of people management and able to build strong relationships with people
who are working on a voluntary basis at senior level

• An understanding of, or a willingness to understand, the strategic, legislative, political
and cultural contexts that affect and influence SEED’s work
• Enthusiasm and commitment to equality and diversity in all aspects of SEED’s work
• An interest in Madagascar and an understanding of the challenges of working within
different cultures and environments
• Be able to work to and advocate for all of SEED’s policies and procedures,
safeguarding those that SEED works with and investigating and/or reporting any
concerns appropriately

SEED Madagascar actively encourages equality, diversity, and inclusion in the workplace
and aims to create a working environment free of bullying, harassment, victimisation,
and unlawful discrimination, where individual differences and the contributions of all
staff are  recognised and valued

5. Time commitments and requirements

There are a minimum of four Board meetings per year with the potential for additional Board
meetings and Trustee only discussions.  The Chair will discuss and agree the agenda in advance
with the Managing Director, Chair the meeting and ensure follow up actions take place. These
meetings are on a Sunday, are virtual and typically last 3 hours.

The Chair will participate on one sub-committee which has its own quarterly cycle of meetings.
The Chair will manage the MD and have regular discussions about progress and undertake the
annual review process. The Chair and all Trustees are required to undertake mandatory training
as part of their induction and regular updates and additional training. The Chair will work with
the Board to ensure each member is taking an active part in the Board and sub committees.

All Trustees are expected to be aware of and follow the Charity Commission’s expectations of a
Trustee as laid out on their website and summarised here:
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5a80ddf940f0b62305b8d98d/Jigsaw.pdf

The Trustee Board are encouraged to have one trustee a year take a trip to Madagascar to familiarise
themselves with the environment the SEED works in and to meet and get to know the staff in country

SEED Madagascar: UK Charity No. 1079121, Company No. 3796669

(some expenses will be covered).

6. Recruitment process

i) The role is being advertised externally and internally for 4 weeks and will close on 6th March 2026

ii) To apply Please send a CV and a cover letter to sue.hillman@seedmadagascar.org (lead HR
trustee) Please contact this email if you have any queries at this stage.

iii) We will shortlist in the week following the closing of the advert

iv) Shortlisted candidates will be invited to an interview on Zoom. This will consist of discussions
with the Chair and Lead HR Trustee. This will take place on March 20th or March 27th, 2026

v) Following this will be a discussion with the Managing Director and Director of Programmes
and Operations and a Trustee.

vi) The next stage will be to undertake a short project related to SEED’s work and organisation  and to
present this to the full Board of Trustees, taking questions from the group.

vii) The successful candidate will be offered the role subject to references and DBS checks. SEED is a
member of the Misconduct Disclosure Scheme, and we will seek safeguarding references in line with
this, asking referees to disclose any disciplinary action taken as a result of safeguarding concerns.

SEED Madagascar: UK Charity No. 1079121, Company No. 3796669