Trustee

Welcome from the Board

Dear potential Trustee,
Thank you for giving your time to learn more about the Emergency Nutrition Network (ENN) and your interest in becoming a Trustee.
At ENN we are truly passionate about what we do. Over the past 25 years ENN has become a powerful and recognised name in the nutrition sector, working with others to influence outcomes around the world. We produce highly regarded publications that inform and inspire practitioners worldwide, we convene technical interest groups and communities of practice who are the ‘go to’ networks for their specialisms, our partners know and trust ENN for quality, rigour and impartiality. Our work makes a real difference in the lives of children in some of the most difficult parts of the world. The ENN-led Operational Guidance on Infant Feeding in Emergencies has become the key global policy guidance and has been endorsed by the World Health Assembly, and our technical leadership and convening has facilitated real change in awareness and a new narrative, challenging siloed approaches to Wasting and Stunting management.
Our work has never been more important. Nutritional challenges are growing across the world; undernutrition rates may be slowly decreasing but other forms of malnutrition are on the rise. The positive progress that is being made is unequal and many countries are now facing the double burden of both under and over nutrition. Crises around the world are increasingly protracted and the historical and artificial silos of ‘humanitarian’ and ‘development’ don’t reflect real needs which are much more fluid. Emerging threats, such as the broader impact on nutrition of the COVID-19 pandemic bring new challenges to address.
At present our annual turnover is around £1.8m (c.$2.5m), we employ 24 staff and engage 30 – 40 specialist consultants. We are about to embark on a strategic review to plan the next stage in our journey. We are keen to drive even greater impact by exploring new and innovative approaches and increasing our reach still further. We do so knowing that we are on a sound financial footing with multi-year funding in place from a range of institutional partners and private foundations.
We are searching for three new Trustees to join our experienced Board one of whom will be our Treasurer and the other two will have experience in nutrition or communications and digital.
We hope the following pages help you explore ENN and the role.
With best wishes,
The ENN Board of Trustees

About ENN

Emergency Nutrition Network (ENN) is a well-established and highly respected UK-based charity working to reduce malnutrition globally.
ENN strives to enhance the effectiveness of nutrition policy and programming by improving knowledge, stimulating learning and building evidence. We are passionate about being field driven and are globally recognised as thought leaders and conveners in nutrition.
Our vision is that every individual caught up in a nutritional emergency, or suffering from malnutrition anywhere in the world, gets the most effective help possible.
We undertake knowledge management, research and advocacy to support national governments, civil society, UN, donor and academic organisations. Through these collaborations we support agencies to implement evidence-based nutrition programming, predominantly in low- and middle-income countries.

Our History

Founded in 1996 in Ireland, ENN has a long and rich history in global nutrition. Following an evaluation of the Great Lakes Emergency in 1995, implementing agencies identified an urgent need to establish a vehicle for capturing programming experiences and preserving institutional memory in the emergency food and nutrition sector. This gave rise to ENN’s publication, Field Exchange, which was first produced in 1996, designed to stimulate critical thinking and learning, influence research agendas and cross-fertilise information and exchange. ENN was originally and generously hosted by Trinity College Dublin for its first eight years, before relocating to Oxfordshire in 2004 and is now a UK registered Charity.
“To me, ENN is one of the most long-standing focal points for emergency nutrition technical information and coordination.” (ENN partner)

Who we are now

Our Strategy [2016-2020] aims to enhance the effectiveness of nutrition policy and programming by improving knowledge, stimulating learning, building evidence and providing support and encouragement to practitioners and decision-makers involved in nutrition and related interventions. We take a particular lens on fragile and conflict affected, and high burden, states. We have three core principles guiding our work:
• Independent, neutral and impartial
ENN is not bound by the views or positions of any one institution and is not a nutrition implementing agency. Any opinions expressed are based on the available evidence and the experience of our rich and diverse network.
• Driven by network
ENN’s network is made up of practitioners, decision-makers and academics working on nutrition and associated fields all over the world. By supporting their learning and sharing their knowledge, ENN is able to make a unique contribution to turning knowledge into practice.
• Based on experiential learning and evidence
ENN believes that policy and practice can, and should be, informed by evidence and experience. Where this exists, ENN seeks to share the learning from this evidence and experience; where it is missing, ENN advocates for it to be developed or directly supports, and often brokers, its development.

Our People

ENN’s team is made up of a range of technical experts in nutrition, with decades of collective experience, and a small operational team. ENN’s Management Team comprises 3 Technical Directors and the Operations and Finance Director. As well as our 24 staff, we engage a significant number of experienced specialist consultants on our projects. ENN is highly committed to diversity and inclusion, to enabling and promoting flexible working for our staff, and to supporting continued professional development.

Our Governance

ENN is a UK-registered charity (Charity Registration Number: 1115156) governed by the Board of Trustees. The Board is currently comprised of 6 Trustees and meets regularly throughout the year, with full board meetings on at least a quarterly basis. The Board currently has two sub-committees, one covering HR, Security & Safeguarding and the other Finance & Risk.
As a UK-registered Charity, ENN also files accounts as a UK-registered Company with Companies House (Company Registration Number 04889844).

Our Finances

ENN is financially supported by a range of institutional donors (including the Irish and US governments), charitable foundations (including the Eleanor Crook Foundation and the Waterloo Foundation), as well as UN agencies and INGOs. Our income has been growing steadily over the last few years, with income in the current FY 2020/21 projected at around £1.8m (c. $2.5m).

THE TRUSTEE ROLE

Being an ENN Trustee is an important, influential and valuable role and as well as ensuring that we are an accountable and well governed organisation you will make an important contribution to our current work and future direction. This is an exciting time to join ENN as a Trustee as we are designing ENN’s new strategy for 2021 and beyond.
A helpful summary of trustee roles and responsibilities can be found in Charity Commission guidance ‘The essential trustee: what you need to know, what you need to do’.
We are looking for Trustees with expertise in the following areas:
• Audit and finance (Treasurer). A more detailed Treasurer role description is available on our website
• Nutrition
• Communications and Digital

Your responsibilities as a Trustee:

• Work with the ENN Management Team to design ENN’s new strategy and take responsibility for approving the final document.
• Ensure that ENN has the correct leadership structure in place in line with the objectives and scale of the organisation.
• Ensure ENN achieves the goals and objectives we have set for ourselves.
• Provide support and constructive challenge to the Management Team and hold them accountable for the performance of ENN
• Ensure ENN’s financial and operational viability. This will include approving budgets, accounts, financial statements and financial reports.
• Ensure that the correct accounting and accountability procedures are in place and are being well respected.
• Offer specialist support in areas where you have dedicated expertise.
• Attend quarterly Board and occasional sub-committee meetings and contribute to key strategic debates within the organisation
• Safeguard, respect and demonstrate ENNs values, policies and reputation
• Contribute actively to the Board of Trustees’ role in shaping and reviewing key organisational policies;
• Act in ENN’s best interest to ensure that the organisation complies with its Articles of Association, Charity Law, Company Law and any other relevant legislation or regulation, and ensuring the effective management of resources and of risk;
• Attend ENN-led events and engage with staff across the organisation.
• Commitment to undertake ENN’s safeguarding training and adherence to relevant policies.

Required Knowledge and Skills

In addition to having relevant expertise in Finance, Nutrition or Communications and Digital you will have:
• An ability to contribute significantly to the work of the Trustees, particularly through the application of your expertise.
• Understanding of the role of a Trustee and how Trustees can interact with ENN’s Management Team to best effect.
• Experience of strategic leadership and management of organisations/networks.
Prior experience of being a Trustee of a UK-registered charity or experience of the charity/third sector is helpful but not essential

Key Attributes

• Proven track-record of successfully implementing and overseeing effective policies and processes, driving accountability throughout an organisation or otherwise bringing change
• A demonstrable commitment to ENN’s aims, values and work
• Credibility in your sphere of work and the ability to help lead a growing charitable organisation to deliver sustainable progress aligned with our strategy
• Strong inter-personal and relationship-building skills
The above represent “the perfect candidate” but please do not be deterred if you do not fulfil every criterion.

TIME COMMITMENT – AND OUR COMMITMENT TO YOU

Your commitment in an average year is likely to be 4 pre-fixed board meetings, other committee and ad hoc meetings and additional support as agreed. We encourage active participation and engagement and Trustees often give more time outside of this.
Board meetings are held at the ENN HQ in Kidlington, Oxfordshire, circumstances permitting. Additional sub-committee meetings will be convened in person or remotely.
We’d ideally like you to join the Board by March/April 2021, though we can show some flexibility on this for the right candidate, and in your first few months you should allow for additional time for induction and orientation (including meeting a number of the Leadership Team). We’ll give you an induction and an experienced ENN Trustee will be your mentor for your first year.

REMUNERATION

This is an unpaid, voluntary position. Reasonable expenses will be reimbursed for attendance at Board meetings and other Trustee activities in line with ENN’s policies. Some employers encourage and enable trusteeship as part of wider career development and corporate social responsibility; please check with your organisation and their relevant policies.

OUR VALUES AND COMMITMENT TO EQUALITY, DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION

ENN is committed to diversity and inclusion, and to building a culture where every staff member and volunteer is recognised and valued as an individual. We actively encourage applications from a broad range of experiences and backgrounds and are particularly interested in improving representation of younger people and minority ethnic groups on our Board.