JOB DETAILS:

PEAS is transforming education across sub-Saharan Africa.

By 2030, 42% of the world’s youth will be African. Yet today, Sub-Saharan Africa has the world’s lowest secondary school completion rates. Schools are under-resourced, with low quality teaching and unsafe learning environments.

PEAS is addressing this by expanding access to inclusive, quality secondary education so all children can enjoy an education that unlocks their full potential.

At the heart of our work are 44 exemplar PEAS schools, delivering outstanding and affordable education to 25,000 young people in hard-to-reach communities across Uganda and Zambia. But if all children are to benefit, that doesn’t go far enough. So, we draw on our 16 years practical experience to partner with governments to design, deliver and embed country-wide meaningful changes to improve education. This year we will support over quarter of a million young people in Uganda, Zambia and Ghana.

Evidence shows our students come from poorer households, feel safer and make faster learning progress. Our girls are more confident and better equipped for life after school. We achieve all this at a lower cost than alternatives.

What makes PEAS different?

• Reducing reliance on international aid:
  — Philanthropic funding means our schools open debt free and then generate local income to cover ongoing running costs
  — Our system strengthening programmes are co-designed with government to fit within ministry budgets
• Rooted in local expertise, delivering global excellence:
  — Our schools and country offices have always been fully staffed and led by Africans.
  — We are governed by a Board that is majority African and female, with a majority African Global Leadership Team
  — Our award-winning programmes are created by Africans, for African communities, and shaped by the voices of those they serve

The Opportunity

Having served two terms, one of PEAS’ Finance, Audit and Risk Committee (FARC) members will be standing down in 2025.

PEAS’ FARC selection is skills-based. We have a motivated, values aligned and talented team of trustees and non-trustees who help drive PEAS towards our mission.

After reviewing our current composition, we are especially interested in individuals with the following experience and expertise in:

• Audit
• Risk and Legal
• Finance

PEAS has a diverse board, and we want our governance and leadership teams to reflect who we are as an organisation, our values, and the people we serve. This is both a principled and pragmatic approach. We believe this leads to better decisions and achieves better results.

We particularly welcome applications from talented African leaders (especially with experience of Zambia, Uganda, and/or Ghana) and women.

PEAS Governance Structure
PEAS board of trustees are the ultimate governance body for the organisation and serve as stewards of the organisation’s resources. They are accountable for the approval of the organisational strategy, oversight of financial management and governance including adherence to law and regulations.

Sub-Committee
In addition to PEAS board of trustees we have a Finance, Audit and Risk Committee (FARC) and a People and Culture Committee (P&CC). The FARC sub-committee is responsible for the oversight of, and advice and recommendation to the board of trustees on financial management, risk management, internal and external audit.

Global Strategy Team (GST)
The Global Strategy Team consists of the PEAS key management personnel including the CEO, COO, Global Senior Director of Programmes, Head of Partnerships and PEAS Country Directors. As a collective, the GST oversee directing and controlling PEAS; running and operating PEAS and subsidiaries on a day-to-day basis.

FARC role and responsibilities
The main duties of the committee include the oversight and review of the following areas:

Financial management

• Review PEAS annual global income and expenditure budgets
• Monitor PEAS financial performance: income and expenditure and forecasts through the year (incorporating UK management accounts, programme management accounts and summary school financial reports).
• Monitor PEAS fund position, specifically PEAS’ restricted fund accounting and donor financial reporting.
• Monitor Cash management including forecasting
• Recommends to the Board adoption of the annual budget
• Recommends to the Board signing of the annual financial statements

Internal & External Audit

• Ensure that FARC committee meets the requirements of the Internal Audit Charter
• Reviews, assesses, and recommends to the Board, the scope of all internal audits and the annual audit plan
• Seeks the views of both internal and external auditors in relation to estimates, judgements or accounting policies.
• Review the annual accounts for PEAS
• Ensure compliance with legal and regulatory requirements in relation to the Charities Act and Companies House

Risk Management

• Oversee risk management including an annual review of the risk register
• Recommends to the Board the PEAS risk management framework
• Reviews and recommends to the Board the Risk Policy and Procedure, and other relevant Risk Management Policies and Procedures
• In addition, the Committee has discretion to review other areas of the business that it considers may fall within its remit

Who we are looking for
No matter the role at PEAS, we are looking for people who are passionate about transforming lives through education, aligned to our values, and believe in what we do and how we do it.

All FARC members should:

• • Be committed and driven to contribute to the work of the committee, particularly in your area of expertise
  • Have ability to think strategically as we work towards our ambitious mission
  • Have strong interpersonal skills and ability to build relationships
  • Be proactive in learning about PEAS, the external environment in which PEAS operates, the beneficiaries we serve and the legal and financial aspects of running a not for profit
  • Be prepared during your tenure to visit our country programs to better understand our work on the ground

Time and commitment
As a volunteer role, we ask our FARC members to commit to approximately 20hrs a year including pre-reading, strategy day and meetings.

The FARC members hold 2hr meetings on a quarterly basis, with the potential for one of the meetings forming part of a longer strategy day. In addition to this, there may be ad-hoc meetings as/when required.

As we have adapted to working remotely, we have embraced the use of platforms for virtual meetings and found it can work well. As such, there is no specific location required to become a PEAS FARC member.

FARC members can serve for up to two three-year terms.

Committee Membership
A minimum of three members of the Committee shall be appointed by the Board and will be reviewed from time to time. Normally, the committee will consist of at least one board member and such specialist co-opted members as required.

Support
If successful, all new FARC members will receive an induction to the organisation.

If you are new to the role of FARC member, we can provide extra support through buddying up with existing FARC members or working with a member of the executive team to discuss the FARC papers and answer any questions you may have.

Background checks
In line with the Charities Commission regulations, we will carry out all relevant check on new trustees, and this also applies to our FARC members. For further information, please visit the Charities Commission website that outlines the requirements.

Further information
If you would like to learn more about PEAS, what we do, how we do it and how we measure our impact please visit our website. You can also find our recent annual report for 2023.

If you are excited about what we do and how we do it and feel like your experience can add value to our FARC, we’d love to hear from you.

To apply, submit your CV and a cover e-mail stating why you are interested in being a PEAS FARC member to Charlie Paviour, Finance & Administration Officer. If you would like to have an informal discussion prior to making an application, please contact Charlie Paviour at charlie.paviour@peas.org.uk.

We will be receiving and reviewing applications on a rolling basis and may close the application process at any given time, should we fill the role or receive a high number of suitable applicants.

Please enter 'PEAS FARC Member Application' in the subject of your email.

The selection process will be led by our FARC chair, and the interview panel will be made up of existing FARC members and PEAS senior management.

We anticipate interviews will take place in July-August 2025.

PEAS is highly committed to keeping children safe from harm and preventing corruption. We therefore take our responsibility to promote safe recruitment practices very seriously, including conducting appropriate reference and background checks. We also operate a zero-tolerance approach to any PEAS employees who breach our Safeguarding and Anti-Corruption Policies, which all employees are required to sign upon induction.

PEAS is an equal opportunity employer that does not discriminate in its recruitment practices and, to build the strongest possible workforce, actively seeks a diverse applicant pool.