Position

The President of Missing Children Europe will provide leadership in governance and strategic fundraising support. The President does not fall under the obligation of being a member of the Board or the General Assembly prior to being elected, but automatically becomes a member of both with voting rights for the course of their mandate.

 

Specific responsibilities include:

Leadership, governance, and oversight

  • Acting as an ambassador for the organisation; the President serves and promotes Missing Children Europe through making use of personal and external networks to advocate for our members and raise awareness about their critical role in closing the gaps in child protection systems and empowering young people.
  • Representing Missing Children Europe at high level events, speaking knowledgeably about Missing Children Europe’s activities and programmes, and maintaining and increasing its relevance in the fields of children’s rights and child protection.
  • In coordination with the Secretary General, to plan Board Meetings and General Assemblies and to chair them.
  • As a member of the Board of Directors,:
    • to guide the organisation’s mission, vision and strategy and oversee implementation to ensure its adequate realisation of actions;
    • to delegate the implementation of the strategy fully to the General Secretariat
    • to offfer professional expertise to the Secretariat on defined focus areas in line with strategic priorities (e.g. runaways, parental abductions, fundraising, communication)
    • to serve as a positive ambassador, by e.g. connecting the organisation to key stakeholders, promoting MCE locally and fully engaging with members/hotlines; and to provide fiduciary oversight to ensure financial health and legal compliance of the organisation
  • Reviewing the key performance indicators of Missing Children Europe to evaluate its impact and holding the Board of Directors accountable for regularly assessing its own performance
  • Coordinating regular performance evaluations of the Secretary General.
  • Ensuring Missing Children Europe’s commitment to a diversify Board and staff composition to better reflect the communities Missing Children Europe serves, including structure incorporation of the voice of children

 

Fundraising

  • In collaboration with the Board of directors of Missing Children Europe, to increasingly leverage the organisations full potential to connect with important stakeholders and identify funding opportunities in order to generate substantial annual revenue and foster Missing Children Europe’s financial health.
  • Identifying, qualifying, cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding major individual donors, corporate, and/or foundation gifts.

 

Board terms of service

Missing Children Europe’s President is proposed by the Board and elected by the General Assembly. The President will serve a three-year term after which the mandate is renewable. Board meetings are held at least three times a year, twice in person, once online and the federation holds at least one General Assembly each year. In addition, the President remains available for regular bilaterals with the Secretary General.

 

Qualifications

The presidency of Missing Children Europe requires an individual who is passionate about the vision, mission and objectives of Missing Children Europe, and who has the wish and capacity to put its members in the spotlight.

The selected President will have achieved leadership stature in philanthropy, the non-profit sector, business or government and preferably through active involvement in the fields of child rights and child protection.

Their accomplishments will allow them to attract other well-qualified, high-performing board members.

The President is elected on the basis of his / her personal and professional skills and demonstrable experience including leadership, understanding of European and International developments in the field of human rights / children’s rights.

The President has an impeccable reputation, is independent vis-à-vis individual member organisations of Missing Children Europe, allowing to preside the organisation impartially, and has not recently held any political mandate nor do they aim to achieve one.

 

Further personal criteria for the President are:

  • Extensive professional experience and skills with significant executive leadership accomplishments in business, government, philanthropy, or the non profit sector
  • A commitment to and understanding of Missing Children Europe’s vision, mission and objectives and respect for the organisational culture of participation and its growth mindset.
  • Active involvement in, and/or personal recognition for, the promotion of respect for and implementation of the rights of children at the national and/or international level.
  • Strong diplomatic skills, sensitivity, and a natural affinity for cultivating relationships with all relevant actors in the organisation with the ability to build consensus among diverse individuals with respect for each of those individuals and their opinions.
  • Political acumen.
  • A broad network at their disposal and the willingness to make use of this network to the advantage of Missing Children Europe and its members.
  • Excellent written and oral communication in English coupled with strong public speaking skills.
  • Track record as a non-profit board member or President.
  • Track record of building credibility in the funding community that has resulted in major gifts to a non-profit.

Personal qualities: integrity, credibility, sensitivity, inclusive, democratic and participatory approach,  and a passion for improving the lives of Missing Children Europe’s members and their beneficiaries.

Service on Missing Children Europe’s Board of Directors is without remuneration, except for reasonable out-of pocket expenses, including administrative support, travel and accommodation costs in relation to board members’ duties.

 

Closing date for submitting nominations June 28th 2023  17:00 CET.

Interviews:  July-August 2023

The Board of Missing Children Europe shall convene a Selection Committee composed of the Vice President, the Secretary General, and a Board Member on the 29th June to discuss all nominations and arrange bilateral meetings with eligible candidates.

After these meetings or interviews, the Committee will convene a Board meeting to discuss the candidates and decide on its proposal to the General Assembly. An extraordinary online General Assembly will be convened (est. September 2023) for this purpose.

The candidate president will then have the opportunity to present themselves to the membership and the General Assembly will have the final vote.

For more information, please contact Vice President sandrine.pepit@116000.fr

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