Call for Nominations – Lesotho Country Advisory Board

Would you like to volunteer or nominate a colleague to serve on the Board of a leading African mental health and psychosocial support organization?

REPSSI is seeking nominees for the organization’s board of directors – both self-nominations and nominations of your colleagues are enthusiastically welcomed. The nominees will be individuals with outstanding repute to serve on its Country Advisory Board in Lesotho for an initial term of 3 years renewable once for a second term of another 3 years. In all you will serve 6 years. The Regional Board oversees the Country Advisory Boards (CABs) and all country operations

REPSSI (the Regional Psychosocial Support Initiative) is a renowned African organisation that has been supporting governments and non-governmental organisations to provide holistic mental health, psychosocial care and support to children, youth and their families in East and Southern Africa for 18 years now. REPSSI works in 13 countries and aims to enhance the mental health and psychosocial wellbeing of girls, boys, youth, their families and communities to be able to respond to challenges such as HIV and AIDS, conflict, poverty, climate change, environmental disasters and social strife.

The Country Advisory Board will comprise of a minimum of ten members who include the Chairperson, Vice Chairperson and a Treasurer. The Board meets quarterly and has different roles and responsibilities that are clearly spelt out in the Governance Charter. Board members serve as volunteers and offer their time and expertise in contribution to the attainment of the organisation’s noble cause of reaching out to the most vulnerable people in our community.

As a Board Member, you will be required to play the following roles and responsibilities:

1. Vision and Strategy formulation

Define, preserve, protect, maintain and promote the vision, mission, core values, and goals of REPSSI Lesotho. Periodically participate in the development and review of the Country Strategic Plan and to ensure it is up- to- date and relevant to the context of the organization’s operations.

2. Planning and budget oversight

Review and approve the annual budget and work plan of the organization prepared by management, and ensure that the programmes and budget are in line with the strategic directions of the organization.

3. Programme monitoring

Through reviewing of activity reports and field monitoring visits, ensure that management is implementing all its projects as planned and approved in the annual budget and work plan.

4. Policy Formulation

Ensure that relevant policies that guide the operations of the organization have been formulated, updated, reviewed and approved by the Board and are being enforced by the Chief Executive Officer.

5. Corporate Image building, promotion, networking and fundraising

Support, promote and market the REPSSI Lesotho programmes nationally and internationally to Government, development partners, donors, and other like-minded organizations.

Help in identifying and developing local and international resources for the organization including finances, human resources, material, and other technical resources.

Participate in REPSSI related public events such as conferences, workshops, campaigns, etc.

6 Stewardship and accountability

Ensure functional systems are in place for good corporate governance, social accountability, and prudent management of organizational resources.

Appoint the external auditors and receive the audit report. Ensure that follow up of recommendations in the management letter are implemented.

Ensure that the organization complies with all the legal, tax and other relevant statutory regulations.

What do you gain from serving on the REPSSI Lesotho Board of Directors?

• Humanitarian work today is largely driven by kind hearted and altruistic individuals who donate their time and money with the hope of seeing a better and just world for all.
• By giving only 32 hours of your time each year to serve on the REPSSI Lesotho Board, and working with us to improve our programs targeting the disadvantaged, you will be making an invaluable contribution to transforming the lives of all girls, boys and youth.
• You will join an eminent group of dedicated, diligent and hardworking individuals who have contributed to the growth of a leading African psychosocial support organisation that REPSSI is today.
• As a policy maker; practitioner; researcher; academic or other professional, you will find the diverse array of REPSSI interventions very relevant to your profession. You will be able to access a wide range of literature and a repository of materials as well as become part of our local and global networks

Person Specification:

Values: you will hold values very similar to our own; integrity, collaboration, excellence, respect, innovative, caring and value diversity.

Social skills: we are looking for someone who is at ease networking at both local and global levels; with governments, civil society organizations and academia. We shall be looking to grow our own profile and image from some of your contacts and networks. Membership to professional bodies and previous Board experience is desirable.

Organisational skills: leadership skills, strategic planning, conceptualizing and designing innovative development concepts.

A minimum of a degree in a development work related field, Financial Management, Management Specialists, Psychiatry, Psychology, Public Health, Law ,Gender and Human Rights, Environment and Climate change and/or child focused work. The nominee will possess more than 10 years of consistent service.

The shortlisted nominees will have a short virtual interview with members of the Nominating Committee shortly after the closing date.