Board member – Treasurer

About the position

Because our current treasurer is moving away, we want to ensure a smooth handover of our financial affairs to a treasurer who lives in the province of Utrecht. The treasurer plays an essential role in the financial processes of our organisation.

As treasurer you are responsible at board level for financial and fiscal matters and investments, and you are the point of contact and coordinator for them. It is important that you recognise possible risks, discuss them with the rest of the board and look for suitable solutions together.

As the client, you are also in contact with an external bookkeeping firm, and you are responsible for processing the payment batches. Each year you work with the auditor on the annual audit of our financial statements. You are the sparring partner of the Initiative Facilitator in drawing up and updating the annual and multi-year budgets.

Given the current composition of the board, we especially encourage young candidates to apply. The task SCN faces calls for people who think and act across generations, diversely and inclusively. This socially meaningful role takes about three to five hours a week, with possibly more at specific delivery moments.

The board position is for three years and is unpaid. After a first term you can stand for another term.

Do you recognise yourself in this profile and like the sound of the tasks, but have no previous experience as a treasurer or don’t yet meet every competence? No problem. We are happy to talk about what you need to take on this role.

Current state of affairs

• Recently, our current treasurer started a process to set up the bookkeeping and administration for a higher degree of outsourcing.
• We now work with an experienced bookkeeper and an independent auditor, both based in Utrecht. Their services are highly automated (Elvy and Exact) and are going well.
• For the treasurer’s coming term, further delegation of signing authority to the foundation’s management is on the agenda.

Specific tasks

• Bearing board-level responsibility for financial and fiscal matters and processes.
• Coordinating with the bookkeeping firm and the auditor on the financial processes and position, the annual accounts and the audit opinion.
• Preparing and publishing the ANBI publication.
• Answering questions from the grants office of the municipality of Utrecht and other funders about our annual accounts and financial reporting.
• Every two weeks, approving (in Elvy) and paying (in payment batches) invoices and expense claims.
• Paying salaries and payroll tax each month in a payment batch.
• Paying VAT each quarter.

General board duties

• Actively taking part in developing strategic questions and our strategy.
• Taking part in (half-)yearly reviews with staff.
• Keeping an eye on developments in our social field.
• Spotting bottlenecks and risks and raising them.
• Providing a supervisory and reviewing role.
• Where needed, being a point of contact for funders and other strategic partners.
• Discussing the progress of projects with our project developers and board members.
• Advising project developers from professional expertise.
• Thinking along and advising on grant applications.
• Looking into developments within the organisation: a board member listens, is people-oriented and can communicate in a connecting way about interests that may conflict.
• Actively taking part in De Voorkamer’s programme, to stay close to our community and what is going on in our organisation.

Competences

Experience with financial management

You understand financial processes and keep track of the planning and progress of the budget cycles. You know your way around annual accounts and ANBI regulations.

Leading in process development

Together with the board and the auditor you work towards a smooth audit, and you spot opportunities in it for the development of the organisation.

Dutch and English

You are proficient in written and spoken Dutch, because of our contacts with Dutch-speaking funders and Dutch legislation, where nuance in language matters. You also have a good command of English, as the board is multilingual.

Composition of the board

Our foundation’s board consists of a chair, a treasurer, a general board member, a board member with HR expertise and two board members with expertise in diversity and inclusion. The board meets twelve times a year. Periodically, the board adopts a (multi-year) policy plan, which De Voorkamer’s staff work out in consultation with the board and the funders. The board members oversee its implementation and further development.

• Sytse Koopmans (he/him) – Chair
• Jos Konickx (he/him) – Treasurer
• Zina Mansoor (she/her) – General board member
• Anthony Assaker (he/him) – Board member HR
• Srishagon Abraham (he/him) – Board member diversity & inclusion
• Ekram Jalboutt (she/her) – Board member diversity & inclusion

Board members are unpaid; expenses are reimbursed. Most management tasks currently lie with the Initiative Facilitator, who is also the founder of SCN.

Questions?

You can always reach us at info@collectivenouns.org.