EA - Apply or nominate someone to join the boards of Effective Ventures Foundation (UK and US) by Zachary Robinson

Link to original articleWelcome to The Nonlinear Library, where we use Text-to-Speech software to convert the best writing from the Rationalist and EA communities into audio. This is: Apply or nominate someone to join the boards of Effective Ventures Foundation (UK and US), published by Zachary Robinson on April 20, 2023 on The Effective Altruism Forum.We’re looking for nominations to the boards of trustees of Effective Ventures Foundation (UK) (“EV UK”) and Effective Ventures Foundation USA, Inc. (“EV US”). If you or someone you know might be interested, please fill out one of these forms [apply, nominate someone]. Applications will be assessed on a rolling basis, with a deadline of May 14th.EV UK and EV US work together to host and fiscally sponsor many key projects in effective altruism, including the Centre for Effective Altruism (CEA), 80,000 Hours, Giving What We Can, and EA Funds. You can read more about the structure of the organisations in this post.The current trustees of EV UK are Claire Zabel, Nick Beckstead, Tasha McCauley, and Will MacAskill. The current trustees of EV US are Eli Rose, Nick Beckstead, Nicole Ross, and Zachary Robinson.Who are we looking for?We’re particularly looking for people who:Have a good understanding of effective altruism and/or longtermismHave a track record of integrity and good judgement, and who more broadly embody these guiding principles of effective altruismHave experience in one or more of the following areas:Accounting, law, finance or risk managementManagement or other senior role in a large organisation, especially a non-profitAre able to work collaboratively in a high-pressure environmentWe think the role will require significant time and attention, though this will vary depending on the needs of the organisation. Some trustees have estimated they are currently putting in 3-8 hours per week, though we are working on proposals to reduce this significantly over time. In any event, trustees should be prepared to scale up their involvement from time to time in the case of urgent decisions requiring board response.We especially encourage individuals with diverse backgrounds and experiences to apply, and we especially encourage applications from people of colour, self-identified women, and non-binary individuals who are excited about contributing to our mission.The role is currently unpaid, but we are investigating whether this can and should be changed. We will share here if we change this policy while the application is still open.The role is remote, though we strongly prefer someone who is able to make meetings in times that are reasonable hours in both the UK and California.What does an EV UK or EV US trustee do?As a member of either of the boards, you have ultimate responsibility for ensuring that the charity of which you are a trustee fulfils its charitable objectives as best it can. In practice, most strategic and programmatic decision-making is delegated to the ED / CEOs of the projects, or to the Interim CEO of the relevant entity. (This general board philosophy is in accordance with the thoughts expressed in this post by Holden Karnofsky.)During business as usual times, we expect the primary activities of a trustee to be:Assessing the performance of EDs / CEOs of the fiscally sponsored projects, and the (interim) CEO of the relevant entity.Appointing EDs / CEOs of the fiscally sponsored projects, or the (interim) CEO of the relevant entity, in case of change.Evaluating and deciding on high-level issues that impact the relevant organisation as a whole.Reviewing budgets and broad strategic plans for the relevant organisation.Evaluating the performance of the board and whether its composition could be improved (e.g. by adding in a trustee with underrepresented skills or experiences).However, since the bankruptcy of FTX in November last year, the boards have been a lot more involved than usual. This is partly because there have been many more decisions which have to be coordi...