Board Secretary -Graduate Fellow

Position type: Volunteer (part-time), Secretariat appointment (remote / hybrid)
Target candidates: Master’s / PhD students with demonstrated expertise in finance and/or law (capital markets, financial regulation, insurance/ILS, development finance, public finance, contracts, governance, compliance)
Term: 6–12 months (renewable, performance-based)
Time commitment: ~5–8 hours/week average; higher during board/committee cycles and approvals windows
Reporting line: Central Bureau / Board Chair (as designated)

The GRA Secretariat Board Secretary supports GRA’s board and committee governance by producing settlement-grade governance documentation: accurate minutes, resolutions, approvals packs, and controlled records. The role exists to ensure decisions are traceable, auditable, and legally coherent, consistent with expectations in regulated finance and cross-border institutional environments.

As a Secretariat Fellow, you’ll work on the real machinery of global response—board and National Working Group (NWG) governance, decision records, and execution-ready documentation that connects evidence to policy, programs, and funding with governments, regulators, central banks, DFIs, humanitarian agencies, utilities, insurers, and critical-infrastructure operators. You’ll see how credibility is built under scrutiny through work alongside major partners, including UN and engagement across the World Bank, IMF, Santiago Network, TrustLaw, SDSN, and IPBES—where outcomes must be defensible, auditable, and ready to deploy.

Core responsibilities

• Coordinate board/committee calendars, agendas, notices, attendance, and follow-ups.
• Maintain a disciplined governance cadence (pre-reads, decision windows, action closures).
• Support committee workflows (e.g., Risk/Controls, Program/Markets, Audit/Integrity, Partnerships) with documentation and action tracking.
• Draft structured minutes capturing motions, votes, recusals, delegations, approvals, conditions precedent, and action items.
• Prepare and organize board resolutions, certified extracts, approval memos, and authority/delegation schedules (as directed).
• Maintain decision registers and approvals logs suitable for audit, regulator inquiry, or dispute readiness.
• Maintain version-controlled repositories for governance records; ensure timely filing of executed instruments and approved minutes.
• Apply secure handling protocols for confidential and market-sensitive materials (need-to-know access discipline).
• Capture conflict-of-interest disclosures and recusal records within meeting documentation; support ethics and governance hygiene processes.
• Coordinate documentation flows with internal working groups and (where applicable) external counsel/partners to ensure consistency across governance artifacts.
• Support publication/communication packages for decisions when authorized (including corrections/supersession discipline).

Role boundaries (non-negotiable)

• This is a non-executive Secretariat support appointment.
• The Fellow does not speak for GRA externally, negotiate terms, sign instruments, provide legal advice, or conduct regulated activity.
• Authority remains with designated officers, board leadership, and appointed counsel.

Required qualifications

• Current Master’s or PhD enrolment with advanced finance and/or legal specialization evidenced through coursework, research, or professional experience.
• Demonstrated ability to produce precise, executive-grade writing (minutes, governance memos, structured summaries).
• High discretion and professional judgment handling sensitive governance materials.
• Strong reliability: consistent deadlines, follow-through, and comfort in distributed teams.

Preferred qualifications

• Familiarity with board/committee governance, compliance environments, or regulated financial systems.
• Exposure to any of: market infrastructure, capital markets documentation, insurance/reinsurance/ILS, development finance/MDB interfaces, AML/sanctions controls, technology risk/model governance.
• Comfort with records management disciplines (version control, retention logic, audit trails).

What candidates gain

• Applied training in finance–law governance mechanics: approvals chains, delegations, controls, and audit-ready records.
• Direct exposure to institutional decision-making at the intersection of governance and market execution.
• High-transfer skills for careers in regulators, DFIs/MDBs, central agencies, market infrastructure, risk/compliance, and financial law.
• Verification of service and reference (subject to performance, confidentiality, and good standing).

Application package

Please submit:

• 1-page CV (highlight finance/law focus)
• Statement of interest (250–400 words): your specialization, relevant lane(s), and why GRA Secretariat
• Availability + time zone
• Writing sample (recommended): regulatory memo, contracts note, policy brief, or structured finance analysis (1–2 pages)