Board Secretary -Graduate Fellowship

Appointment type: Volunteer, part-time (remote / hybrid)
Target candidates: Master’s and PhD candidates in International Relations, Global Governance, Public Policy, Law, Security Studies, Political Economy, Risk/Resilience, Standards/Regulation, Data/Technology Governance, or related disciplines
Term: 6–12 months (renewable)
Estimated commitment: ~5–8 hours/week on average; higher during scheduled board/council cycles
Reporting line: Central Bureau / Board Chair (as designated)

The Global Risks Forum (GRF) is a governance and standards institution focused on strengthening the institutional “connective tissue” required for credible coordination across compounding global risks. GRF convenes cross-sector stakeholders and supports the development of assurance-grade governance practices, record disciplines, and decision pathways that can withstand scrutiny by governments, markets, and civil society.

The Fellow supports GRF’s board and council governance processes by ensuring that deliberations, decisions, and approvals are documented with precision and preserved in an audit-ready format. The role is designed for graduate researchers who value rigor, institutional accountability, and the translation of governance theory into operational practice.

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.

Key responsibilities

• Governance process support: Coordinate meeting cycles, agenda preparation, notices, attendance tracking, and follow-up procedures.
• Minutes and decision documentation: Produce structured minutes that accurately capture motions, votes, recusals, decision rationales (as directed), and action items.
• Resolutions and approvals packages: Support the preparation, organization, and filing of resolutions, certified extracts, and associated governance documentation.
• Action register management: Maintain action logs with clear accountability (owner, deadline, status) and support closure discipline across board/council workflows.
• Records integrity and stewardship: Maintain version-controlled repositories of governance records, ensuring timely filing of executed instruments and approved minutes.
• Ethics and governance hygiene: Support the documentation of conflicts of interest, recusal records, confidentiality controls, and secure handling of governance materials.
• Cross-stream coordination: Assist with documentation workflows across GRF councils/committees/working groups to preserve coherence and traceability.

Boundaries of the role

This appointment is non-executive and administrative in nature. The Fellow does not represent GRF externally, does not negotiate agreements, does not sign instruments, and does not provide legal advice. The Fellow supports governance process and records under the direction of board leadership and designated officers.

Essential

• Current enrolment in a Master’s or PhD program in a relevant discipline.
• Demonstrated ability to write with clarity and precision (e.g., policy memos, meeting summaries, research briefs).
• High standards of discretion, reliability, and professional judgment in handling sensitive materials.
• Comfort working in distributed teams and meeting time-bound deliverables.

Preferred

• Familiarity with nonprofit governance, standards-setting bodies, multilateral institutions, or board/committee procedures.
• Competence in records management practices (version control, retention logic, audit trails).
• Research interest in institutional design, legitimacy, accountability, or governance under uncertainty.

Strategic benefits for candidates

This fellowship is structured to provide academically meaningful exposure and professional formation advantages, including:

• Applied institutional governance training: Direct engagement with real board-cycle processes (agendas, minutes, resolutions, action registers), translating governance concepts into executable practice.
• Research-relevant vantage point: Access to an operational setting for studying legitimacy, accountability, decision-making under uncertainty, standards formation, and cross-sector coordination.
• Skill development with strong academic transfer: Advanced competencies in institutional writing, structured documentation, procedural discipline, and archival integrity—skills valued in academia, policy, and multilateral environments.
• Professional signaling: Evidence of trust-based service in a governance setting (verification of service and reference letter subject to performance), supporting career trajectories in policy institutions, international organizations, standards bodies, and research programs.
• Network exposure: Proximity to senior practitioners and cross-sector experts engaged in risk governance and institutional design, with opportunities for structured learning and mentorship where available.

Application process

Submit: contact@therisk.global

• One-page CV (academic or hybrid format)
• Statement of interest (200–400 words): your research focus, why GRF, and how your competencies align with governance operations
• Availability and time zone
• Optional writing sample: meeting summary, policy memo excerpt, or structured brief (1–2 pages)