Chair of the Board

Background

Charmaghz was founded in 2018 to instill a joy of reading in Afghan children through Mobile Libraries. For the first seven years of our operation as a registered Afghan non-profit, we ran our successful Mobile Library program in Kabul (until mid 2025) that provided education and reading opportunities to over one million child visitors through our 17 buses and vans. The Taliban take-over of Afghanistan in 2021 brought a new set of unprecedented challenges, and in turn, in late 2023 we began the process of setting up a US non-profit entity, The Freshta Foundation Inc. (FF) to serve as a long-term governance and operational base for the organization. In early 2024 we established a Board of Directors for FF, which has now been operating smoothly for nearly two years. In addition to the Chair, the Board comprises four other Directors, including a Secretary and Treasurer.

In 2025, we made the difficult decision to close our long-standing Mobile Library program in Kabul, due to operational challenges, and are currently in the process of sunsetting our Afghan non-profit and transitioning all operations to our US entity (FF) which received 501(c)(3) status in mid 2025. Publicly, we will continue to use the Charmaghz name and branding (including in this ToR), while legally all operations (including the Board of Directors) will be run by FF. Following the closure of the Mobile Libraries, we are designing a new program, which will focus on supporting girls and young women to access quality education in Afghanistan, where schooling beyond 6th grade continues to be banned by the Taliban. The new program is expected to launch in spring 2026.

We are a small but highly determined team of five people, working remotely across the UK, Middle East, and Asia. We expect to have about 5 FTEs by the end of 2025, with more hiring anticipated in early 2026 when we launch the new program.

Purpose of this Role

We are now looking for our next Chair of the Board; the current Chair is transitioning towards a more operational role on the team. The Chair will be responsible for leading the Board of Directors, and ensuring the Board fulfills its obligations in governance, fiduciary oversight, strategic management, and supporting Charmaghz’s senior leadership (Co-Director/Co-Founder and Director/Founder) to succeed in their roles. We also expect the Chair to continue building out processes and implementing best practices for the Board itself. While all basic procedures are in place, there is room to further develop the Board’s ways of working. Given the transitions that 2025 has brought to Charmaghz, we anticipate that the Chair will play a key role in contributing to the long-term stability and success of the organization and its mission.

Key Responsibilities

• Board Leadership & Governance
  • Preside over Board meetings, ensuring that meetings are well-organized, efficient, and focused on strategic issues.
  • Collaborate with the senior leadership and Board Secretary in setting meeting agendas, scheduling, and distributing board materials in a timely manner.
  • Ensure the Board fulfills its responsibilities regarding oversight, strategic planning, risk management, fiduciary compliance, and performance evaluation.
  • Promote a culture of openness, constructive debate, and accountability among Board members.
  • Ensure that all Directors understand their roles, responsibilities, and contributions, and that they receive appropriate orientation and ongoing development.
  • Monitor Board composition, succession, and support on recruitment of new Directors as needed.
• Strategic Oversight & Guidance
  • Work closely with senior management to develop, review, and refine the organization’s mission, strategy, and major programs.
  • Ensure that the Board monitors implementation of strategic plans, evaluates major initiatives, and adjusts direction as needed in response to changing circumstances.
  • Act as a sounding board, advisor, and mentor to the senior leadership, providing strategic counsel without undermining management.
• Liaison & Representation
  • Serve as the principal liaison between the Board and the senior leadership, facilitating two-way communication and ensuring clarity of roles.
  • Represent the Foundation publicly, at donor meetings, events, and with external stakeholders as appropriate, in coordination with senior management.
  • In collaboration with staff and Board, help with high-level fundraising, donor stewardship, and advocacy.
• Oversight & Compliance
  • Together with the Board, ensure compliance with applicable U.S. laws, IRS regulations (as a 501(c)(3) organization), state nonprofit law, and other relevant regulatory requirements.
  • Oversee (or delegate oversight of) key governance policies, e.g. conflict-of-interest, financial controls, risk management, whistleblower, ethics, and evaluation policies.
  • Support and guide the Board in conducting periodic self-assessments, and an annual performance review of the senior leadership.
• Succession & Continuity
  • Plan for Board leadership succession, ensure a smooth transition when the term ends.
  • When necessary, temporarily fulfill the duties of the senior leadership, particularly in transitions or emergency situations (in coordination with the Board).

Required Qualifications and Experience

For this role, we welcome candidates with the following experiences and qualifications:

• 15+ years of experience in organizational management and leadership, ideally including previous experience as a CEO and/or Board Chair, and preferably with US non-profits.
• Proven leadership, facilitation, and consensus-building skills
• Strategic thinking skills and capacity to engage with complex programmatic, financial, operational issues
• Demonstrated experience implementing compliance and governance best practices, and working with Board Directors and senior leadership to ensure these policies are followed.
• Experience supporting senior leaders to successfully navigate organizational transitions.
• Strong understanding of the US non-profit operating environment, including non-profit compliance and governance requirements and best practices.
• Experience guiding and supporting senior non-profit management to achieve impact.
• Prior experience supporting small, mission-driven non-profits to grow and scale sustainably, in particular in challenging environments (e.g. Afghanistan).
• Expertise in organizational development and strategy.
• Strong understanding of non-profit finance.

In addition, we hope candidates will have a selection of the following experiences and qualifications:

• Deep experience in education, in particular secondary or tertiary education, vocational training, education in emergencies, or online/digital education.
• Personal or professional experience in international affairs, including Afghanistan.
• Personal or professional networks that can help build Charmaghz’s base of supporters, including networks related to non-profit development and operations, fundraising, education programming, and Afghanistan.
• Ability to represent Charmaghz externally.

This role is open to candidates in any location, though please note we typically hold Board meetings at 9am - 11am EST / 2pm - 4pm UK time. We would be open to adjusting these times slightly, though hope to keep Board meetings during everyone’s working hours.

What We Offer

By joining the Board of Directors as Chair, you will become an integral part of an ambitious organization deeply committed to serving Afghan children and youth, and expanding the possible futures available to them. You will have the opportunity to work with and accompany the next generation of leaders, and meaningfully contribute to the long-term growth, sustainability, and development of a small non-profit. Most importantly, your service will directly impact the quality and availability of education for children in Afghanistan today, and for years to come.