Structure and governance

VSO is governed by the International Board, which sets the strategic direction of the organisation.

International Board of Trustees

The International Board (IB) meets at least three times a year in person and four times a year via telephone. For further information on the roles and responsibilities of the International Board of Trustees, of any of the IB committees, or to contact any of our trustees with respect to their involvement with VSO, please email the VSO company secretary.

The current members of the International Board of Trustees are:

• Julia Lalla-Maharajh OBE - Chair
  Founder of the Orchid Project NGO, leading campaigner against female genital cutting. Governance committee member.

• Susan Hickey
  Chartered accountant, Group Finance and Investment Director at igloo Regeneration, and former Chief Financial Officer at Peabody. Audit and Risk Committee member.

• Christopher Muwanguzi
  Trustee of the Uganda Board for Child’s i Foundation, and recipient of the Nelson Mandela Award at the International AIDS conference in Durban, 2000, for his contribution to the fight against AIDS. Audit and Risk Committee member.

• Geoff Skingsley
  Non-Executive Board Member of Médecins Sans Frontières Foundation. On the Global Leadership Council of the Said Business School in Oxford, UK; and member of the CBI's London Council. Governance Committee member.

• Janet Muir 
  Director of Finance with over twenty years working in the not for profit sector in international development and education.  Member of Chartered Accountants Ireland and the Corporate Governance Institute.

Executive Board

The International Board delegates VSO's day-to-day management to the Executive Board. The Executive Board has operational oversight of VSO's global work and holds responsibility for the quarterly setting and reviewing of objectives and budgets.

Dr Philip Goodwin, Chief Executive

Dr Philip Goodwin joined VSO as Chief Executive in March 2015.

Prior to taking up this position, he was Chief Executive of TREE AID from June 2010, where he led the expansion of programme work into Ethiopia and Niger, doubling the overall number of beneficiaries the organisation reaches.

He was also with the British Council for more than a decade, conducted research into poverty issues with the Overseas Development Institute, and was a community development volunteer in Mali.

Donne Cameron, Executive Director, Programmes

Donne Cameron joined VSO in 2012 as regional director for Southern Africa, having spent the previous 10 years with Habitat for Humanity International in South Africa.

She was appointed as director of Africa Group in November 2013, moving to her current executive director role in 2015, and is based in Pretoria.

Kathryn Gordon, Executive Director, People and Organisational Development

Kathryn Gordon joined VSO in early 2010. She was appointed to her current position in July 2015 and has responsibility for human resources, organisational learning and international volunteering.

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