About the Fiscal Host

Across Europe, movements and collectives working for racial, social, economic and other forms of justice often struggle to access funding and operate within legal, financial and administrative structures that were not designed for the way they work. To help bridge that gap, a new values-based Fiscal Host is now becoming a reality. Operating across Europe and registered in the Netherlands, it will provide reliable financial, legal and administrative infrastructure while protecting the autonomy and decision-making of the movements it supports. Several years of research, consultation, legal and fiscal work, and fundraising have gone into preparing the Fiscal Host. We are now looking for two founding Co-Directors with fire in their belly to build the organisation together. For the right people, this is a unique opportunity to build and shape an organisation that can change the way justice movements across the Council of Europe area are supported and resourced. Initial services will include receiving and administering grants, contracting, financial administration, payments and donor reporting, with scope to expand over time. The preparatory work to establish the Fiscal Host has already been completed, and initial multi-year funding has been secured, providing a strong starting point.

Two Co-Directors – one leadership team

The Fiscal Host will be led by two Co-Directors who equally share responsibility for the organisation. Each will bring distinct experience, strengths, and perspectives. Together they will develop a shared understanding of the full operation, make key decisions together and build a leadership partnership in which power and responsibility are genuinely shared. Different areas of expertise are welcome and will strengthen the partnership, while both Co-Directors need to have sufficient understanding of the whole organisation to take joint responsibility. Candidates may apply individually and they will get the opportunity to explore partnerships with other (solo) candidates. Joint applications from two people who have worked successfully together before, particularly in a co-director or closely shared leadership setting, are welcome. All candidates will initially be assessed on their individual qualities.

The role

Together, the Co-Directors will:

Establish the Fiscal Host as a Dutch non-profit organisation, including its legal structure, governance and decision-making arrangements.
Design and build the operating model, including the financial, administrative, legal, compliance, IT and reporting systems needed to respond to the needs of movements and support them effectively.
Identify and manage financial, legal, reputational and operational risks, making considered choices about how these risks are addressed in practice.
Develop the partnership model with movements and collectives, including intake, due diligence, agreements and ways of working that combine accountability with autonomy.
Build and manage relationships with funders, regulators, advisers and governance bodies, including influencing and negotiating where interests and expectations differ.
Work with other fiscal hosts in Europe, building relationships based on solidarity, cooperation and complementarity.
Build the organisation for the longer term, including recruiting the first team, maintaining and developing funder relationships and taking responsibility for its continued resourcing.

Competencies

Both Co-Directors should bring:

Understanding of justice and systemic change – including awareness of power dynamics between movements, funders and institutions.
Sound judgement and strategic thinking – able to weigh different interests, risks and opportunities while keeping sight of the wider purpose.
Eye for detail – attentive to the financial, legal and practical details needed to make the organisation work.
Credibility and reliability – building trust through consistency, transparency and follow-through.
Strong relationship, influencing and negotiation skills – able to foster cooperation, address tensions, ask tough questions and reach workable agreements.
Clear communication – able to explain what the Fiscal Host aims to achieve and what is needed to make it work.
Hands-on, shared leadership – self-aware, low-ego and willing both to share power and to engage in the practical work of building the organisation.

Across the pair

The strongest pair will bring a complementary combination of skills and competencies. Across the two appointments, we are looking for strong experience in:

Institutional, financial, legal and risk matters – including Dutch non-profit governance, the European regulatory context, finance, compliance and risk management.
Movement and partnership work – direct understanding of how movements and grassroots organisations operate, including power dynamics, capacity constraints and collaborative ways of working.
Fundraising and financial sustainability – experience with funders, fundraising and building a sustainable resourcing base.

Both Co-Directors need to possess enough knowledge, interest and curiosity to engage seriously with all three areas and to take joint responsibility for the organisation. At least one Co-Director should be based in the Netherlands and bring strong knowledge of the Dutch institutional context. Across the pair, a European and international perspective is essential. All candidates will initially be assessed on their individual qualities. However, joint applications from two people who have worked successfully together before, particularly in a shared leadership setting, are especially welcome. Individual applicants who reach the second round of interviews will have an opportunity to meet any potential partner.

Leadership and style

The way the two Co-Directors work together will be as important as what each individually brings. We are looking for collaborative, low-ego leaders with curiosity, self-awareness, and independence. You know your own strengths, recognise where another person may be stronger, and are comfortable sharing authority, discussing differences openly and changing your view when there is good reason to do so.
You enjoy building: making strategic choices, developing systems, solving practical issues and building relationships. The Fiscal Host will play an important enabling role, earning credibility through the quality and reliability of its work and relationships.

What we offer

The Co-Directors are joining at the moment when substantial preparatory work turns into an operating organisation. They will have significant scope to shape its governance, partnerships, systems, culture and longer-term direction, with support from those involved in the preparatory work and from specialist advisers. Together, they will take responsibility for building and leading the organisation and developing its longer-term financial sustainability. The gross annual salary is €95,000, excluding pension provision, in line with BBRA scale 14.4.

How to apply

Colourful People facilitate this executive search. For questions, please contact Judith Gunneweg, Senior Partner at Colourful People, at j.gunneweg@colourfulpeople.nl or +31 (0)6 51 51 55 67. Please submit your CV and your answers to the four questions below no later than 27^th November. Your answers should not exceed 1,000 words in total. You may decide how to distribute the word count across the four questions. A separate motivation letter is not required.

Purpose and values: what attracts you to the purpose of the Fiscal Host? What do you see as the three most important values that should underpin its work, and how would you operationalise these values in the way you build and develop the organisation and work with its partners?
Risk and movement support: what tensions do you expect in balancing financial, legal, reputational and operational risk with the need to remain genuinely supportive of justice movements? How should those tensions affect the way the Fiscal Host works?
Building trust and influence: what will matter most in building strong relationships with movements, funders and institutional stakeholders? Where do you expect negotiation, influencing or constructive challenge to be necessary?
Shared leadership and complementarity: what would you bring to a co-Director partnership? Where would you want your colleague to complement you, and what would the two of you need from each other for shared leadership to work well?

If you choose to use AI in preparing your application, please indicate briefly how you used it. We are interested in your own thinking, reasoning and perspective.

The first round of interviews will take place on 17^th December 2026. The best candidates will be invited to the second round of interviews which will take place on 14^th January 2027. A case study will form part of the selection process. It is likely that an assessment will be used to support the final selection.

The Fiscal Host is committed to building an organisation and governance structure that reflect the communities with which it works.

Solliciteren Vacatureoverzicht