About the organisation

The Sortition Foundation believes that today’s politics needs citizens at the centre of decision-making, and that everyday people should decide how we live together. We work to transform local, regional and national democratic processes by institutionalising citizens’ assemblies. For example, we are campaigning for a permanent citizens' assembly (CA) in Greater Manchester. 

Vision, Purpose, Values

Our vision is that people from all walks of life make informed decisions about how we live together.

Our purpose is to build the movement for permanent, powerful citizens’ assemblies.

Our goals are guided by the following values: Collective Wisdom and Social Justice

Our culture is guided by the following values: Curious, Caring and Courageous

In the last few years, citizens’ assemblies have become commonplace in many countries (UK, Australia, Canada, Ireland, Poland) and spread to many more, such as France, Spain, Austria, Germany, Belgium, among others. A regional parliament in Belgium created a permanent citizens’ assembly - the first of its kind in Europe - and we are seeing local councils in the UK and Australia follow suit.

While this represents considerable success, there is still much work and campaigning to do. We want to see citizens’ assemblies become more prevalent, for them to become a permanent feature of our democracies, and we understand that for this to happen we need more people, organisations and decision makers to know about and advocate for these assemblies.

In FY 2024-2025, we took bold steps to put real democracy into action: helping communities, governments, and institutions around the world make fairer, more inclusive decisions. From landmark citizens’ assemblies in the UK to pioneering our first full process in Hungary, from supporting the European Commission’s Citizens’ Panels to launching our first paid work in the USA, we kept proving that democratic lotteries can transform public decision-making. We built new networks, sparked fresh conversations, and grew a movement (doubling our supporter base, tripling donations, and reaching millions online). And with a €1 million grant to create open-source lottery software, new leadership on our board, and an expanded team, we’re ready to push the boundaries of what’s possible for deliberative democracy in the years ahead.

We achieved all this thanks to our growing and dedicated staff; our continued partnerships with organisations including the Electoral Reform Society, Unlock Democracy, and Involve in the UK; our ongoing participation in the Democracy R&D International Network; and with the help of our Independent Directors such as yourself.

The directors’ team (made up of four Staff Directors and up to a maximum of seven Independent Directors) will make a significant contribution towards achieving our ambitions, through focusing on strategy and governance and providing constructive support and advice on all relevant aspects of the company.

About the role

The Sortition Foundation is a not-for-profit company organised like a workers’ cooperative, with staff in ultimate control of most of the organisation’s processes. The four Staff Directors are ultimately responsible for the day-to-day running of the company and for organising the processes in which staff contribute to important strategic and resource questions.

Independent Directors are responsible for:

• Setting and reviewing all pay levels. As a not-for-profit organisation that seeks funding from outside sources, it is important to us to have independent oversight of our pay levels and structure.
• Actively contributing to one or more of our working groups within the organisation (Campaigns, Communications, DNA and Governance, Finance, Business Development, Tech and People) that aligns with their specific field or area of expertise. Many of these groups meet monthly (online) for 1-2 hours at a time.

Independent Directors are also welcome to contribute to wider strategic discussions at our Strategic Planning Sessions (approximately 2 times per year) and Staff General Meetings (which occur 9 times throughout the year). At these meetings you can meet staff, find out more about what is going on inside the company, and contribute to the discussions. We emphasise that these extra contributions are voluntary and not expected as part of being an Independent Director.

The normal term of appointment is three years, up to a maximum of two terms (i.e. a maximum of six years). Independent Directors currently work unpaid, and contribute approximately 3-10 hours of their time per month, including preparing for and attending the relevant working group and Staff General meetings, communicating by email, preparing or reviewing documents, etc.

We are looking for up to 3 new Independent Directors to complement our team in 2026 following the retirement of other Independent Directors. 

Essential skills, experience and attributes

• A strong commitment to and passion for our vision, strategy and values
• The ability and willingness to devote time and energy to the role 
• An international perspective
• A good understanding of the responsibilities of directors and the distinction between governance and management
• Excellent communication, leadership and interpersonal skills
• The ability to work well as part of a diverse team 
• The willingness to be listed as a director on our Companies House webpage
• To have read our ‘ Articles of Association’ and our ‘Secondary Rules and Structure’ (available after appointment)

Desirable skills, experience and attributes

• Previous director experience
• Experience of strategy development and effective implementation
• Relevant networks and networking skills

Sortition Foundation Board of Directors Composition

In our Secondary Rules, we have set the following targets for the composition of our board of directors: 

• At least 50% women and at least 30% people of colour.
• We will always encourage people with disabilities to apply.

We recognise that this list is not exhaustive nor intended to be exclusive of other marginalised groups. We would encourage people of any of these groups to consider applying.

The Application Process

To apply, please email your CV and a short covering letter to [email protected] with the subject line, “Independent Director Application.” The closing date for all applications is 12pm (BST) Monday 20 July 2026. If you require additional time, please contact us by Friday 17 July 2026 at the above email address and we will do our best to accommodate.

If you would like to discuss the role or have any questions, please do email us.

Our intention is to hold interviews (virtually) on Wednesday 5 August and Thursday 6 August. We will share the questions with you two days prior to your interview. Should you require any adjustments, please let us know.

Should you be offered the role, we will ask for two references from you.