Advisory Council

The Council is not a governing or decision-making body. Its role is different — and deliberately so.

Members are invited to question assumptions, identify risks, bring expertise we may not hold internally and help us see opportunities or challenges from perspectives beyond our own.

Because the purpose of good advice is not simply to confirm what we already believe.

It is to help us make better decisions.

What the Council Advises On

The Advisory Council may provide guidance and specialist insight across areas including:

• Programme Strategy & Design — helping assess whether proposed initiatives respond to genuine needs and are capable of creating meaningful impact.
• Partnerships & Growth — providing perspective on strategic partnerships, collaborations and opportunities that could strengthen or extend the Foundation’s work.
• Long-Term Strategy — challenging our thinking about where, when and how the Foundation should grow.
• Education & Digital Opportunity — contributing expertise to our work in education, technology, digital skills, entrepreneurship and the future of work.
• Health & Community Development — advising on relevant approaches to maternal and child wellbeing, community health and sustainable development.
• Impact & Measurement — helping strengthen how we define, measure, evaluate and communicate meaningful impact.
• Risk, Reputation & Responsibility — bringing independent perspective to decisions that may affect the Foundation’s integrity, credibility or long-term mission.

The Council & The Board

The Council advises. The Board governs.

The distinction is fundamental to our governance structure.

The Advisory Council provides perspective, expertise and challenge.

The Board of Directors retains responsibility for governance, strategic oversight and decisions falling within its authority.

Advice may be accepted, adapted or declined. But meaningful advice should always be heard, considered and respected.

Council members are therefore not expected to agree with every proposal placed before them.

Quite the opposite.

We want people around the table who are prepared to ask the question others may have missed — and to tell us when they believe there is a better way.

Meet the Board

The Independence of Advice

Challenge strengthens leadership.

The value of an Advisory Council lies in the quality and independence of its thinking.

Members should be able to contribute their professional judgement without being expected to defend decisions they did not make or agree with the Foundation simply because they advise it.

We welcome constructive challenge, informed disagreement and new thinking when they can help us protect our mission, improve our programmes or serve communities more effectively.

For us, surrounding ourselves only with people who agree with us would not be good leadership.

Strong organisations create space for strong questions.

Becoming an Advisory Council Member

Expertise in service of impact.

Membership of the Achebe Hope Foundation Advisory Council is selective and by appointment.

As the Foundation grows, we will continue to identify respected professionals and specialists whose experience, expertise, values and networks can strengthen particular areas of our work.

We are especially interested in expertise across humanitarian development, education, healthcare, technology and AI, entrepreneurship, finance, governance, law, safeguarding, philanthropy, communications and African economic development.

Professionals interested in contributing their expertise, and organisations wishing to recommend suitable individuals, may submit an expression of interest for consideration.

Appointments remain subject to appropriate review and approval in accordance with the Foundation’s governance arrangements.

Express InterestLeadership & Governance

Our Principle

We do not seek advisors to tell us what we want to hear. We seek people whose experience can help us see further, think better and serve more effectively.