HOT Board Member

Role Snapshot

• Duration: 2 year term, extendable every two years
• Remuneration: Volunteer role (travel expenses for in-person board meetings will be reimbursed)
• Commitment: An average of five hours per month, including attending board and committee meetings, participating in essential activities, and advising on the needs that arise. 
• Location: Global (remote)
• Language: Board business is conducted in English

Background

The Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team (HOT) has been driving improved humanitarian response and development through open geospatial data for the last 15 years. Whether responding to epidemics, earthquakes, flooding, or extreme heat, the question of “where?” will always remain a critical one. In a world of more frequent disasters, growing humanitarian need, and slow climate adaptation, demand for locally-sourced, low-cost, high-quality geospatial data is accelerating.

HOT is working towards a world where:

• Community needs are addressed through mapping
• Everyone can access, and contribute to, the map
• Open map data is available and used for impact

Backed by a vibrant global community, we operate four regional open mapping hubs, serving hundreds of communities and partners across Africa, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and the Caribbean, and our open tech stack is enabling communities to autonomously collect and act on data. 

A unique moment to join HOT 

The investments we make today in funding models, capabilities, and systems will shape how HOT evolves tomorrow. There is a significant opportunity for open mapping to deliver transformative value to citizens worldwide by strengthening humanitarian response, enabling smarter climate adaptation, and helping the sector make more effective use of limited resources. 

We are at a pivotal moment in HOT’s journey: shifting from a primarily grant-funded nonprofit to a market-facing NGO that generates revenue by enabling community mapping organizations to deliver open geospatial data and services to mission-aligned customers - governments, multilaterals, NGOs, and socially aligned private-sector clients. This board appointment is designed to accelerate that business model transition. We are seeking someone who has navigated this kind of shift before and can advise HOT's leadership on how to build the commercial capabilities, customer relationships, and business models needed to sustain and grow our impact.

HOT’s board is currently composed of both membership-elected directors and appointed directors, having welcomed our first two appointed board members in 2025. We are now seeking a third appointed member: a passionate, seasoned executive to join our Board of Directors to strengthen the board’s business leadership profile as the organization enters its next chapter. 

By joining HOT’s board, you’ll have the opportunity to: 

• Help shape the future of open mapping for humanitarian response, climate adaptation, public sector planning and global development
• Work alongside a globally connected community of leaders, mappers, technologists, and humanitarians
• Contribute to lasting, community-led impact in the world’s most vulnerable places

HOT is more than an organization. We are part of a movement committed to using open data and technology to improve lives and strengthen resilience worldwide. If you are an ambitious, future-oriented leader who believes in the power of community-led impact, we invite you to join us. 

Role Overview 

HOT’s board oversees strategic management and governance, ensuring that it fulfils its mission, remains financially stable, and operates to ethical and legal standards. As a board member, you will help shape strategy, oversee resource management  and regularly assess the performance of the Executive Director. 

Further information;

• HOT website 
• HOT Living Strategy
• HOT Impact Report 2025

Board Member duties include, but are not limited to:

• Ensure HOT carries out its purpose for public benefit and is held accountable
• Contribute to or chair board committees, supporting long-term vision, strategic direction and financial health 
• Contribute to financial governance, reviewing financial information, models and plans
• Safeguard HOT’s culture and core values
• Advise leadership team and board colleagues in matters relevant to your expertise notably HOT’s business development strategy
• Represent HOT at external events and meetings as required
• Undertake other tasks as needed to support board effectiveness
• Act in HOT’s best interests as an organizational ambassador 
• Maintain personal and professional conduct that preserves HOT’s reputation
• Maintain confidentiality of personal and commercially sensitive information
• Disclose to the board any circumstances that could create conflicts of interest or reputational risk

Role Qualifications

We are seeking a candidate whose experience aligns with the general board responsibilities and specifically will support HOT as we make the transformation to our business model. We value diverse capabilities and will consider different combinations of knowledge, skills and experience during the evaluation.

We’re looking for an individual who brings:

• Deep expertise in financial sustainability and innovative or hybrid business models
• Experience leading mission-driven organizations through periods of growth and strategic transformation
• Passion for the role of technology, data, and open systems in service of humanitarian and climate resilience work

Qualifications & Skills

ESSENTIAL 

• Experience developing mission-aligned market strategies, including planning, monitoring, and evaluation tools
• Experience building & scaling strategic partnerships, client relationships, or funding pipelines that support mission-driven growth
• Experience leading organizations that combine philanthropy and earned revenue for sustainable impact, including business model development and risk management
• Experience in the social impact and/or humanitarian space in one or more of HOT’s priority regions
• A positive, flexible approach to problem-solving
• Highest standards of integrity and conduct

DESIRABLE

• Expertise in sales, marketing, or communications, particularly marketing data or software as a product/service
• Understanding of technology’s role in the humanitarian and development sectors
• Experience building, scaling, or governing platform, marketplace, or network-based models
• Direct lived experience in a HOT priority region
• Demonstrated commitment to HOT’s mission, vision and values
• A relevant professional qualification
• Working knowledge of languages other than English
• Experience in the geospatial field

How to apply

To apply, please submit a current CV and a supporting letter (no more than 2 pages) that includes a detailed explanation of your suitability for this position with specific reference to the essential criteria in the person specification.

If you were referred by anyone within the HOT Community, please also include their name(s) when submitting your application.

Applications must be submitted ONLY through our online jobs portal in BambooHR no later than Sunday, June 28, 2026 EOD (any timezone).

Recruitment Timetable:

• Deadline for applications: Sunday, June 28, 2026 EOD (any timezone)
• Interviews with prospective candidates: expected early July to mid August 2026 (expected 3 interviews in total)
• Start date: mid October 2026

HOT is an International NGO committed to equal opportunities for all its employees, potential employees and members. It seeks to be an inclusive organization where there is equal opportunity for all and diversity is embraced.