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  1. Home
  2. Who we are
  3. Leadership and governance

Governed for accountability, led by young people.

A General Assembly and a Board of Directors govern CAYO. An Executive Director leads the organization, and a Deputy Director oversees its two functions, Operations and Programs.

Who governs CAYO, and who leads it.

The structure keeps governance and management apart, so that each can hold the other to account. As a registered civil society organization, CAYO is overseen by the Authority for Civil Society Organizations.

  • Governs

    General Assembly

    CAYO’s highest body

    Elects the Board of Directors.

  • Governs

    Board of Directors

    Elected by the General Assembly

    Sets direction, approves the strategy and budget, and appoints and reviews the Executive Director.

  • Leads

    Executive Director

    Answers to the Board

    Leads the organization and its team day to day.

  • Leads

    Deputy Director

    Oversees Operations and Programs

    Operations runs finance and administration. Programs runs delivery in the communities.

Governance standards.

As a youth-led organization, we commit to keeping young people and women in the room where CAYO’s decisions are made, as we grow into new regions.

Seats for people from new regions will be added to the Board as CAYO expands.

The Youth Advisory Council

    18+

    Youth Advisory Council

    Being set up, with members aged 18 and over. The Board answers its recorded view on each strategic plan in writing.

What the Board does.

The Board holds CAYO to account and does not run it day to day. These are the duties each member takes on.

  • Care

    Come prepared, read the papers, ask questions and attend.

  • Loyalty

    Put CAYO’s interest above personal, family and business interests, and declare every conflict.

  • Purpose and law

    Make sure CAYO follows its bylaws, the CSO law and its funders’ rules.

  • Strategy

    Approve the strategic plan, after the Youth Advisory Council has recorded its view.

  • Money

    Approve the budget, receive the audited accounts and oversee annual filings with the Authority.

  • People

    Appoint and review the Executive Director, and approve key policies.

  • Safeguarding and integrity

    Adopt and review the safeguarding and integrity policies, and make sure a concern route exists and works.

  • Representation

    Speak for CAYO only when the Board or the Chair asks.

  • Succession

    Help find and prepare the next members of the Board, and the next Chair.

How the Board will work.

Commitments for the Board to adopt, so that it cannot drift.

  • Roles kept apart

    A Chair and a Treasurer, never the same person.

  • Three committees

    Finance and audit; safeguarding and integrity; nominations and governance.

  • Unpaid service

    Board members are not paid. CAYO reimburses reasonable costs of attending, such as transport and data.

  • Conflicts declared

    A conflict-of-interest declaration on joining and every year, and leaving the room for any item in which a member has an interest.

  • Conduct and safeguarding

    Every member signs the code of conduct and completes safeguarding training.

  • Fair recruitment

    Open calls, one seat profile per gap, the same questions for every candidate, and election by the General Assembly.

The team that runs CAYO.

Our organizational structure, from the Executive Director to the Field Assistants in the communities.

  • Executive DirectorLeads the organization; answers to the Board
  • Deputy DirectorOversees Operations and Programs
  • Finance and AdministrationOperations: finance and administration
  • Accounts ClerksOperations: day-to-day accounts
  • Security GuardsOperations: safety of the office and team
  • Program ManagerPrograms: leads delivery across projects
  • Monitoring and EvaluationPrograms: measures and reports results
  • Project OfficersHealth · Protection · WASH · Youth and Women Empowerment · Livelihood
  • Field AssistantsPrograms: work alongside communities

Structure from CAYO’s organogram: General Assembly, Board of Directors, Executive Director, Deputy Director, then Operations and Programs.

Registered, overseen and reporting.

What we file, sign and adopt, and who checks it.

  • Annual reports and accounts

    Filed with the Authority for Civil Society Organizations, with the Board overseeing each filing.

  • Operational agreements

    Signed with the relevant regional bureaus for each project.

Name
Concerned African Youth Organization (CAYO)
Legal form
Local civil society organization: youth-led, non-governmental and non-profit
Registration
2024, under CSO Proclamation No. 1113/2019
Registry number
7335
Mandate
All regional states and the city administrations of Addis Ababa and Dire Dawa
Oversight
Authority for Civil Society Organizations

Policy framework. A full set of policies, from safeguarding to anti-fraud and data protection, is drafted for the Board to adopt. How we are accountable

Report a concern