Anti-poverty charity advertises £92k Head of Reparations hybrid job

The Head of Reparations will look to "develop a reparations programme that builds relationships with community partners", and will "lead the next phase of our work responding to the histories connected to our endowment".

The hybrid role requires 35 hours per week.

Lord Tony Sewell, former Chair of the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities, told GB News the vacancy was "madness".

The JRCT looks to shed light on historical colonial impacts, demanding reparations and looking to "address the root causes of conflict and injustice."

The trust claims to have worked with "experts in reparations and racial justice, and with historians and archivists, and taken time to understand these histories and how they relate to our continuing work to advance peace and justice."

CEO Nicola Purdy said on the website: "Our trustees acknowledged aspects of our historical legacy that require reflection.

"We joined with the other Rowntree trusts to respond to preliminary research showing that the company had bought cocoa and other goods produced by enslaved people, and had profited from systems of colonial exploitation.

"As a Quaker organisation established to work for a more peaceful and just world, we believe it is important to address these histories and the harm they caused."

The charity committed over £2million in grants for "Rights and justice", with an additional £1.5million pledged against "Power and accountability" in 2024.

Meanwhile, individual grants were as large as £496,000 last year.

The trust came under scrutiny, though, in 2015 for its grants towards the advocacy group Cage.

The group described itself as "an independent organisation working to empower communities impacted by the War on Terror" and has spoken out against the UK's anti-terrorism laws previously.

Cage was criticised for suggesting MI5 may have played a role in the radicalisation of Mohammed Emwazi, the so-called "Jihadi John".

Emwazi was named as one of the Islamic State militants who had been seen in videos showing hostages being beheaded.

Cage admitted they were "horrified" by the Islamic State's killings and insisted the comments were "not about sticking up for" Emwazi.

Between 2007 and 2011, the trust pledged grants of £305,000, of which £271,250 was paid to Cage. The Charity Commission confirmed payments stopped after the controversy.

The Charity Commission did reveal it had "scrutinised" the trust's involvement with Cage previously.

"The commission believes it was the charity’s intention to fund programmes that were capable of furthering charitable purposes," the report read.

"However, the commission found that, in the circumstances, it was difficult to see how the trustees could have been sufficiently assured that the monies given to Cage were used for exclusively charitable purposes.

"The commission concluded that improvements to the charity’s processes and procedures were needed to ensure robust scrutiny and control of funds, particularly when giving grants to non-charitable bodies.

"During the regulatory case, the trustees proactively took a number of steps to make such improvements."

The JRCT was one of three, along with the Joseph Rowntree Foundation and the Joseph Rowntree Reform Trust, created by Joseph Rowntree in 1904.

Mr Rowntree, who earned his fortune through the Rowntree confectionery company, invested half of his wealth into the three charities.

Ada Akpala, Head of Content at think tank The Equiano Project, condemned the vacancy: "A 'Head of Reparations' role with a £92,000 salary says everything about how unserious this entire conversation has become and makes a mockery of the whole idea of reparations.

"Institutions are throwing money at symbolic roles to appear virtuous, while the communities they claim to champion will see little, if any, of the benefit. If the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust genuinely cared about justice, it would direct that money toward projects that empower people through education, enterprise, and community building.

"Paying someone £92,000 to manage the politics of historical guilt achieves nothing of real substance."

The JRCT has been contacted for comment.