Chair, Board of Directors

Are you an energetic community member, passionate about supporting a charity? Does helping wildlife align with your values? If so, this may be the position for you!

Position:	Chair, Board of Directors
Reports To:	Membership of Wildlife Rescue Association of BC
Reports From:	Co-Executive Director(s)
Average Hours:	12 – 15 hours per month 

Organization
The WRA Wildlife Rescue Association of BC (WRA) is a charitable non-profit that rehabilitates wildlife affected by human activity and provides education to the public on co-existing with urban wildlife. We have a wildlife hospital on the south side of Burnaby Lake and treat animals from across the Lower Mainland, the rest of BC, and further afield.
WRA has steadily evolved since it started in 1979. More recently, we have worked to re-align organizational strengths to accomplish greater mission achievements in response to an ever-increasing number of wildlife needing help. This allows WRA to operate one of the busiest wildlife rehabilitation facilities in Canada.
WRA is now looking to recruit Board members to contribute to our renewed growth and relevance.
Board of Directors
The role of the WRA Board of Directors is to:
•	Provide leadership and oversight of the organization and its activities 
•	Represent the interests of its members and the broader community,
•	Ensure broad organizational accountability and transparency; and
•	Facilitate active and meaningful external relationships
Board members are passionate about WRA’s mission and are committed to the organizational values of caring, collaboration, creativity and respect. In addition, as WRA embarks on innovative fund development initiatives moving forward, board members will be working collaboratively with senior staff to achieve critical philanthropic goals.
The WRA Board of Directors has a governance mandate and develops policies and practices to allow senior staff to align operations with WRA’s mission, vision and values, as well as strategic objectives.
The Board of Directors meets 10 times per year and oversees the work of Board committees that meet periodically to carry out specific roles. The Board reports annually to the membership and is individually and severally responsible for ensuring that the bylaws of the organization are followed. Ongoing work includes board recruitment, strategic planning, and performance evaluations of senior staff (Co-Executive Directors).
Chair – Roles & Responsibilities
The Chair provides leadership to the Board, ensures effective governance, and maintains a strong liaison with the Co‑Executive Directors as their primary contact on the Board of Directors.
The main functions of the Chair role include:
•	Provide leadership for effective board functioning and governance
•	Ensure compliance with the WRA Constitution, Bylaws and BC Societies Act
•	Chair all board and membership meetings, ensuring inclusive, effective discussion
•	Lead organizational oversight and ensure accountability and transparency
•	Serve as an ex officio voting member on all committees of the Board of Directors
•	Work with committee chairs to develop agendas, set targets and complete actions
•	Supervise the other officers of the Board in the execution of their respective duties
•	Work with the Co-EDs to develop board meeting agendas and meeting materials
•	Work with Past Chair to develop agenda and materials for annual retreat meeting
•	Lead annual board and executive performance evaluation processes
•	Support succession planning for board and senior staff members
•	Drive strategic plan development, review and implementation
•	Serve as a WRA representative and spokesperson at external events
•	Champion WRA’s culture, mission, vision and values
•	Act as a signing officer where authorized by the Board
•	Delegate duties to other directors as required
Chair – Qualifications
Ideal candidates will have the following attributes:
•	Significant prior experience in charity or non-profit leadership role(s)
•	Senior non-profit governance experience working on/with volunteer boards
•	Sound understanding of the structure and function of a governance board model
•	Skilled in facilitating inclusive meetings and fostering a healthy board culture
•	Previous experience in the development of strategic plans and meeting agendas 
•	Knowledgeable in risk management and compliance issues for BC Societies
•	Experienced in supervising the performance of senior staff and volunteers
•	Availability and willingness to mentor other directors in their respective roles
•	Strong analytical abilities and communication skills with diverse audiences
•	Demonstrated commitment to WRA’s mission, vision, values and culture of philanthropy
How to Apply
Please submit your resume and letter of interest as a single PDF using our online form: https://app.smartsheet.com/b/form/019e00f60ea07312949010ef891e03d7
Please visit www.wildliferescue.ca for more information.