Civida is the largest provider of community and affordable homes in Northern Alberta, overseeing over 5,300 homes at more than 130 sites across the City of Edmonton. Guided by a mission to provide safe and affordable housing, Civida prioritizes customer and community wellbeing, creating a positive and inclusive environment for all stakeholders.

As a trusted advisor, working in partnership with all three levels of government including the Government of Canada, Government of Alberta, and the City of Edmonton, collaboration is at the heart of their approach.

THE ROLE

Civida is seeking Directors to join an established Board governance team that will contribute to the enhancement of strong and capable leadership governance practices for the organization. Currently, the Civida Board meets a minimum of five times per calendar year, plus a strategic planning retreat. There are two additional committees to support the work of the Board, and Directors are expected to serve on one committee during their term. Director terms are two years in length with a maximum of eight years served on the Board.

As a member of the Board of Directors for Civida, you will have the opportunity to offer valuable input and strategic direction to help advance Civida’s vision of providing secure affordable housing to those in need.

THE CANDIDATE

Civida is currently seeking candidates with the following experience/skills to bring to the Board:

1. Strong board governance knowledge and experience.
2. Broad understanding of the workings of government at the municipal, provincial and/or federal level.
3. Financial leadership with a background/understanding in capital planning, financing and/or development.
4. Legal leadership with a strong understanding of property development, construction and/or property management.

Core Competencies:

To ensure that the Board composition represents a diverse range of both general and special skills and personal backgrounds and experiences, Civida is seeking Directors who possesses a combination of the following:

• Prior board experience and governance leadership is an asset.
• Ability to analyze situations, issues, best practices, and solutions with an open and detailed perspective.
• Strong understanding or experience in governance processes, policies and accountabilities by which publicly funded systems are directed and controlled, including understanding the role and relationship between policy makers, directors and management.
• Understands the mandate of Civida, the responsibilities of a Board member, and is confident providing advice and stewardship to the organization.
• Experience working with diverse communities and a demonstrated understanding of the affordable housing and social services sector.

Key Responsibilities

Organizational Governance:

• Fulfill the mandate of the Board in compliance with all relevant policies and directives, Board bylaws and all legal and regulatory requirements.
• Contribute to collective decision making that furthers the mandate of Civida through specific goals and priorities that have been established in Civida’s Strategic Plan.

Financial Management, Enterprise Risk Management and Internal Controls:

• Approval of an annual budget and regular financial statements submitted to the Board.
• Ensure Civida complies with and manages within budget approvals and recommendations from the annual audits.

Communications and Stakeholder Relationships:

• Raise the profile of Civida’s programs and services to the government, the community, and other public bodies using a clear united message.
• Endorse a supportive relationship and collaborative culture between Civida and its various stakeholders.

Compensation, Evaluation and Succession:

• Assist in annual performance review of the CEO and Contribute to assessments of the quality of the CEO/Board relationship.

Board Committees:

The Committees will meet as often as required to provide effective governance and oversight. All decisions and recommendations made by the Committees must be ratified by the Board.

The existing committee structure is as follows:

• Audit and Finance Committee
• Governance and Human Resource Committee

The Audit and Finance Committee provides the Board of Directors with support in fulfilling its responsibilities for monitoring and assessing Civida’s long term financial, capital and development resources plans and strategies.

The Governance and Human Resource Committee assists the Board of Directors in fulfilling its legal, ethical, and functional responsibilities through adequate governance policy development, recruitment strategies, training programs, monitoring of Board activities, and evaluation of Board member performance.

Individual Board Members have the responsibility to:

• Work in collaboration with the Board Chair and Committees they may be a part of to ensure the Board fulfills its mandate.
• Enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of the Board and Board Committee meetings including:
  • Actively participate in meeting deliberations and discussions;
  • Read reports and background materials provided for meetings and seek additional information necessary for responsible decision-making;
  • Demonstrate knowledge and maintain an understanding of the legislative, business, social and political environments within which Civida operates.

Personal Characteristics

• Promotes Compelling Vision.
• Seeks Innovation.
• Integrity and Personal Credibility.
• Performance Driven.
• Diplomacy and Networking.
• Collaboration and Communication.

We understand and appreciate our clients’ ever-increasing desire for candidates to reflect the communities in which they work and live. The Vogel Group is committed to inclusivity and diversity as we search for outstanding leadership talent for our clients.

We encourage candidates of all ethnicities, cultural backgrounds, physical challenges, sexual orientations, and identifications to feel confident in exploring and declaring candidacy for any of our search assignments.

For a full profile or to apply, please contact :

Rick Vogel, ICD.D                       

Founding Principal                       

780.665.4965 ext. 101                  rick@thevogelgroup.ca

The Vogel Group is a leadership search firm with offices in Alberta and Ontario conducting national searches for a wide range of clients. We work with like-minded organizations that value a partnership based on integrity, authenticity and an unwavering commitment to excellence.