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Chair - Flexible location (voluntary)

Climate Action Network Australia

Climate Action Network Australia (CANA) invites expressions of interest for Chairperson of the CANA Board. This voluntary appointment is for an initial 3-year term commencing in June 2021.

The Chair has a strategic role to play in representing the vision and purpose of the organisation and in maintaining strong and trusting relationships with network members. The Chair ensures that the Board functions effectively with full participation at meetings, where relevant matters are discussed and decisions are carried out. In accordance with CANA’s Constitution, the Chair is appointed by the Board through the nominations committee.

CANA supports the Australian climate movement to achieve real action on global warming. We operate behind the scenes to drive strategic thinking and campaign collaboration between members including Australia Youth Climate Coalition, Greenpeace, The Wilderness Society, the Australian Conservation Foundation, WWF, Oxfam, 350.org, Solar Citizens, health and faith networks, trade unions, think tanks and many more. The small staff team are located in Sydney, Adelaide and Brisbane, with additional board members in Melbourne. The Chair may be based anywhere in Australia.

ROLE

The Chair will represent the organisation by:

  • Communicating effectively the vision and purpose of the organisation;
  • Building relationships with the heads of network member organisations, and liaising on matters of network strategy and other issues as appropriate;
  • Advocating for and representing the organisation at external meetings and events.

The Chair will ensure the organisation is managed effectively by:

  • Working with the Executive Director, as appropriate, to keep an overview of the organisation’s affairs;
  • With the Board as a whole, ensuring leadership and oversight of organisational strategy;
  • Coordinating the Board and its committees to ensure responsibilities for particular aspects of management (e.g. organisational risk, personnel matters, financial control, etc.) are met and specialist expertise is employed as required;
  • Being aware of current and future issues that might affect the organisation, including working with the Board and Executive Director to identify and address any emerging risks;
  • Facilitating change and addressing conflict within the organisation, by liaising with the Governance Committee and Executive Director to achieve this.

The Chair will provide support and supervision to staff by:

  • Working with the Executive Director to ensure the priorities of the organisation are being delivered, and that appropriate accountability and risk management processes are in place and working;
  • Sitting on appointment and final appeal grievance panels, as appropriate.

The Chair will ensure that the Board functions properly by:

  • Planning and running meetings in accordance with the organisation’s governing constitution;
  • Ensuring that matters are dealt with in an orderly, efficient manner;
  • Bringing impartiality and objectivity to meetings and decision-making;
  • Facilitating change and addressing any conflict within the Board;
  • Working with the Governance Committee, to review governance performance and skills;
  • Working with the Board to plan for recruitment and renewal of the Board.

QUALITIES AND SKILLS REQUIRED

  • Proven strong leadership skills;
  • Demonstrated strong communication, interpersonal and people skills;
  • Impartiality, fairness and the ability to respect confidences;
  • The ability to ensure decisions are taken and followed-up;
  • Tact and diplomacy;
  • Experience working with a variety of different organisations, and respect for the diverse nature of social movements and the contributions of their different parts;
  • Personal commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion;
  • Understanding of the roles/responsibilities of a Board and at least three years of governance experience, ideally including experience as a Board chair;
  • Experience of organisational and people management.

ADDITIONAL DESIRABLE ATTRIBUTES

  • An understanding of membership-based organisations;
  • Familiarity with climate change issues;
  • History of working on climate change issues in Australia in either a civil society, business or government capacity, and a strong existing network of relationships.

TIME COMMITMENT

CANA Board meetings are conducted virtually every two months with sub-committee meetings occurring in the alternating months. In-person strategy weekends are held twice a year. The role of Chair requires a minimum commitment of 8hrs/week.

A Co-Chair or Deputy Chair arrangement may be considered, depending on the applications received and the particular strengths of the leading candidates.

Interviews will be conducted remotely. Further questions about the Chair role can be sent to: [email protected], using the subject line: Chair - Flexible location enquiry via EthicalJobs. The chair may be based anywhere in Australia.

How to apply

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