Alumni Council Position Descriptions
CHAIR
1. General Responsibilities
The Chair of the Council (“Chair”) is responsible for facilitating highly effective performance by the Council.
2. Specific Responsibilities of the Chair
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Schedule the number and timing of Council meetings each year so as to enable the Council to deal on a timely basis with all matters for which the Council is responsible and with which the Council as a whole chooses or is obliged to deal;
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Poll Council Members at least 10 days in advance of each meeting and seek their input as to possible agenda items;
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After consulting with the Manager, establish the agenda for each Council meeting with a view to bringing before the Council (i) matters with which the Council wishes or is obliged to deal, (ii) matters in respect of which management requires or wants Council approval;
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Use his/her best efforts to provide or to cause to be provided to the Council, within a reasonable timeframe in advance of each meeting (e.g. 7 days), all reasonably required and available information relating to each matter to be dealt with by the Council at that meeting;
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Where, in the Chair’s opinion, the subject matter and expected duration of a meeting or the particular circumstances of a member of the Council would so warrant, encourage a Member to participate in the meeting by means of telephone, teleconference, videoconference or other methodology by which Members participating in the meeting are able to speak to and be heard by each other;
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Approve the general nature and length of all presentations to be made at each meeting and review every written presentation to be made to the Council before such written presentation is provided to Members; and
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Prior to any Council meeting, confer with one or more Members on any matter to be discussed at the Council meeting if, in the Chair’s opinion, the discussion of that matter at the Council meeting would probably be thereby enhanced;
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Act as a sounding board for the Manager, Alumni Relations’ ideas;
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Consult with and constructively engage with the Manager, Alumni Relations respect to achieving the responsibilities of the Council;
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Be involved in the preparation of the Council’s annual budget.
b) Conduct of Council Meetings
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Act as the Chair of each Council meeting;
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Facilitate and mediate Council decisions;
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Facilitate and optimize the constructive involvement and participation of all Members;
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Keep the Mission, Vision, Values, Objectives and strategic priorities/initiatives of MCAAC foremost and use them as a template/screen for all agendas and work plans;
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Conduct the business of each meeting in a manner which will normally result in the meeting’s agenda being completed and dealt with effectively;
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Propose the termination of discussion on any matter at a meeting when he/she is of the opinion that (i) the matter has been thoroughly canvassed and that no new points of view or information are being presented; or (ii) the matter falls outside the scope of the agreed upon mandate of the Council.
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Attempt to achieve a consensus of Members on any matter discussed at a meeting in respect of which (i) the Council’s decision, views or counsel has been requested or is required, and (ii) Members express conflicting positions, views or counsel; where consensus is not available, the Chair will be guided by Robert’s Rules of Order;
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Ensure that all Members who wish to address a matter at a meeting are afforded a reasonable opportunity to do so;
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The Chair shall use all reasonable effort to promote and support the Council’s Constitution and Charter:
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In any case where a Member has an interest or potential conflict in respect of a matter to be discussed at a meeting, attempt to arrange for the conflicted Member to excuse himself/herself from all or a portion of the discussion of that matter if the Chair is of the opinion that the discussion of that matter would probably be enhanced by the absence of the conflicted Member; and
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Call special meetings of the Council when necessary.
a) assist in the identification of appropriate candidates to be considered for appointment to the Council;
b) communicate on behalf of the Council with all proposed nominees for appointment to MCAAC to ensure that they are aware of the roles and responsibilities that they are taking on prior to their official appointment;
c) arrange for management of MCAAC to provide newly elected members with a comprehensive orientation and education program with respect to MCAAC and its businesses;
g) Make recommendations regarding the continuing education of Members.
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At the request of any member, meet or be available for discussion with that Member between meetings of the Council;
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Act as Chair at all general and annual meetings of MCAAC;
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Coach and mentor any identified successor Chair;
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Represent the Council at industry events, conferences, association meetings or other designated events;
- The Vice Chair shall uphold the MCAAC Constitution and Charter,
- The Vice Chair performs the responsibilities and duties of the MCAAC Chair in the Chair’s absence (see Chair’s Job Description). The Vice Chair is responsible for helping to resolve any disputes (if called upon) which an individual member may have with another member, including the Chair. The Vice Chair:
a. Reports to the Council Chair;
b. Works closely with the Chair and Manager, Alumni Relations as directed by the Chair;
c. Participates closely with the Chair to develop and implement member transition plans;
d. Attends Council meetings;
e. Carries out special assignments as requested by the Chair.
1. The Job Description
The primary duties of a Member are (i) to contribute consistently and meaningfully to the effective performance of the Council; and (ii) to constructively engage with the Manager, Alumni Relations to improve the performance of MCAAC and Alumni Relations.
In discharging his/her duties, a Member must:
b) Act honestly and in good faith with a view to the best interests of MCAAC;
c) Exercise the care, diligence and skill that a reasonably prudent person would exercise in comparable circumstances;
d) Respect and adhere to Council confidentiality;
e) Demonstrate commitment to the strategy of MCAAC;
2. Specific Duties of a Member
Without limiting the generality of the primary duty of a Member as described in Section 1 above, a Member shall:
a) Qualifications and Preparedness
1. Prepare for meetings and read in advance all of the materials provided to Members; including Constitution, Charter, Governance Principles, Job Descriptions and Nomination Process.
2. Develop and maintain the ability to read and understand a set of financial statements that present a breadth and level of complexity of accounting issues that are generally comparable to the breadth and complexity of the issues that can reasonably be expected to be raised by MCAAC’s financial statements;
3. Develop and maintain the ability to understand and appreciate the financial implications of strategies, tactics and transactions proposed by management of MCAAC;
4. Develop and maintain a reasonable knowledge of those segments of the activities of the Alumni Relations Department.
5. Understand and respect the differences between the Council’s advisory role and the College employee role of the Alumni Relations Department.
6. Understand and contribute to the evaluation, choice and achievement of MCAAC’s strategy.
b) Values and Commitment
1. Be demonstrably committed to the success, strategy, and values, of MCAAC Be demonstrably committed to honesty and integrity in the conduct of MCAAC’s affairs; and
2. Accept accountability, jointly with the rest of the Council, for the performance of the Council.
3. Responsibilities
a) Make available his/her knowledge and experience for the benefit of MCAAC;
b) Consistently use his/her best efforts in discharging his/her duties as a Member of the Council;
c) Consistently evaluate Council decisions and proposed actions in the context of the MCAAC’s strategy;
d) Review and evaluate Alumni Relations departments management recommendations and proposals to the Council in to order to obtain reasonable assurance that what is being proposed is plausible;
e) Demonstrate and encourage innovative thinking;
f) Consider an appointment to a committee, when asked;
g) Understand and accept that the Council speaks with one voice and that no one individual member speaks for the Council unless specifically designated to do so. Refer all media/staff questions related to MCAAC to the Manager or his/her designate.
h) Help identify, recruit and mentor new Council members;
i) Get to know other Council members and members of Management; and
j) Participate in a self-evaluation of the Council and individual members.
4. Style
a) Apply a collaborative approach to decision-making by the Council;
b) Be economical with his/her words and the time of the Council;
c) Encourage open and candid discussion of the real issues at meetings of the Council;
d) Listen to and be respectful of the views of other Members and members of Management;
e) Be prepared to express honest disagreement with the views of management and other members;
f) Question and probe Alumni Relations staff and Council decisions in a positive and constructive manner;
g) Be willing to come to a consensus his/her mind in appropriate circumstances;
h) Attempt to reconcile and integrate various points of view;
j) Direct any concerns about individual members to the Chair for resolution.
5. Time Commitment
a) Attend at least 2/3 or 66 percent the meetings of the Council (4 out of 6 meetings per year);
b) Regularly (66%) arrive on time; and
c) Regularly remain at Council meetings (80%) until the meetings end.
6. Member Termination and Resignation
A Member whose annual evaluation shows that he or she has not satisfactorily carried out his/her Specific Duties as specified in Section 2 and who refuses to undertake corrective action shall be deemed to be in breech of his/her fiduciary duties and will be considered for disqualification from continuing to serve as a Member. A Member who is found to be in breach of the time commitments as specified in Section 5 above shall be deemed to be in breach of his/her fiduciary duties and may be considered for disqualification from continuing to serve as a Member.
