Want to help shape Editors Canada at the national level, develop new skills and broaden your professional network? Two leadership positions are now open on our national executive council (NEC).
As a volunteer-run organization, Editors Canada relies on the active involvement of its members. At any given time, hundreds of volunteers are working to keep our organization running and to support editors across the country. Our members serve on national and branch executives, organize our conferences and webinars, serve on committees and task forces, develop publications and maintain our professional certification program. In short, volunteers are essential for Editors Canada to function.
The NEC consists of directors who have been elected by the Editors Canada membership to govern the association. All directors must be members of Editors Canada. Even though they direct the business of the association, the directors are, at all times, accountable to the association’s members.
The NEC oversees the work done by the volunteers on national committees and in national positions and works with the Editors Canada staff to help the association run smoothly. Essentially, the NEC helps direct the association’s activities and decides what the association should spend money on each year.
We’re looking for engaged, dedicated people to fill the following NEC roles.
Secretary
The NEC secretary is responsible for keeping records for Editors Canada. Many of the NEC’s motions are conducted via email, so one of the secretary’s duties is to keep a running list of all motions made online (i.e., outside of an NEC meeting) and set up online voting.
The NEC typically meets monthly. Once per quarter, the secretary requests and then compiles reports from NEC directors and chairs of national committees, task forces, and branches and twigs. During NEC meetings, the secretary leads discussions about action items from previous meetings. Afterwards, the secretary works with the volunteer recording secretary (position currently vacant) to finalize the meeting minutes.
The secretary also has duties related to the annual general meeting, including organizing advance motions, proxy votes and other related documents.
This role requires strong time management and organizational skills, as the secretary needs to attend meetings, facilitate a portion of the meeting, and simultaneously take notes and update documents, all while balancing other responsibilities. Additionally, it demands patience, coordination, strong word processing skills, and the ability to reach out to numerous people and compile incoming documents within specific timelines. Access to a recent version of Microsoft Word would also be helpful for this position.
If you’re the detail-oriented, organized person we’re looking for, please contact Kaitlin Littlechild. Additionally, if you’re interested in the volunteer recording secretary role and would like more information, we invite you to get in touch as well.
Director of volunteer relations
The director of volunteer relations position is vital in our association. The bulk of the director’s work revolves around overseeing the volunteer management committee, which helps to support the association’s many volunteers, and the member services committee, which maintains and arranges valuable benefits for Editors Canada members. According to a former director of volunteer relations, “an outgoing people person” would do well in this position!
If you’re driven to create rewarding volunteer experiences while gaining valuable professional development experience and growing your network with other editors across the country, and at different levels of the association, please contact Suzanne Aubin for more information.
More information
Looking for more information about volunteering for Editors Canada and the expected time commitment and responsibilities for directors on the national executive council? Visit the volunteer resources page and check out The Volunteer Handbook and The Directors Handbook.
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