Board Member

Thank you for your interest in serving on the Board of Directors of the Ottawa Humane Society (OHS). The Nominating Committee is seeking two new members to join the Board of Directors. If elected, you would be asked to join the Board following the September 8, 2026 Annual Meeting.

This year, we are recruiting four (4) new Board members. We strongly encourage candidates who meet the following criteria to apply:

• CPA designation or significant finance and audit experience;
• Significant business development and planning experience

The OHS Board is a governance board. The OHS has an experienced senior leadership team that manages the operations of OHS. The Board is responsible for oversight, insight and foresight for the organization. Ideally, you will have experience in one or more of the following areas:

• previous board of directors experience
• community leadership;
• equity, diversity and inclusion initiatives;
• governance expertise;
• management/strategic planning;
• business development and planning;
• risk management;
• ESG;
• charitable or not-for-profit experience;
• evaluation/performance management;
• fundraising;
• human resources/recruitment & retention;
• privacy/security;
• information technology; and/or
• government relations

The OHS is committed to diversity. We recognize that equity, diversity and inclusion will strengthen our work, and we are committed to addressing systemic barriers to equity in our board composition. As such, we encourage candidates to self-identify, if they wish, particularly those who are members of underrepresented or equity-deserving groups.

The OHS is looking for candidates who are committed to animal welfare in order to build a compassionate community and brighter future for Ottawa. We encourage applications from candidates with community leadership experience or previous board experience at charitable/not-for-profit organizations; we also welcome applications from members of underrepresented or equity-deserving groups including women, Indigenous Peoples (First Nations, Inuit and Metis), members of racialized groups, persons with disabilities, and members of 2SLGBTQI+ communities.

Expectations of the successful candidate are:

• Serve three, two-year terms
• Serve on at least one standing committee*
• Commit to ten to twelve hours a month in Board duties
• Attend four to five Board meetings during the year
• Become a member of the OHS, if not already a member

*The Board is comprised of four standing committees: Executive, Governance, Nominating, and Finance and Audit. Other ad hoc committees may be formed as required and committees generally hold six to ten meetings a year. Note that the Finance and Audit committee and the Nominating Committee have extra time requirements during certain periods in the year.