Under the Housing Services Act, 2011 (HSA), the City of Toronto, through the Housing Secretariat is the Service Manager for approximately 250 community housing providers, including both co-operative and non-profit corporations. On occasion, when housing providers are not compliant with the HSA and its Regulations, the City is required to impose various remedies related to the fiduciary responsibilities, governance and operations of the housing provider. Often those remedies will include the appointment of external board members to assist in stabilizing operations, providing oversight, accountability and strategic direction to the corporation.
The Housing Secretariat is seeking to establish a roster of qualified volunteers who could be available to serve as external board members for housing providers within the City’s portfolio. The roster will include individuals with experience in co-operative and non-profit housing leadership, who understand the unique challenges of the community housing sector and who embrace the importance of strong board governance to these corporations’ success.
The Housing Secretariat is looking for individuals who can demonstrate a combination of strong collaboration, communication, leadership, and strategic planning skills and who have expertise in one or more of the following areas:
- Co-operative and/or non-profit rental housing in Ontario
- Non-profit governance
- Finance
- Mergers, amalgamations and acquisitions
- Property management
- Building maintenance
- New housing development, community revitalization
- Rent-geared-to-income (RGI) program administration
- Community engagement and development
- Conflict resolution
Members of the roster would be expected to:
- Serve as a member of a corporation’s board of directors for up to three (3) years.
- Work in collaboration with the Housing Secretariat staff to stabilize the corporation
- Provide strategic direction for the corporation to assess viability and determine an appropriate path forward that preserves and/or renews the community housing stock.
- Provide over-sight of the organization’s financial condition and reporting requirements.
- Participate in the revision of the corporation’s mission, policies, by-laws and procedures, as may be required.
- Develop an understanding of the community of members and residents.
- Actively prepare for and participate in regular Board and committee meetings.
If you are interested in this volunteer opportunity, please send your resume summarizing your relevant qualifications and experience to the Housing Secretariat.
