Director of Cooperative Stewardship & Governance

About the role

The Director of Cooperative Stewardship and Governance serves as a strategic advisor to the Board of Directors, executive leadership team, and member-leaders, ensuring the cooperative’s governance ecosystem effectively supports long-term organizational success. This role strengthens board effectiveness, member-owner engagement, leadership alignment, and governance transparency by translating complex strategic and operational issues into actionable insights that enable informed decision-making and sustain member trust. As a key steward of governance excellence, this role fosters alignment among member-owners, board directors, and staff and member leadership, strengthens governance structures and processes, develops future member-leader capacity, and serves as a bridge between governance bodies and management. Success is reflected in a highly engaged and informed Board, trusted leadership relationships, effective governance practices, and a culture of accountability, stewardship, and member-owner confidence in their cooperative.

Responsibilities

• Governance Strategy & Board Partnership – 30% of time: Establish in collaboration with the CROPP Board our governance strategy, stewardship priorities, Board support expectations; serve as a strategic partner to the CEO, executive leadership team, and Board of Directors on governance priorities, member-owner engagement in governance, and organizational alignment between the operational and governing functions of the cooperative; advise and support board directors, committees, and member-leaders in fulfilling governance responsibilities; partner with executive leadership and the board to anticipate governance risks, emerging issues, and stakeholder concerns, minimizing organizational surprises and strengthening decision readiness; provide strategic leadership in the design and evolution of governance structures, decision-right frameworks, and board committee models; act as the Governance Committee manager.
• Governance Operations, Policies & Systems – 25% of time: Direct the development, interpretation, and maintenance of member policies, standards, bylaws, and related governing documents; design, implement, and continuously improve governance systems, processes, elections, committee operations, and governance reporting to enhance effectiveness and accountability; ensure flow of information between governance bodies and the business.
• Member Governance Engagement – 25% of time: Lead the development and execution of the cooperative’s governance strategy to strengthen trust, transparency, and long-term member-owner commitment; oversee governance communications, ensuring complex business, operational, and strategic matters are translated into clear, credible, and accessible information for member-owner and employee audiences; support employee understanding of cooperative governance through educational programming, communication resources, and stakeholder engagement initiatives; participate in Pools Senior Leadership Team meetings, attend regional meetings and other Pools Department events to ensure strong connectivity to member perspective; build and maintain strategic relationships with domestic and international cooperatives, governance networks, industry associations, and governance thought leaders.
• Leadership & Team Effectiveness – 20% of time: Lead member-leader onboarding, education, succession planning, and ongoing development programs in conjunction with appropriate member committees to strengthen governance capabilities and board readiness; lead and