Director of Cooperative Stewardship & Governance

Location – High Hybrid
Thisis a hybrid role, which means that you will have the flexibility to work both onsite and at a distance. You will collaborate onsite at our La Farge, WI office for 4-8 days per month, and therest of the time you can choose to work remotely or onsite.

Employee Type – Salaried

Bonus
– This position is eligible for a 10% annual incentive bonus based on cooperative and individual performance.

Safety Sensitive – No

Summary of 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.

• 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…