Director of Board Governance

Summary

The Director of Board Governance serves as the primary staff member for the Board of Trustees of The California Institute of the Arts and the Board of its affiliate the Vermont College of Fine Arts. The Director will serve as the primary staff liaison to both Boards and many of their designated committees, including the Cal Arts Committee on Trustees, Cal Arts Executive Committee, and VCFA Executive Committee.

The Director serves as the assistant secretary to the Cal Arts Board of Trustees, and the secretary to the Vermont College of Fine Arts Board of Trustees.

Reporting to the Secretary of the Cal Arts Board of Trustees, they will coordinate daily with the President, Chief of Staff, General Counsel, and other senior and elected leaders, providing thoughtful, professional support to facilitate Institute-wide governance activities. This position may have some supervisory responsibilities.

The Director serves as the central point of contact and the liaison between the Institute and all of the Institute's governing activities, both Board and internal. By collaborating with the General Counsel, President, Chief of Staff, and senior leadership, they will strategically plan and build agendas and meetings to maintain alignment to the Institute’s strategy as articulated in various strategic plans.

They will coordinate, in tandem with appropriate constituencies, organizational matters such as meeting dates and times, meeting materials, communications, engagement opportunities, and special projects or requests of the Board of Trustees. The role provides quality control for all deliverables for the Cal Arts and VCFA Board of Trustees. They will partner with General Counsel and the Chief of Staff in the management of Institute Shared Governance to ensure consistency across the Institute governing activities.

Additional duties include:
Working with the Chair of the Cal Arts and VCFA Board of Trustees, the President of Cal Arts, and the Chief Executive Officer of VCFA. Managing the board portal software for the Cal Arts and VCFA Board of Trustees.

The Director of Board Governance must be able to supervise (up, down, and across reporting lines) employees and teams that might not directly report to the position, and be able to work under the pressure natural to a President’s Office and a Senior Leadership Team and Non‑profit Higher Education Board by handling a wide variety of duties, including controlling public vs confidential matters, and handling sensitive information with discretion.

They must maintain a high level of professionalism and excellence to ensure a positive user experience to represent the Institute and the Office of the President. They must possess the cultural competencies and flexibility to interact with a diverse group of stakeholders. They must be able to work independently on projects from conception to completion, serve as a consummate collaborator, establish and maintain deadlines, create and execute appropriate planning and after‑action meetings, and handle various activities simultaneously.

They must be able to successfully navigate in an extremely fast‑paced, politically sensitive environment while managing multiple priorities.

Reporting to the Secretary of the Cal Arts Board of Trustees (currently the General Counsel), the Director of Board Governance position focuses on three primary areas:
Board Management (Cal Arts and VCFA Board of Trustees);
Management of the Associate/Assistant Director of Governance and Legal Matters; and Governance Communications.

• Partner with General Counsel and Institute leadership on the agenda development to align Board decision‑making around institutional strategic priorities and Board duties; maintain agendas; track meeting follow‑up items; monitor necessary Board approvals; and support and guide other Institute staff who support Board and committee meetings. Maintain annual plan for topics requiring review by Board and Board Committees.
• Work with senior leadership…