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Become a Board Director

Interested in joining the Discover Halifax Board of Directors?

Directors of Discover Halifax must be compliant with By-Law 5.02 holding a membership in good standing or By-Law 5.04 for appointed Directors.

For the annual Director election process, members electing a slate of Directors recommended by the current Board of Directors using guidance from the Governance Committee who encompass the role of nominations. There is a maximum of 10 Directors elected by the membership at the Annual General Meeting (AGM), which is held in the Spring of each year and a maximum of five appointed positions on the Board as prescribed by the Bylaws. Board terms are typically three years in duration with the maximum time-frame on the Board being the lesser of nine years or three terms.

NOMINATIONS FOR THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS IS NOW CLOSED.

Should you wish to submit an application to be considered for a future position, please feel free to submit your application per the process below.

How to apply:

To submit your application, please email your completed Nomination Package to Angela Petry at apetry@discoverhalifaxns.com.

If you have any questions about applying to join the Board of Directors, please contact us.


[btn-download]Click to Print a Copy of the Board Nominations Package[/btn-download]

BOARD NOMINATION PACKAGE

Updated November 2018

Table of Contents

1) MESSAGE FROM THE BOARD CHAIR
2) OVERVIEW OF DISCOVER HALIFAX
3) OVERVIEW OF BOARD
4) OVERVIEW OF THE DIRECTOR NOMINATION AND ELECTION PROCESS
5) DIRECTOR ELIGIBILITY AND REQUIREMENTS
6) DIRECTOR COMPETENCIES
7) NOMINATION FORM

1) MESSAGE FROM THE BOARD

Dear Prospective Board Candidate:

Thank you for your interest in serving as a Director of Discover Halifax. We value the dedication and commitment of our members and appreciate those who choose to participate in our nomination and election process.

Discover Halifax’s mission is to maximize regional wealth and economic growth through the promotion of Halifax as the preferred visitor destination to our highest ROI markets with the ultimate vision of having Halifax recognized globally as the favourite city in Canada.

This Director Nomination Package is provided to assist you in understanding Discover Halifax, the role of the Board as well as to support your completion of the nomination process. Our goal is to ensure a fair and transparent process that enables our members to be fully informed when casting their vote for their preferred candidate(s).

I hope you find the information helpful. Should you have any questions about the enclosed information, please contact us.

Again, thank you for your interest in this important process.

Sincerely,

Jeff Ransome, Past-Chair
Board of Directors

2) OVERVIEW OF DISCOVER HALIFAX

Discover Halifax was established in 2001 and is provincially incorporated. The company was formed as Destination Halifax by the Halifax Regional Municipality Marketing Levy Act and the Memorandum of Understanding between Halifax Regional Municipality and the Hotel Association of Nova Scotia. These documents form for basis for the focus and accountability of the company.

3) OVERVIEW OF BOARD

The DH Board is a governing board and has the fiduciary responsibility to:
- act honestly;
- act in good faith;
- give loyalty;
- exercise authority within the parameters of the position;
- disclose conflict of interest;
- avoid breach of confidence; and,
- hold in strict confidence all transactions and business affairs of transactions affecting Discover Halifax and its members.

The standard required is that a Director use reasonable care, diligence and skill that a reasonably prudent person would have exercised in comparable circumstances. Duties of care, skill and diligence consist of the following characteristics:
- exercise reasonable care;
- attend meetings;
- keep informed;
- act intelligently;
- avoid imprudent judgement by applying appropriate due diligence in decision making;
- provide adequate supervision; and,
- question things that are not clear or not understandable.

In addition to these responsibilities, the Board fulfills its oversight role in the following overarching areas:

  1. Provide strategic stewardship, including the approval of the Strategic Plan.
  2. Approve the annual Business Plan and monitor performance.
  3. Ensure effective risk management through an appropriate risk management policy, system and reporting mechanisms.
  4. Monitor the performance of the President & CEO and provide direction, as well as support as required.
  5. Ensure its own effectiveness through a comprehensive Board policy framework and evaluation process.

Pursuant to the Charter of By-Laws, the minimum number of directors is 12 and the maximum is 15. There is a maximum of 10 Directors on the Discover Halifax Board elected by the membership at the Annual General Meeting (AGM), which is held in the Spring of each year. The additional five positions on the Board are prescribed by the Bylaws. The maximum time frame on the Board is the lesser of nine years or three terms. Board terms are typically three years in duration.

Overview of Board Proceedings

  • All directors must be able to commit time and effort throughout the year to Board meetings, committees and email correspondence.
  • Regular Board meetings are held monthly with 7-8 regularly scheduled meetings annually. Meetings are typically 90 minutes in duration.
  • In addition to the above meetings, directors sit on at least one of the following Committees of the Board: 1. Finance, Audit and Risk Committee; 2. Executive Committee; and, 3. Governance Committee. Each of these committees meets quarterly and typically these meetings are two – three hours in duration.
  • Meetings will be held primarily in the corporate office boardroom of Discover Halifax in the CIBC Building, 1809 Barrington Street, Suite 708 with notice of location provided at least 5 days before the meeting.
  • New directors participate in the Director Orientation Program within the first six months of their election. The Program entails components intended to enhance the director’s
    knowledge of the organization and business in a timely manner. The total amount of time to complete the components is approximately 1.0 day over the six months period.

4) OVERVIEW OF THE DIRECTOR NOMINATION AND ELECTION PROCESS

For the annual Director election process, members will be electing a slate of Directors recommended by the current Board of Directors using guidance from the Governance Committee who encompass the role of nominations.

The key activities and timing for the process are as follows:

Key Activity Completion Date

  1. Director Nomination Package is released - January
  2. Call for nominations opens - January
  3. Call for nominations closes and all completed- March 15
    Nomination Forms are submitted - March 15
  4. Governance Committee reviews the completed -April 15
    Nomination Forms and holds candidate interview and information sessions -April 15
  5. Governance Committee recommends to the Board the slate of recommended candidates - April Board Meeting
  6. All candidates are contacted and advised of their status - April
  7. Board Slate is distributed to DH membership - May
  8. Board Slate is ratified at DH Annual General Meeting - May

5) DIRECTOR ELIGIBILITY AND REQUIREMENTS

Directors of Discover Halifax must be compliant with Bylaw 5.02 holding a membership in good standing or Bylaw 5.04 for appointed Directors.

6) DIRECTOR COMPETENCIES

Discover Halifax is developing a strong corporate governance framework intended to facilitate the effective conduct and operation of the Board. As part of this framework, the Board considers the individual and collective competencies required to fulfill its mandate and reviews this information on an annual basis. In addition to meeting the Director Eligibility Requirements (presented in Section V of this Package), directors are expected to have the ability to act in the best interest of Discover Halifax, to operate “as a team” at the Board level and to be able to “speak with one voice” once a full discussion has been undertaken and a decision has been made by the Board in accordance with its governance framework.

Each year and in advance of the nomination and election process, the Board identifies the specific skills, experience and competencies required on the Board as a whole. In identifying these areas, the Board assesses the environmental landscape in which Discover Halifax operates as well as considers the future strategic direction of the organization. It then reviews the current skills on the Board and determines if there are any gaps that should be filled in the upcoming director election process.

The following competencies have been identified as providing the best complement to the existing skill sets on the Board (in alphabetical order):

  1. General Business Leadership (governance);
  2. Financial
  3. Human Resources
  4. Marketing
  5. Risk Management

This information is being provided to prospective candidates as well as to the membership to ensure these skills are known as part of the process. DH values the diversity of the communities it serves and encourages nominations from all qualified candidates including women, indigenous persons, visible minorities and persons with disabilities.

7) NOMINATION FORM


[btn-download]Click to Print a Copy of the Board Nominations Package[/btn-download]

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Halifax is in Mi’kma’ki, the ancestral and unceded territory of the Mi’kmaq people. The people of the Mi’kmaw Nation have lived on this territory for millennia, and we acknowledge them as the past, present and future caretakers of this land.  Historically, a land acknowledgment is a traditional practice shared amongst Indigenous groups to recognize the Indigenous land and territory they are visiting. Today a land acknowledgement remains a way to express one’s gratitude to the Indigenous people for being stewards of the land that we live and work on.