The Executive Assistant and Board Liaison provides high-level executive and governance support to the President & CEO and the Foundation’s Board of Directors. The role manages the operations of the CEO’s office, ensuring effective prioritization, communications, and follow-through on organizational priorities. As lead administrator for Board and committee governance, it ensures compliance with by-laws and policies, delivers professional support to Directors, and strengthens governance practices across the Foundation. Serving as a key point of contact for Board members, hospital partners, donors, and external stakeholders, the role operates with significant independence, leads cross-functional governance projects through influence, and establishes office standards and workflows while seeking CEO guidance at key milestones.
Contribute to the Foundation through:
Executive Support - 50%
- Oversee the daily operations of the CEO’s office, ensuring alignment across Foundation and Board activities.
- Manage complex scheduling, prioritization of commitments, and preparation of briefing materials.
- Draft, edit, and coordinate correspondence, reports, and presentations on behalf of the CEO.
- Track key projects, follow up on action items, and ensure timely execution.
- Track and forecast the CEO Office budget (invoices, expenses, subscriptions), and provide input to annual budget planning for the Office of the President.
- Handle confidential information and correspondence with discretion and professionalism.
- Act as liaison between the CEO, leadership team, hospital partners, and external stakeholders.
- Set and manage prioritization protocols for the CEO’s calendar and inflow (triage standards, response SLAs, delegation rules); escalate only at key decision points.
- Lead cross-functional preparation of Board/CEO materials (briefing notes, decks), assigning tasks and owning timelines and outcomes.
Board Governance and Committee Management - 50%
- Oversee all aspects of Board and committee governance, ensuring compliance with bylaws, policies, and the Board work plan.
- Lead planning and logistics for Board and committee meetings, including AGM, retreats, and education sessions.
- Prepare and distribute agendas, materials, and minutes in accordance with governance timelines.
- Record minutes and decisions to a professional, auditable standard, tracking motions, votes, and follow-ups.
- Maintain and update governance documents, including Board manuals and orientation materials.
- Own the annual Board and committee work plan (agendas, motion drafting, quorum tracking, minutes, action logs) and ensure on-time delivery of materials.
- Administer the Board portal and records to an auditable standard; maintain orientation manuals and governance SOPs/templates.
- Project-lead the AGM and retreats (critical path, logistics, documentation, follow-up).
- Maintain governance KPIs and a dashboard (e.g., on-time materials %, quorum, action-item closure rates) and report trends/recommendations to the CEO.
- Coordinate Board recruitment and onboarding (role profiles, candidate outreach logistics, reference coordination), in collaboration with the Governance Committee.
- Track Board engagement in fundraising initiatives.
What Must You Have?
- University degree or highly relevant college diploma/certificate, or equivalent experience.
- Minimum 5 years’ experience providing executive support at the senior management level, preferably in the nonprofit sector.
- Minimum 3 years’ direct governance experience, including managing Board processes and policies.
What Else do you Bring?
- Demonstrated ability to lead projects and influence laterally across departments to deliver Board-ready materials on time.
- Experience preparing budgets/forecasts for the CEO Office and providing input to annual planning.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills, with ability to prepare and edit high-level documents.
- Exceptional organizational, time management, and project management skills.
- Strong problem-solving, critical thinking, and anticipation of executive and Board needs.
- Proven ability to build and maintain a professional network of contacts across the hospital, Board, and sector to resolve issues independently.
- Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite.
- Ability to manage sensitive and confidential information with discretion.
- Valid driver’s licence and access to a vehicle.
- Flexibility to work evenings and weekends for Board and committee meetings.
- Executive presence and judgement: Demonstrates discretion, professionalism, and the ability to advise senior leaders and Directors.
- Governance acumen: Ensures Board processes and documentation meet compliance and best practice standards.
- Service orientation: Builds strong relationships with Board members, staff, hospital partners, and external stakeholders.
- Organization and attention to detail: Manages multiple priorities while delivering accurate, timely outputs.
- Leading through influence: Mobilizes staff without formal authority to deliver multi-party outputs on deadline.
- Analytical and results-oriented: Tracks governance KPIs and uses data to improve timeliness, quality, and compliance.
- Integrity and professionalism: Upholds confidentiality and models the Foundation’s values of Excellence, Leadership, and Integrity.
Preferred:
- Knowledge of healthcare and philanthropic environments.
- Familiarity with governance best practices and Ontario regulatory requirements.
- Experience administering a Board portal and governance records to compliance standards.
- Experience with donor databases such as Raiser’s Edge.
- Experience supporting fundraising campaigns or events.
Why Join Us?
- Hybrid flexibility: Work two days a week in our Vaughan office, with flexibility to balance work and life.
- Comprehensive total rewards: Competitive compensation, pay-for-performance bonus, extended benefits, vacation and bonus holiday days, and HOOPP pension plan.
- Purpose-driven work: Every gift you inspire directly improves care for patients and families across York Region.
*You may be required to work at any site of Mackenzie Health.
