It is often said that if a committee has a good chair, then it is a good committee. The role of the committee chair is a pivotal one, not only for guiding the committee’s work but also because committee chairs may be potential board chairs. Appointing someone as the chair of a committee is a good way to see how that person functions in a leadership position and to provide leadership training.
Job Description
Facilitate Committee Work
- Plan and lead committee
- Assign tasks to committee
- Monitor the group’s progress, and communicate with staff members assigned to the committee, if any.
- Resolve conflicts among committee
- Arrange for the committee to evaluate its work at the end of each program year— or at the completion of its task—to determine whether it did what it had set out to do, and what worked and what didn’t work.
- Submit annually by January 01, to the governance committee, the committee’s “Plan of Succession.”
Communicate with the Full Board
- Serve as the liaison between the committee and the board chair, and the full board
- Ensure that appropriate reports are submitted to the board, and keep the board chair and the president informed about the committee’s progress.
Terms of Service
The term of office of each committee chair is to be up to three years. At the completion of a term, the chairman may be elected to a subsequent term by the committee. Committee membership does not discriminate with respect to gender, race or age.