Executive Director, Shared Services

The Canadian Bar Association (CBA) is the voice of Canada’s legal profession, representing over 40,000 lawyers, judges, notaries, academics, and students across the country. Headquartered at its National Office in Ottawa, the CBA champions the legal profession and the rule of law in Canada, delivering advocacy on behalf of the legal community and high-quality professional development, conferences, and resources to members nationwide. The CBA delivers services in both of Canada’s official languages.

About Shared Services In CBA, Shared Services (ShS) provides all pan-Canadian CBA entities with infrastructure to deliver common services, including membership acquisition and retention, membership processing and administration and information technology. Shared Services is also responsible for working with CBA entities to reduce unnecessary duplication, leverage economies of scale, and increase coordination in the delivery of common member programs and services.

Position Summary Reporting to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the CBA, the Executive Director, Shared Services (ED ShS) is responsible for delivery of Shared Services to all CBA entities. The ED ShS has three direct reports, the Senior Manager, Membership Strategy, the Senior Manager, Membership Processing, and the Director of Information Technology (a joint report with the Chief Financial Officer).

Location Anywhere in Canada (remote with periodic in-person meetings).

Responsibilities

• Develop and deliver strategy and action plans to the MT for the effective delivery of Shared Services with a focus on Membership and IT.
• Develop strong relationships and engage with customers of Shared Services to understand similarities and differences in capacity, needs and programs in order to drive efficiencies and appropriately tailor Shared Services.
• Manage the Senior Manager, Membership Strategy, Senior Manager, Membership Processing and Director, Information Technology (a joint report with the CFO) and additional reports as assigned.
• Establish, collect and report on member and market intelligence for Shared Services customers to support data-driven decision-making.
• Identify programs, resources and services from CBA entities to leverage for customers of Shared Services.
• Manage the Shared Services budget and quarterly financial reporting and forecasting, together with the CBA CFO.
• Establish and coordinate the work of Shared Services staff teams, such as the Membership Team and IT Team.
• Identify and report potential or emerging issues of risk or concern within Shared Services to the MT and mitigate risk by providing recommendations.
• Foster pan-Canadian staff engagement through digital and virtual tools and other initiatives.

Qualifications Education Experience

• 7 years of senior leadership specifically in consolidating or transforming corporate or shared services within a decentralized, multi-entity Canadian organization.
• Change management, complex problem solving, cross-entity relationship building.
• Financial management including budgeting, financial reporting, forecasting and oversight.

Skills and Abilities

• Leadership: Ability to lead individuals and teams, delegate tasks, and motivate a team to meet goals.
• Strategic Thinking: Ability to anticipate potential issues and develop solutions for the best possible outcomes.
• Communication: Excellent communication skills to collaborate with other departments and team members, strong facilitation skills and excellent written and oral presentation abilities.
• Relationship Management: Consensus building, diplomacy and political acuity, exceptional interpersonal skills, partnership development, conflict resolution.
• Operational Excellence: Project management, process improvement, service delivery management, performance measurement and reporting, and risk management.
• Committed to diversity, equity, inclusion, and Reconciliation.
• Technical: Advanced proficiency with modern business technologies including Microsoft 365, financial management systems, CRM and membership databases, project management platforms, and collaboration tools to be self-sufficient without administrative support.
• Ability to work in both official languages.
• Knowledge of the Canadian not-for-profit environment, including the unique governance, financial, and operational considerations of federated organizations is an asset.

We sincerely thank all applicants for their interest. However, we will only contact those under consideration. The CBA does not use artificial intelligence to screen, assess, or select applicants for this position. The CBA is committed to the principles of equity, diversity, and inclusion in its learning, work environments, and in its operations. We encourage applications from traditionally marginalized groups. We believe in and promote the rights of all persons with disabilities as outlined in the Ontario Human Rights Code and the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA 2005) and its related Accessibility Standards Regulations. To meet this obligation, the CBA will make appropriate accommodations available upon request. Please inform the CBA, in advance, of the need for accommodation(s) during the recruitment and selection process to ensure your equal participation. Requests can be made by email to HR (@) cba.org.