Background
The Co-operative Housing Federation of BC (CHF BC) is a membership association representing more than 250 housing co-operatives in British Columbia.

CHF BC is incorporated under the Cooperative Association Act and is an umbrella organization for a group of related non-profit societies (subsidiaries) including COHO Management Services Society, COHO Property Management Inc. (CPM) and the three non-profit societies making up the Community Land Trust.

Members support their federation through annual membership dues and fees for a wide range of programs and services. CHF BC is proudly independent – none of its annual revenue comes from government. CHF BC’s mission is to unite, represent and serve their members in a thriving co-operative housing movement.

Project
As a core fee-for-service, CHF BC provides support to its member co-ops by providing the services of a professional chair whose responsibility is to ensure that meetings run in an orderly manner and facilitate the decision-making process in compliance with the applicable legislation.

We are looking to develop our Meeting Chairperson Training program. As part of meeting the deliverables outlined below, preference will be given to persons with knowledge of working with not-for-profit boards and an understanding of the Cooperative Association Act and experience either working for or a member of a consumer co-operative.

We need a subject matter expert who can create and organize the following:

• Brief review of current chairing program
  o Guidelines and expectations of being a Chair
  o Roles and responsibilities of Chair, CHF BC staff, Co-op
• Engagement framework
  o General chairing style/things to remember (Examples of general chairing practices; Research and recommend generic chairing skill training)
  o Preparing for a meeting – timeline and key steps in prepping, delivering, and following-up on meetings including role-play scenarios
  o Education on the Rules and the BC Coop Act
  o Create 1-pager, user-friendly checklists for Chairs, co-ops, and CHF BC staff
  o Outline or visual representation of how the program interacts with other Meeting Services
  o Compile resources: notes on where to find resources
  o Lessons learned – interview Chairs and CHF BC staff
• Administration
  o Invoicing, agreements and cancellations
• Evaluations and Training
  o Dealing with member complaints
  o Dealing with difficult members
  o Mentoring and evaluating trainees – what is involved in their roles
  o Giving feedback – best practices

Please submit responses and the amount you estimate it will cost to deliver by email to Katy Bigsby, Education Director at kbigsby@chf.bc.ca. If you have any questions, please contact Katy directly via email.