[Closed] Hiring: Director - Board of Directors - TarValon.net

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Melisande Arneil

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In years past, the Board would personally invite individuals to join us on the Board. We’ve decided to change this to a hiring process. The Board reserves the right to extend the pool of applicants beyond this application process.

This posting is the beginning of the hiring process for 2 positions as a Director for the Board of TarValon.net. The Director is governed by the Bylaws of TarValon.net, as found under Article II.

What Matters:

  • Be a Member in Good Standing with TarValon.net for a minimum 4 years
  • Have held any position within TarValon.net
  • Have the ability to be tactful, discrete, and diplomatic
  • Be active within the community
What Doesn’t:
  • Gender
  • Nationality
  • Group affiliation
Responsibilities:

As a Director, you will be responsible, in concert with the Chairperson and other Directors, to guide TarValon.net in a direction that will help the community grow and thrive. You will be responsible in hiring Officers, firing Officers, etc. This position requires discretion and tact - there will be things you cannot talk about to the general membership, and you need to be able to discern what can be disseminated and what cannot. This position is non-rotating - as per Article II section 2 of the Bylaws.

How to Apply

If you are interested in applying for this position, please send an email with the subject line: “APPLICATION - DIRECTOR - BOARD OF DIRECTORS - YOURNAMEHERE” to board@tarvalon.net. If you have any questions, please feel free to email the board at board@tarvalon.net.


APPLICATIONS DUE NOVEMBER 1ST, 2021.
 

Melisande Arneil

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Written by Dralyn:

What Does the Board Do?

The Board of Directors for TarValon.Net exists to oversee the overall direction of the site and community. The Board essentially creates the destination point and then gives the Officers the authority to plot the course and oversee the details of the course’s implementation. This focus is primarily on the more business aspects of the corporation (finances, legalities, the foci of the administration, etc), as well as the overall feel of a general member’s experience (such as overall community structure).

The Board is not involved in the daily operations of the forums and/or membership issues, which means that the Board rarely steps in with regards to individual membership issues. The Board is there for general oversight and the occasional necessary course correction, not daily operations support. If you are interested in being on the Board of Directors, it is imperative that you understand the differences in how the Board operates versus the actual administration. Joining the Board will not give you additional say in a singular member’s experiences. You don’t get a say in individual raisings, in individual disciplinary actions (short of those that touch on legal/financial issues, which is exceptionally rare), on individual bondings, or anything similar. What you would get a say in is if the Officers want to change the overall structure of the community in a large way, or want to implement sweeping changes in the disciplinary structure, or completely change how raisings work or remove raisings entirely, or something similar.

So the Board is big picture. The administration is the details. This means that, generally speaking, the number of hours required for the Board’s work on a normal, on-going basis is much lower than that of the Officers or other administrative positions. Even smaller administrative/staff positions may only require 2-3 hours of work a week; the Board is usually more on the lines of 5-15 hours per quarter, at most. We have our required annual meeting, which can take anywhere from 1-4 hours, and then we meet as necessary outside of that. We communicate with the CEO most regularly, though we do communicate with the other Officers as necessary. We’re there as a sounding board for the Officers if they need guidance or just our thoughts. If there are legal or financial issues, we provide guidance and/or direct them to our legal counsel. If there are large-scale membership issues, we provide our collective years of knowledge and experience and our thoughts on what the repercussions might be and if they’re worth it and why/why not.

Being on the Board requires that you put aside your biases (as much as is possible for any single human to do). Your Ajah/Company does not matter. Your rank does not matter. If you’re asked for guidance on issues, your thoughts must be from a “what is the best for the corporation/site/community as a whole?” viewpoint, not from a “well, changing this would change things for my Ajah/Company, and I don’t want it” perspective. It requires the ability to remove yourself from your individual lens and look at situations from a much broader frame of reference.

Here’s the kicker: even though you don’t have a say on daily decisions, other members will assume you do. Most Board members find that this limits them in their interactions as a regular member. You may not be a part of the daily administration in a regular capacity, you may not have the knowledge of internal decisions the way that someone in the administration does, but other members will absolutely view you from that lens. Your thoughts and opinions, once expressed, will reflect on the administration, even though you are not really part of the administration. The administration’s decisions will color how regular members view you. If you’re considering applying, please be aware that all of this is A Thing.

If you have any questions about this process and how this works, especially if you’re considering applying, please ping one (or all) of the Board members and ask. We’d much rather you ask us questions now and have a better understanding of what you’re actually asking to be a part of before you’re in, than get in and say, “Well, this is not at all what I thought it was going to be, and I don’t wanna anymore.”
 

Melisande Arneil

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It's not a requirement to be a senior member to be a board director.
 

Loraella Melodie

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Are there any specific skills or experiences you're expecting from prospective board members? Or skills gaps in the current board membership you'd like to fill?
 

Melisande Arneil

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Experience working with volunteer-based organizations is always a plus. Diversity in life experiences. We encourage everyone who's interested in applying to apply! :)
 

Melisande Arneil

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Some other points offered up by board members:
  • Managing groups of volunteers, especially remotely
  • Higher level management experience in non-profits
  • Non-profit financials and legalities
  • Having sat on a board of directors before, especially nonprofit
  • Managing communities of members, not just staff
  • Willingness to learn about the above points
 

Melisande Arneil

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This hiring post is now closed.
 
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