President and Chief Executive Officer
Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences
The Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences (“the Federation”) is a not-for-profit, charitable organization that promotes research and teaching for the advancement of an inclusive, democratic, and prosperous society. With a membership comprising over 160 universities, colleges, and scholarly associations, the Federation represents a diverse community of 91,000 researchers and graduate students across Canada. The Federation organizes Canada’s largest academic gathering, the Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences, bringing together more than 8,000 participants each year.
It is within this context that the Federation is seeking to recruit its next President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO).
Reporting to a national Board of Directors, the CEO provides strategic, operational, and administrative oversight for all aspects of the organization's activities, programs, and staff. The CEO establishes clear priorities to guide the team, ensuring the delivery of value and high-quality services to association and institutional members. Engaging with members, the CEO develops and executes the Federation's strategic objectives and policies, while also serving as the chief spokesperson, advocating for the Federation's mission to various external stakeholders, including policymakers and government entities. The CEO ensures the Federation’s financial health, championing initiatives to grow the membership base and attract a new generation of academics and graduate students. The CEO understands the “big picture,” finding creative, strategic, and practical solutions to complex problems, ensuring the Federation is well-prepared to meet future challenges. Committed to leading a bilingual organization and supporting principles of equity, diversity, inclusion, accessibility, and decolonization, the CEO plays a crucial role in advancing the Federation's overarching goals.
As the ideal candidate, you are a strategic leader who can develop, articulate, and deliver a focused, compelling, member-centric direction for the Federation, embraced and valued by staff, members, and stakeholders. You offer the Federation a bold vision and the energy it needs to achieve its mission, and you will constantly seek to maximize opportunities as the organization expands and innovates. You are a client-service champion, fully appreciating the importance of maintaining relevance and delivering value to members by listening to, anticipating, understanding, and responding to their needs. You are an inclusive leader who sets a high bar for organizational performance and creates dynamic team cultures that value respect, transparency, and accountability. You are a gifted communicator and a skilled relationship builder with a proven track-record of establishing partnerships, influencing public policy, and maintaining positive working relationships with governments, members, partners, and key stakeholders. Your experience within an academic environment or in a comparable not-for-profit organization would be an asset, as would your language proficiency in both English and French.
To apply for this position, please submit your application and related materials to John Caminiti and Alain Pescador at [email protected]. Please include “FHSS CEO” in the subject line of your email.
We thank all applicants for their interest, however only those under consideration for the role will be contacted.
The Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences is committed to building diverse, equitable, inclusive, and accessible working environments and welcomes those who would contribute to the further diversification of staff including, but not limited to, women, racialized persons, Indigenous peoples, persons with disabilities, and persons of any sexual orientation or gender identity to apply.
Deadline: May 3