Executive Director

Mennonite Disaster Service Canada is hiring an Executive Director!

Are you a highly motivated leader with a passion for faith in action? As Executive Director, you will provide transformational leadership and implement the board’s strategic direction. You will live out organizational values— faith in action, working together and caring relationships — in how you work and lead.

While MDS Canada enjoys a strong donor base, you will create an intentional donor engagement strategy to cultivate and grow our donor relationships. And as we anticipate continued growth, you will work at developing strategies and systems with flexibility to support our growth and manage the ebb and flow of disaster response in Canada.

First review of applications: June 30, 2025

Start date: April 1, 2026, negotiable

Competitive salary

Visit https://mds.org/employment for more detail.

Responsibilities:

1. Board

Provide transformational leadership to the board, implementing its strategic direction by:

Ensuring ongoing orientation and training of the board in fiduciary responsibility, knowledge of MDS, and governance skills

Bringing board agenda items that keep our vision, mission, and core values at the centre of our work

Ensuring relevant, measurable goals that align with the board’s strategic plan for MDS Canada

Suggesting or bringing proposed policy that gives clear guidance to staff and operations

Plan the following meetings in consultation with the Board Chair:

i. Board of Directors

ii. Board Executive

iii. Membership meetings

Engage with MDS US board and executive as per our Partners in Mission agreement

2. Staff

Create and implement a staffing plan including:

Keeping employment policies current and in compliance with labour laws and regulations

All aspects of managing staff including hiring, orientation, professional development, evaluations and end-of-employment

Staying as closely aligned with MDS US HR policy as possible

Work together with MDS US staff as per our Partners in Mission agreement

3. Constituency

Engage constituency proactively including:

Act as the primary voice for MDSC with constituency, partners, government and media

Communicate the vision and mission of MDS to constituents and stakeholders, from an Anabaptist faith perspective, including preaching and teaching in church settings

Work to develop relationships that inspire people to volunteer with MDS

Develop and implement a strategic donor engagement plan to strengthen MDSC’s financial resources

4. Administration

Execute administrative tasks including:

Review financial statements and documents

Approve expenditures

Ensure good risk management practices

Grant acquisition

Qualifications:

Commitment to the Anabaptist faith and peace position and an active member in an Anabaptist church

Demonstrated commitment to the Mennonite World Conference Anabaptist Shared Convictions

Understands and is committed to MDS values, program and constituency

Availability and willingness to travel throughout Canada and the U.S. approximately 30% time

5 years of experience developing and executing organizational strategies

College or graduate level degree with at least 5 years of senior management experience

At least 3 years experience managing human resource functions including personnel, compensation, and recruiting

At least two years of experience in multicultural settings

Demonstrated experience working with volunteers and volunteer groups

Knowledge and understanding of Anabaptist and other disaster response organizations in both Canada and the U.S.

Successful experience working with boards

Some knowledge of labour/HR law and not-for-profit agency law an asset

Experience with planning and/or implementing a donor engagement strategy an asset

Essential Skills:

Transformational leadership within an Anabaptist context

A caring relational style

Strong analytical and problem solving skills

Ability to work effectively in collaboration with diverse groups of people

Excellence in organizational and project management with the ability to coach staff and manage teams

Strong written and verbal communications skills

A persuasive and passionate communicator with excellent public speaking, interpersonal and conflict resolution skills

Self-motivated

Demonstrated computer proficiency including familiarity with Microsoft Office Suite

Apply with resume and cover letter by email to jobsca@mds.org

Job Types: Full-time, Permanent

Benefits:

Dental care

Employee assistance program

Extended health care

Life insurance

On-site parking

Paid time off

RRSP match

Vision care

Flexible language requirement:

French not required

Schedule:

Monday to Friday

Overtime

Weekends as needed

Work Location: In person

Application deadline: 2025-06-30

Expected start date: 2026-04-01

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