Amnesty International Canadian Section (English-Speaking), also known as AICSES, is seeking interested and qualified individuals to do the important governance work that keeps the organization healthy and able to carry out its human rights work.
Candidates must bring a deep and abiding commitment to tackling systemic issues affecting historically marginalized employees, volunteers, and communities with a specific lens of intersectional anti-racism, anti-oppression, feminism, and accessibility to external and internal work. This includes an ability to proactively support in building an environment that reflects Amnesty International Canada’s promotion of a culture of respect, equity, and fairness.
Positions Open for Nomination:
Board of Directors (5 positions – hybrid; candidates may live anywhere in Canada):
- One Chair (2-year term)
- Four Directors (2-year term)
- Please note that to best reflect our national reach of our organization, we are particularly interested in candidates who live outside of urban Ontario.
Global Assembly (1 position – hybrid; candidates may live anywhere in Canada):
- One 2024 Global Assembly Member Delegate (1-year term)
- Please note that this position requires a valid passport and capacity to travel internationally.
Detailed descriptions of each position and the necessary qualifications are available here.
About AICES
Amnesty International is a movement of 10 million ordinary people in more than 150 countries who come together to achieve extraordinary results in defending and promoting human rights. We get discriminatory laws changed and prisoners of conscience released. We’ve helped stop torture, commute death sentences and worked to end violence against women. We are in solidarity with Indigenous peoples demanding that their rights be respected.
About the Board
Amnesty International Canada’s Board of Directors is made up of 10 elected members who volunteer their time to oversee our strategic direction and financial management, maintain strong links with the international movement of Amnesty International, and provide leadership and guidance in advancing our human rights work.
The Board provides governance to the organization, leadership, and direction throughout the year and implementing decisions made by the membership at the Annual General Meeting. The Board sets organizational priorities, approves the allocation of resources, and provides oversight to the work of senior management to ensure the objectives are implemented and finances are appropriately managed.
The Board is also responsible for participating in global governance and ensuring our section is complying with global policies and working in alignment with the global movement’s strategic goals and priorities.
Much of the Board’s work is done between Board meetings through committees and working groups, some of which include staff and other members and supporters.
About the Global Assembly
The Global Assembly is Amnesty International’s highest decision-making body and is the international equivalent to our Annual General Meeting. The Global Assembly is held annually and includes delegates from AI Sections and Structures around the world.
The Member Delegate will work with, prepare for, and attend the 2024 Global Assembly with the Amnesty Canada delegation, including preparation for the Amnesty International Regional Forum that will take place in the spring of 2024 prior to the Global Assembly in the fall.
Nominations Process, Deadlines and Contact Information
If you would like your name to appear on the online ballot form, we must receive your nomination form by 28 April 2023. Earlier submissions are highly preferred.
To receive your nomination form or ask any clarifying questions you may have, please contact the Nominations Committee at nominations@amnesty.ca.
The committee will interview candidates that it determines to be eligible and qualified to serve on the Board and as a Member Delegate to the Global Assembly. These interviews will occur in the last 2 weeks of April and the first week of May 2023. Prior to the election, the committee will produce a report and recommend a slate of candidates to the electorate based on skill gaps, relevant experience, and other diversity and inclusion factors. AICES members will ultimately elect the Board of Directors and Global Delegate of their choosing at our Annual General Meeting.
A virtual question and answer session between candidates and Amnesty members will occur June 10th, 2023.
This year’s Annual General Meeting is being held in-person on unceded Anishinaabe territory, i.e., Ottawa from June 16th to 18th, 2023. Attending the AGM is encouraged but not mandatory for candidates.
We thank everyone for their expression of interest-and truly appreciative of the time individuals put into submitting a nomination, but with the limitation of time, only those selected for the virtual question and answer session will be contacted. Amnesty International Canada is committed to providing an inclusive and barrier free experience to applicants with accessibility needs. Requests for accommodation can be made at any stage during the recruitment process.
OUR COMMITMENT TO ANTI-RACISM, ANTI-OPPRESSION, DIVERSITY, EQUITY & INCLUSION
Amnesty International Canada is committed to employment equity, actively seeks diversity in the workplace, and welcomes and encourages applications from members of equity deserving groups including women, transgender, non-binary, and LGBTI individuals; First Nations, Metis, and Inuit individuals, persons with disabilities, and members of racialized and marginalized groups. We believe our work is stronger when it benefits from the experience, knowledge and wisdom of people who have faced systemic barriers and encourages applications from qualified candidates who have lived experience as a member of historically underrepresented communities.
