Executive Officer

The Executive Officer (EO) is the operational leader of Sophie’s Legacy, responsible for implementing the strategic direction set by the Board, managing daily operations, and building strong relationships with stakeholders, partners, members, and the broader community. The EO plays a key role in delivering Sophie’s Legacy’s mission to create systemic change and improve veterinary professional welfare outcomes across Australia. 

Leadership

● Be able to articulate Sophie’s Legacy’s vision, mission, unique value proposition, and overall strategic direction

● Exude hope, optimism, and a bold vision for Sophie’s Legacy to build alignment across the organisation between the Board, Committee Members & Members

● Lead with integrity by acting ethically, building trust, and prioritising the mission over personal interest.

● Demonstrate emotional intelligence, including self-awareness, empathy, and the ability to foster a psychologically safe environment.

● Communicate with clarity and purpose, actively listening, adapting your style to engage diverse audiences, and inspiring confidence in Sophie’s Legacy’s future. 

Governance & Board Development

● Working with the Secretary, establish a calendar for Board & Committee meetings. Ensure agendas & reports are available at least one week prior to a meeting & minutes are recorded of each meeting

● In consultation with the Chair, facilitate the development and implementation of Sophie’s Legacy’s strategic goals and objectives

● Support and advise the board in its decision-making processes and ensure that board decisions are implemented effectively

● Support the Chair in strategic planning and effectively implementing these strategies.

● Advise the Board on emerging issues, risks, and opportunities relevant to Sophie’s Legacy’s purpose.

Operational Management

● Oversee the day-to-day operations of Sophie’s Legacy, ensuring effective execution of the Board’s policies and strategies

● Monitor program effectiveness and organisational impact and provide regular performance and impact reports to the Board and stakeholders.

● Google Workspace administration

● Management of marketing collateral including social media and physical marketing literature

● Organise arrangements for any conferences - travel, collateral, booth costs

● Develop succession plans for key roles to ensure organisational stability and knowledge retention.

● Report progress, insights, and outcomes to the Board and other key stakeholders.

● Implement systems to capture data that supports continuous improvement and accountability.

Risk & Compliance

● Develop and maintain a risk management framework to identify and mitigate operational and reputational risks.

● Ensure compliance with all legal, regulatory, and governance obligations, including ACNC reporting and privacy regulations.

● Maintain up-to-date organisational policies and procedures.

● Ensure secure and effective use of digital tools and platforms.

● Implement data privacy and cybersecurity best practices appropriate for a small NFP.

Financial Management – joint responsibility with the Treasurer

● Establish the appropriate financial controls to ensure compliance with all policies, procedures & regulations

● Management of debtor & creditor payments

● Competence with budgets, cash flow management, financial statements & audits

● Contribute to financial sustainability through prudent planning and resource management.

● Create & Develop regular Financial Reports for the Board outlining revenue flow and usage.

Fundraising

● Create a culture of fundraising to underpin the financial sustainability of Sophie’s Legacy through strong leadership, grant applications & networking opportunities

● Identify and apply for relevant grants and funding opportunities.

● Build and maintain donor relationships and ensure appropriate recognition and stewardship.

Human Resources

● Recruit, manage, and support volunteers or staff, fostering a values-driven, productive, and inclusive organisational culture. 

Relationship Management

● Represent the board in external meetings and with key stakeholders, fostering relationships and partnerships

● General Public - Respond to the online website/social media/direct requests

● Partners - existing - establish a regular calling program to promote the relationship & ensure that the partnership expectations are being met.

● Partners - new - attend meetings with potential partners to explore the opportunity & document any agreements via the term sheet template. Seek approval of the agreement by the Board prior to execution of the said term sheet

● Members – maintain a register of memberships & oversee the collection of membership fees (if applicable)

● Potential Members/Donors - maintain a registry of membership leads, implement sales process to convert leads into memberships/donations

● Donors – maintain a register of donors with a recognition of thanks being provided for monies donated

Competencies & Personal Attributes:

● Integrity – being able to fulfill the duties and responsibilities of the Executive Officer role, acting ethically, appropriate independence, putting the organisation’s interests before personal interests. An Executive Officer needs to be mindful of conflicts of interest and act accordingly

● Collegiality – in most instances, an Executive Officer will have detailed knowledge of Sophie’s Legacy and its issues, and greater access to information. The ability to reasonably share this insight with the board, and to raise matters for discussion, is an important aspect of this role

● Collaborative yet curious and courageous – an Executive Officer must be able to function as an effective team member but must also have the curiosity to ask questions, and the courage to persist in robust discussion with fellow board members, committee members & members where required

● Emotional intelligence – as well as self-awareness and self-management, an Executive Officer needs to demonstrate empathy manifested through strong interpersonal skills. They must be team oriented, actively listen, be tactful and yet be able to communicate a cogent and candid viewpoint

● Commercial judgment and instinct – an Executive Officer needs to demonstrate good business instinct and acumen and be able to assimilate and synthesise complex information

● Meaningful engagement – an Executive Officer needs to be an active contributor with genuine interest in Sophie’s Legacy and its success