Lead, connect, and strengthen the Queen’s alumni community
ROLE OVERVIEW
The Alumni Branch Co-Presidents are volunteer leaders who help bring Queen’s alumni engagement to life in their city. Working collaboratively with a dedicated team of volunteer leaders, the Queen’s University Alumni Association (QUAA) Board of Director and Queen’s Advancement and Alumni Strategy staff, the Co-Presidents help create meaningful opportunities for alumni to connect, engage, and give back.
This role offers the opportunity to play an active leadership role in shaping the alumni experience locally, coordinating volunteers, guiding event delivery, and serving as a visible ambassador for Queen’s in the community. Co-Presidents lead local implementation and relationship-building within Advancement-led strategies, frameworks, and institutional guardrails, with staff partners providing strategic direction, tools, approvals, and risk oversight.
The Co-President model is intentionally designed to share responsibility, support balance, and ensure the role remains achievable alongside professional and personal commitments.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
Strategic Leadership and Branch Development
- Shared Leadership: Jointly provide visible, collaborative leadership for the alumni branch, modelling inclusive, respectful, and accountable volunteer engagement.
- Implementation Leadership: Lead the local delivery of an annual engagement plan with clear objectives and priorities using staff-provided strategies, planning templates, and engagement frameworks.
- Governance Stewardship: Support the implementation and ongoing stewardship of a branch governance model developed in partnership with Advancement staff.
- Continuity & Succession: Mentor volunteer leaders and support succession planning to ensure leadership continuity and long-term branch sustainability.
Volunteer Leadership and Coordination
- Volunteer Team Leadership: Lead and support Area Leads and volunteers, ensuring clarity of roles, expectations, delegation, and recognition. Training and mentorship to best practices for volunteer management provided by staff partners.
- Volunteer Selection & Interviews: Participate in the interview and selection process for Area Lead roles.
- Meeting Leadership: Convene and co-chair regular branch leadership meetings, with meeting cadence, agendas, and materials supported by staff partners.
- Volunteer Culture: Foster a positive, engaged, and accountable volunteer culture that balances ambition with sustainability.
Alumni Engagement and Programming
- Event Oversight: Oversee a diverse slate of alumni events and activities, with clear event ownership distributed across the volunteer leadership team.
- Event Ownership: Oversee the planning and delivery of 3-4 branch events per year, ensuring they align with the branch strategy provided by staff.
- Philanthropic Advocacy: Inspire and educate alumni on the importance of giving back to Queen’s through targeted initiatives.
- Inclusive Engagement: Champion inclusive, welcoming alumni experiences that reflect the diversity of the Queen’s alumni community.
Collaboration and Alignment
- Staff Partnership: Work closely with the Alumni Engagement Officer, QUAA Board and Advancement teams to ensure branch activities align with institutional strategy, brand standards, and risk management practices.
- Aligned Messaging: Ensure branch communications align with Queen’s Advancement guidelines.
- University Representation: Act as visible and trusted ambassadors for Queen’s University, strengthening connections within the city they live in and broader alumni community. Represent the Branch at alumni events, quarterly QUAA Assembly meetings (in applicable cities), the QUAA AGM, and University functions while serving as a key point of contact for alumni inquiries.
- Alumni Support: Foster connections through networking, career development, and engagement opportunities.
KEY PARTNERS
The Co-Presidents work closely with the following volunteer and staff roles:
- Alumni Engagement Officer (Staff Partner): Strategy, planning frameworks, approvals, risk oversight, and institutional alignment
- Volunteer and Operations Lead: Volunteer onboarding, governance support, meeting logistics, and continuity
- Communications and Marketing Lead: Event promotion, storytelling, and brand-aligned communications
- Philanthropy and Partnerships Lead: Philanthropy integration, impact messaging, and relationship development
- Young and Recent Alumni Engagement Lead: Segment-specific engagement and programming
- School / Faculty Liaison Lead (where applicable): Coordination with school- or faculty-based alumni communities
SUCCESS INDICATORS AND METRICS
- Event Execution: Jointly organize and execute with the Area Leads a minimum of four alumni engagement events during the year.
- Volunteer Recruitment: Support Area Lead to recruit and onboard at least five new active volunteers to support branch initiatives.
- Participation Growth: Increase alumni engagement by 15% year-over-year.
- Satisfaction Benchmark: Maintain a 70%+ satisfaction in event and volunteer feedback.
- Governance Framework: Establish and document a comprehensive governance operating model, framework and transition plan for future leadership.
TIME COMMITMENT AND TERM
- Term Duration: Two years, with possible renewal.
- Commitment: Approximately 5–10 hours per month per Co-President, with fluctuations during peak planning and event periods.
- Event and Meeting Participation: Attendance at local alumni events, key university events, branch leadership meetings and check-ins with Alumni Engagement Officers.
BENEFITS OF THE ROLE
- Leadership Impact: Shape the future of the Branch.
- Professional Growth: Expand networks and develop leadership skills.
- Community Building: Gain experience in event planning and philanthropy.
- Brand Ambassadorship: Strengthen Queen’s alumni connections and engagement.
This position is open in the Calgary and London, UK, branches.
