Non Executive Directors/Trustees

The organisation

Established in 1938, The Victorian Animal Aid Trust (“Animal Aid”) is an Animal Shelter which operates three shelters, in Coldstream, Bairnsdale and Sale.  Animal Aid’s primary purpose is to care, reunite and rehome unwanted and neglected animals.  Animal Aid’s operations include a shelter, vet clinic, boarding facility, opportunity shops, grooming and training. As Animal Aid receives no government funding the business relies on the generosity of its donors, fundraising efforts, and dedicated volunteers.

The brief

In recent years Animal Aid has gone through a program of transformational change, resulting in major operational and strategic changes. The Committee of Management is a skills-based board made up of a voluntary independent chair and independent trustees/directors.   The trustees provide governance and ensure that Animal Aid remains a viable and effective organisation, securing its long-term future. Due to a period of growth the CoM was seeking to grow the number of trustees and increase capability across legal, veterinary care and fundraising competencies.  There was also an appetite to facilitate succession planning by including in the mix a candidate with experience as a Board Chair.

The process

The organisation had exhausted all internal resources in attempting to attract suitable candidates and was determined to appoint a search firm to manage the process.

Brooker Consulting was invited to submit a competitive proposal outlining our executive search and recruitment strategy for the identification of up to four Board Trustees that met the skill requirements identified above.

The outcome

After a nine-week campaign, all positions were filled and the appointments were celebrated.