VP, Operations and Policy

About the BC Chamber of Commerce

Businesses are better together. In communities across British Columbia, chambers of commerce and boards of trade bring businesses together around the shared economic life of a place — connecting people, supporting them with practical tools and programs, and advocating for their shared interests. The BC Chamber of Commerce is the provincial network of those local chambers. We listen to what businesses are experiencing across the province, bring those perspectives together into a clearer provincial picture, and carry the real issues into government conversations and decisions. We support local chambers with the tools and coordination they need to do their work well, and partner with corporate members at the provincial level. Through that network, we represent more than 35,000 businesses of every size and sector in British Columbia.

Position Summary

The Vice President, Policy & Operations runs the organization day to day. Reporting to the President & CEO, the VP is the CEO's primary operational partner and deputy — accountable for the internal system that makes the BC Chamber work: governance, finance, policy production, membership and network delivery, systems, and people execution.

This is a build-and-run mandate. The BC Chamber is moving from a very small organization to a system fitting of its future scale. The VP designs that system — the operating model, the planning cadence, the standards and documentation — and then runs it with discipline, so the CEO can focus on strategy, revenue, and the external agenda.

The role carries a chief-of-staff character: the VP ensures priorities set by the CEO are operationalized, commitments are fulfilled, and the organization functions consistently. The VP represents the President & CEO externally as delegated, including with the chamber network, partners, and government.

This is a full-time, permanent, senior leadership position.

The Mandate

1. Build the system. Design the operating model of a scaling organization — planning cadence, accountability structure, documentation, data standards, and workflows across staff and contractors — so the organization can grow its impact without growing its complexity.
2. Run the engine. Own the machinery that has to work every month: the board and governance cycle, financial coordination, the annual policy process, membership and network delivery, and the systems underneath them.
3. Lead. Operate as a genuine deputy — able to hold the room on behalf of the President & CEO with chambers, partners, and government, and to carry the organization when the CEO is elsewhere.

Core Responsibilities

Enterprise Operations & Organizational System

• Design and maintain the operating model of the organization: planning cadence, accountability structure, and execution rhythm
• Build the documentation, internal standards, and processes that support continuity and scale
• Identify operational risks and implement appropriate controls
• Oversee workflow integration across internal staff and external consultants
• Lead annual operational planning in partnership with the President & CEO

Policy Production

• Own the Association's annual policy process end to end: gathering issues through the chamber network, supporting the Policy Review Committee, and delivering the resolution and positions cycle
• Synthesize network input into clear, prioritized provincial positions and briefs
• Maintain the Association's policy register and ensure positions remain current and usable
• Support the operations of sector councils and other structured listening formats as they scale
• Coordinate policy inputs with external government relations counsel as directed

Network Partnership

• Build and hold trusted working relationships with local chambers and boards of trade across the province
• Work directly with member chambers: listen to their needs, respond to their issues, and ensure they see clear value from their membership in the network
• Oversee membership and network delivery: member experience, renewals, and network programs
• Partner with the corporate partnerships team to ensure corporate member needs are integrated into network programming and policy work
• Ensure provincial initiatives are designed to strengthen local chamber capability, consistent with the Strategic Plan

Governance Operations & Board Support

• Maintain the annual governance and board calendar
• Coordinate preparation and distribution of board and committee materials
• Track board motions, resolutions, and follow-up actions
• Manage nomination and election processes; keep governance documentation and policies current

Financial Coordination & Audit Support

• Support the President & CEO in annual budget development, forecasting, and reforecasts
• Monitor performance against approved budgets; surface variances and delivery risks early
• Oversee finance workflows, receivables tracking, and reporting cadence with the bookkeeper and external finance providers
• Coordinate and support the annual audit

Systems & Technology

• Oversee the organization's technology ecosystem — CRM, registration, financial tools, collaboration systems — and ensure it supports workflow efficiency and data visibility
• Coordinate external IT and technology vendors; maintain oversight of office infrastructure and vendor contracts

People Leadership

• Lead and manage the roles within the operations scope; delegate execution appropriately
• Set standards for quality and accountability; maintain a consistent performance rhythm with the President & CEO
• Support onboarding and operational clarity as the team grows

External Representation

• Represent the President & CEO with the chamber network, partners, and stakeholders as delegated

Qualifications & Experience

• Senior executive leadership experience, ideally in a member-based or stakeholder-driven organization
• A record of personally building and running organizational systems: planning cadence, governance operations, financial coordination, and delivery through a small team
• Demonstrated public policy capability: experience running a structured, member-driven policy process and developing evidence-based positions, briefs, and submissions that have informed government decisions, ideally at the provincial level
• A strong understanding of how government works in British Columbia and Canada — legislative and regulatory processes, budget and consultation cycles, and the roles of ministers, political staff, and the public service — and of the economic policy issues facing BC businesses, with the ability to get up to speed quickly on new files
• Ability to synthesize complex, sometimes competing input into clear, defensible positions, and to write concisely for ministers, officials, and members
• Experience working directly with members with a genuine sense of service orientation: responsive, relationship-driven, and focused on delivering real value from membership
• Working knowledge of board governance in a not-for-profit setting, including board materials, committee support, and audit cycles
• Credibility with business, community, and government audiences; able to represent the organization at a senior level
• Understanding of the BC chamber network, or the ability to earn trust across it quickly
• Comfortable operating hands-on in a small organization while designing for a larger one
• Strong written communication and uncompromising attention to operational detail

Working Conditions & General

• Remote, with easy access to the Lower Mainland preferred. Hybrid work from our Vancouver office is available.
• Travel across the province is required for network engagement, meetings, and events
• The Association operates on Microsoft 365, including SharePoint, Teams, and Copilot