Chief Returning Officer, Kwantlen Student Association

About this position

The Kwantlen Student Association is looking for a Chief Returning Officer to provide independent election administration services for annual board elections.

About Kwantlen Student Association elections

The Kwantlen Student Association (KSA) is the official student society representing over 20,000 KPU students across five campuses in Surrey, Langley, Richmond, and Cloverdale. The KSA is responsible for providing a range of student services and advocating to protect and advance students’ rights and interests. The KSA runs the Grassroots Café, providing food, beverage, and catering services — providing student employment and generating revenue for student services.

Serving a richly diverse membership, the KSA is governed by a board of directors (called Council) elected annually by and from KPU students. KPU students are very engaged in the KSA’s elections and positions on Council are hotly contested. Complaints of rule violations are frequent, and sanctions—including disqualifications—are common.

The successfully elected members of Council are collectively responsible for the governance of an organization with a budget of over $6.5 million per year and a staff team of more than 50 student and non-student professionals.

About this opportunity

The KSA’s Chief Returning Officer is responsible for the independent administration of annual general elections to Council. As an entirely independent officer, the Chief Returning Officer has broad discretion and authority to interpret and enforce the KSA’s election rules, investigate allegations of campaign rule violations, and decide on complaints and appeals to uphold the integrity of the election process.

As the KSA’s Chief Returning Officer, you would play a critical role in ensuring that the KSA’s annual elections are properly and fairly administered and to ensure that the KSA’s members (KPU students) and stakeholders have confidence in the results. Some of your key responsibilities and functions as the KSA’s Chief Returning Officer would include:

• Encouraging student engagement in the KSA’s annual elections, including through high candidacy numbers and through high voter turnout.

• Administering the nomination process by advertising the nomination period, preparing all necessary forms, working with the KPU registrar’s office to verify eligibility, and publishing the list of eligible candidates.

• Overseeing the campaign period by educating candidates and voters on the KSA’s election campaign rules, and enforcing the rules by penalizing candidates for violations of the rules — up to and including disqualification.

• Investigating complaints respecting the election process and determining remedies, including penalties against candidates, and publishing decisions.

The ideal candidate will be an expert at organizing and administering elections, with significant experience running elections for governments or membership-based organizations. Given the importance of this role’s independence, we cannot accept candidates who currently hold another position at the KSA or at KPU (including campus organizations) nor can we accept candidates who were recently members of Council.

Excellent verbal and written communication skills and a deep commitment to transparency, ethics, and integrity are essential.

Do you have a track record of running fair and effective elections? If so, the KSA wants to hear from you. We encourage you to apply now, or you can reach out to us at chris@girodat.ca to learn more about this exciting opportunity.