The Council (Statutes) member elected at the 27th General Assembly in 2016 has chosen to step down from her role—we thank Amanda for her contribution over the past five months. Council and the Direction (together known as the IFSA 7) are looking for a new Council member. The Council is a body of the International Forestry Students’ Association and consists of three Councillors from different countries, elected individually each year by the General Assembly (GA). The Council member holds the following roles:

  1. Respecting IFSAs statutes and decrees, ensuring IFSA operates in a democratic matter;
  2. Overseeing Regions and Commissions of IFSA, conveying all relevant information to members;
    1. In this case: International Processes, IUFRO 125th Anniversary Congress, Northern Europe, Northern Africa, and Latin America (tbd)
  3. Judging the suitability of members and applicants for membership and admitting new members;
  4. Evaluating the appropriateness of proposals for the GA agenda according to the Statutes;
  5. Evaluating the IFSA Annual Report for the General Assembly, especially verification of the Treasurer’s Report on accounts and bookkeeping, including a signed note to the GA that names possible irregularities or confirms that none were found;
  6. Advising and supervising all organs and bodies of IFSA;
  7. Mediating in case of internal quarrel;
  8. Directing the Vice-President to substitute the President if necessary; and
  9. Assisting Direction in any capacity when necessary.
The role of a Council Member is a time-intensive and important element to IFSAs world function. As such there are several expectations and requirements. Among them are the following:
  1. Maintain regular communication with Regional Representatives, Commission Heads and Direction;
  2. Facilitate statute changes proposal for GA;
  3. Participate in open and democratic decision-making with the rest of the Council members;
  4. Prepare documents for IFSS;
  5. Write two progress reports for the remainder of the 2016-2017 IFSA year;
  6. Attend IFSA events, especially IFSS 2017 in South Africa;
  7. Prepare changeover documents as well as other material requested by the Vice-President; and
  8. Expected workload of 7 – 15 hours per week.
The candidate must not be from the Asia-Pacific or Northern Africa regions due to IFSA statute requirements – applicants from all other regions will be accepted. The ideal candidate will be:
  • Detail oriented;
  • An excellent verbal and written communicator who can produce professional and formal reports;
  • Has excellent time management skills;
  • Available during weekdays to check emails and participate in telecommunication and virtual meetings;
  • Has prior experience leading a team of volunteers and/or chairing a committee;
  • Self motivated and has strong team building skills; and
  • Be a current ordinary IFSA member or have graduated within one year.

Application Requirements

If you are interested in applying for the role of Council (Statutes) member please submit the following to council@ifsa.net by January 24th at 23:59 CET:
  1. Up-to-date CV;
  2. Cover Letter detailing motivation for applying and your qualifications for the role;
  3. Short essay of 250 words describing what you would bring to the role (including as an IFSA7 member);
  4. Short essay of 250 words describing your personality;
  5. Short essay of 250 words describing your understanding of the statutes, structure and operations of IFSA; and
  6. Letter of verification by your LC President stating that you are a member of the LC.
Late or incomplete applications will not be considered. IFSA Council and Direction reserve the right to follow-up the application process with interviews if necessary. If you have any questions about the application please contact Jan Joseph Dida, Head of Council at janjoseph.ifsa@gmail.com]]>