What is it like to be the President of a national women’s organisation? We speak to Julie Boyd, President of the YWCA Australia Board to find out more!
For the past eighteen months since the historic merger of YWCAs around Australia, President Julie Boyd has led a committed board in guiding YWCA Australia through the highs and lows of a merger process.
“While all the YWCAs held similar values, the programs and services offered in each state were sometimes quite different,” explains Julie. “States ran on different back-of-house systems which all needed to be brought together.”
Making decisions in a timely manner is essential for any board. During a merger, boards not only need to implement the merger but also ensure that day-to-day activities continue. During this time, Julie was focused on ensuring that the board had the information they needed to make the right, informed, quality decisions.
“There were many times throughout the merger and post-merger process when the board needed to meet outside of the regular meeting schedule to make important decisions to ensure continuity.” she says.
All the hard work was worth it – she is so proud of where YWCA is now.
“We have achieved so much since merger. We now have integrated systems and processes that are consistent nationally. We’ve brought so many people from different backgrounds together and run a significant change management process to ensure that everyone knows their role, for board members as well as the staff team.”
“Most importantly,” she adds, “Clients of our programs and services were not adversely affected during the merger process, and our frontline staff were still able to deliver critical services.”
Julie believes that the YWCA is now in the position to plan for future programs and services, build deeper engagement with the membership and lift their profile to be the voice of women, young women and girls around Australia.
“Now is the time for someone with a different skillset to lead the organisation into its next stage,” says Julie.
“I may have been the right person to guide YWCA after a merger, but the organisation is now at a stage where we have the foundations right and can look to the future.”
“There’s a great opportunity now for the next President to help guide YWCA on its path to being the pre-eminent advocate for women, young women and girls, advocating with state and federal governments on key issues around gender equality.”
“At the same time, the next President has the honour of being part of the career journeys of some amazing young women on the Board, taking a role in mentoring and building their capacity as board directors of a national organisation.”
Want to guide YWCA through its next stage as the President?
We are looking for an outstanding woman to lead us in making a positive impact on the lives of women, young women and girls in Australia. Could you be the next President of the YWCA Australia Board?
This is a rare opportunity for an outstanding woman to lead the next phase of our evolution. With a strong executive team and a talented skills-based board, the President leads the public face of the YWCA and ensures that the board accomplishes its role in accordance with the organisation’s governance frameworks.
