Roles and Responsibilities

Introduction

A strong organisational structure is very important to make sure the organisation follows its mission and is successful with its goals. An organization cannot run without implementing organizational responsibilities. Organizational responsibilities take a balanced approach to ensuring that the organization always runs efficiently and benefits its members. Delegation is a key factor in organizational responsibilities. It is the organization’s responsibility to allocate these duties. Allocation of duties maintains organizational structure and helps individuals in the organization to commit to their duties and responsibilities. Leaders of the organization allocate duties to appropriate personnel or teams.

The people who work for an organization can be referred to as its staff or the personnel carry out an assigned task. Each staff’s expertise, skill and knowledge contribute to the organization’s success. When assigned a task, it becomes staff member’s duty to complete the task and report back to the executive director. An employee is a worker who is hired to perform a job.

Organizational structure is the foundation for the development of any organization. It requires a well-defined structure. It defines the clarity in between employees to report whom and employees are aware of what the employer expects from them so that they can deliver their best to meet the expectations. It reduces the rate of confusion and organization runs in a smooth manner.

Division of duties between board and staff

It is not always easy or even possible to draw a clear line between governance and management. The role of the board is to lead, direct, and ensure that the organization operates effectively. They have a monitoring role. Board members are responsible for overseeing the organization’s activities. The board must provide purpose, leadership, and overall strategy, and it has the responsibility of assuring the public that the organisation’s finances are sound, its operations are legal, and its procedures work.

Direction

The board guards the mission of the organization and, through guidelines, steers it in the right direction

Oversight

The board monitors the activities, the health, and the ethical behaviour in the organization.

Resources

The board ensures that the organization is well-equipped to fulfil its mission – adequate finances, capable staff, and esteemed reputation.

The executive director manages the daily affairs of the organization, supports the board with strategic information and ideas, manages the affairs of the organization by ensuring appropriate planning, coordination, implementation of the projects to support the mission of the organization.

The Executive Director, on the other hand, is responsible for making things happen with the help of the rest of the staff. The role of the staff is to manage, implement and carry out work that helps the organization to achieve its mission and overall purpose. Staff members help to accomplish the organization’s goals and provide their expertise on different projects and duties. Generally, the board envisions the future of the organization, and the executive director and staff members make that vision a reality. The board provides oversight, and the executive director and staff members handle implementation. But what does that mean in practice? The board and the executive director work together to determine how the organization can best achieve its mission.

In general terms, the board provides oversight and guidance to the executive director and staff members. The board ensures that the organization stays aligned with mission and values of the organisation. Specifically, the board has oversight over the following areas: 1. Management, 2. Financial, 3. Program. The management oversight means that the board is responsible for ensuring that the deaf association is being run well. The board selects the executive director and decides his/her role. The board supports the executive director and assesses his/her performance. The board has the power to hire and remove the executive director. In addition, the board provides proper financial oversight, including setting and approving an annual budget. The board ensures there are financial resources. Many board members are involved in making sure the organisation has the money it needs. Finally, in program oversight, the board ensures that programs are in place to further the mission and goals of the organization.

While the board’s role is to oversee, many times the board will hire a key staff person to execute those policies, programs, and initiatives. This person is often called the executive director. The executive director is more involved than the board in the day-to-day operations of the organization. The executive director usually has three areas of responsibilities: 1. Staff management, 2. Development and management of projects and programs and 3. Informing the board. The staff management means that the executive director hires, supervises and motivates the staff of the organisation. The executive director works with the staff to develop policies to guide the organization and programs to fulfil its mission and vision. The executive director must also keep the board informed of what the organization is doing. The executive director attends board meetings and maintains open lines of communication with the board of directors.

There are also shared responsibilities where organisation’s board and executive director should also work together on broader projects that are important to the well-being of the organization. The board and executive director should work together to create a strategic plan to guide the organization. The board and executive director should develop a financial plan to ensure that the organization has the resources needed to fulfil the strategic plan. The board and executive director should implement evaluations of the organization to ensure that the organisation remains true to its mission and is effective.

The role and responsibilities of all staff members and board should be clearly defined. By understanding their roles, responsibilities, and duties, they can perform their assigned tasks efficiently.

The expectations of what a board will do depends on the type of organisation and board and if there are any staff members that are able to do the daily work of operating the organization (See Module about The Board for more information). Governance in an organisation may include doing activities that follow the vision, mission, and goals of the organisation. Those activities are for example improving the lives of their members, ensuring that they are following the statutes of the organisation and finding ways to expand the organisation’s work and future expansion. Management tends to include daily activities such as bookkeeping, maintaining programs and services, financial needs and more. Management tends to be done by the staff members if the organisation can hire them.

The board may be expected to do the following:

Monitoring	Action	Representation
Follow the misson and vison of the organisation	Appove annual plans and reports	Members’ interest and needs with the government, disability community, and general community
Direction for the organisation	Have organisational policies and procedures in place	Good relations with members
Internal and financial reporting	Ensure that there are programs and services for deaf members and community	Partnership with other organisations and stakeholders

Example of division of responsibilities between board and staff

Board	Staff	Joint
Having the final say when determining yearly objectives	Providing information to the board, including recommendations for action	Discussing ideas and forming long-term goals
Setting long-term goals	Determining community needs	Planning organisational strategies
Finalising the budget, approving any changes or additions to the budget	Managing programs and reporting on the progress	Designing programs to achieve mission
Taking responsibility for organisation’s financial records	Organising events as approved by the board	Proposing fundraising ideas
Taking responsibility for all legal matters	Implementing board decisions	Ensuring that achievements are recognised and documented
Taking responsibility for annual general meetings, annual audits	Conducting day-to day operations	Promoting the deaf association
Appointing auditors and and approving the audit of the financial records	Monitoring and managing daily operations

Mission

Board	Executive Director
Approve mission, vision, values, strategic plan	Work with board to develop mission, vision, values, strategic plan
Review and approve annual implementation plan to ensure consistency with strategy plan	Develop annual implementation plan and inform board when milestones in implementation plan are reached

Oversight

Board: Overall	Executive Director: Implementation
Approves policies to guide and protect the organization, board, and staff	Oversees daily operations
Makes sure that all legal requirements are in place	Hires staff and delegates operational responsibilities to them
Hires the Executive Director and delegates the daily operations to the person	Informs the board
Expects regular reports from staff

Planning and evaluation

Board: Strategic framework	Executive Director: Strategic and operational plans
Adopts an overall strategic framework for the organisation	Ensures that strategic planning happens with board’s appropriate involvement
Actively participates in strategic sessions	Leads operational planning and approves plans for the staff
Annually evaluates the performance of executive director and determines appropriate compensation	Ensures a process for staff performance exists, approves staff compensation
Evaluates board’s performance regularly
Through reports from staff, assesses the organisation’s achievement of goals

Finance

Board	Executive Director: Financial management
Approve annual budget and monitors the financial reports from staff	With the help of the financial staff, prepares the annual budget and provides the board with regular financial statements. Report to board on cash flow, budget to actual expenditure
Approve internal control policies	Work with board to develop financial policies and internal controls
Hire financial auditor and reviews the audit	Respond to auditor findings
Review financial indicators and ensure adjustments are made	Establishes income, and expense parameters, determine specific expenditures within approved budget lines
Approve fundraising strategy	Work with board to develop and execute fundraising strategy
Sets overall financial policies and ensures appropriate internal controls	With staff, handles the daily financial operations and monitors cash flow
Approves purchases and repairs as part of overall budget	Develops and implements policy regarding purchases, acts within approved budget, and maintains an audit trail

Programs / projects

Board	Executive Director
Ensure that programs and projects are achieving objectives	Develop and implement programs and projects

Staff management

Board	Executive Director
Hire and evaluate the Executive Director	Hire and supervise all other staff within approved budget
Approve personnel policies and review salary information	Set compensation and benefits for individual employees
Makes final termination firing decision for executive director	Makes final termination firing decision for all other employees
Establishes assignments, annual goals, and work plan with executive director	Establishes employee assignments, annual goals, and work plans for all other employees within an approved budget
Manages employee grievances when related to Executive Director	Manages other employee grievances when related to other staffs. Grievances stop at Executive Director.

Legal

Board	Executive Director
Ensure that the organization is properly managed	Provides information to the board to demonstrate that the organization is well managed
Maintains legal status and ensures that proper paperwork is submitted to governmental agencies	Compiles information for annual filing requirements
	Signals to the board if any situation are likely to occur or to have occurred that jeopardize the legal status of the organisation

Decision making

Board	Executive Director
Defines and communicates the role of board and executive director in decision making	Makes all decisions expect those explicitly reserved to the board
Involves in organizational decision-making

Working together

Effective partnership between board and staff requires clarify of roles and division of responsibilities. A successful relationship between board and staff members require:

1. Suitable processes and procedures
2. Clearly defined management roles
3. Defined boundaries
4. Clear limits to the authority of the staff
5. Executive Director whose performance is monitored by the board

1. Does the board allow the staff to do their jobs?

Staff members should be able to use their expertise and experience to carry out board decisions, without having to go back to the board to approve minor changes

2. Does the board allow the Executive Director to manage the staff?

The board should never undermine the authority of the Executive Director by instructing a staff member. If the board trusts the Executive Director, all business should be conducted through the Executive Director. If this is not the case, the board must take steps to replace the Executive Director with someone they trust

3. Does the board know, understand, and support the division of responsibility?

If board members put up actions or motions that wander too far into operational territory between board and staff, the president should steer them back. If this happens often the board may have to set aside a session to go through its proper roles and roles to clarify it.

4. Do staff members know, understand, and support the division of responsibility?

The board must authorise all important policies and all changes in polices. These decisions and the reasons for them must be documented and made available to the staff. While recommendations for action may be made by staff, they should not run the show. It means that the board should be given options, not simple presented a single decision to sign on.