The DADAA Board seeks a new Treasurer who will add to the board’s diversity.

DADAA’s Board is strongly focused on diverse governance representation that reflects the diversity of the communities across which DADAA works. DADAA encourages applications from people with lived experience of disability, in support of the organisation’s goal for disability led governance and operations.

The  DADAA Board

DADAA Ltd is governed by a volunteer board of up to ten directors: service on the board is honorary and not remunerated.

The Board is responsible for governance of DADAA, ensuring its sustainability, compliance and strategic development. Specifically, the Board:

• Sets strategic direction for DADAA
• Ensures that DADAA complies with its statutory obligations
• Ensures financial viability
• Approves the annual budget and business plan
• Provides oversight and guidance for DADAA operations, ensuring appropriate policies and delegation frameworks are in place to monitor, mitigate and manage risk
• Is responsible for the appointment and performance assessment of the Executive Director

The Board currently meets eight times per year for two hours at COB. In addition, the Board oversees a number of sub-committees including FARM (Finance Risk Management and Audit), BDC (Board Diversity Committee), Marketing, and  Business Planning.

Once a year, the Board aims to meet for a day in a central location for an extended planning session.

Priority areas:

To complement the strengths and capabilities and ensure good succession planning for current Directors, the Board is giving priority to the following skills, experience and qualifications in this recruitment round towards the appointment of a Treasurer:

• Accounting and Financial Management experience
• Compliance
• Strategic capability and leadership
• Governance, legal and regulatory knowledge and experience

Application process

Nominees are asked to provide a short professional CV, and a cover letter outlining why they are interested in joining the DADAA Board and how they match the current key priorities for recruitment.

Nominations close at COB on Friday 13^th November  2019.

The Board will shortlist and interview nominees.

Expectations of Directors

Board members are expected to be familiar with and meet the general requirements of a company director as set out by the Australian Charities and Not-for-Profit Commission (ACNC). At a minimum, Directors need to meet the requirements for a Responsible Person [ACNC Governance Standard 4] and not be disqualified as a Director under the Corporations Act, and commit to carrying out their duties in line with ACNC Governance Standard 5, which includes:

• acting with reasonable care and diligence
• acting honestly and fairly in the best interests of the charity and for its charitable purposes
• not misusing their position or information gained as a responsible person
• disclosing actual or potential conflicts of interest
• ensuring that the financial affairs of the charity are managed responsibly, and
• not allowing the charity to operate while it is insolvent

DADAA specific expectations of board members include:

• be fully prepared for, attend and constructively contribute to regular Board meeting including occasional planning sessions
• participate in sub-committees and/or working groups as required
• take on a portfolio role as and when required
• attend DADAA events whenever possible
• deal with “out of session” issues, by email or teleconference
• represent DADAA to the broader community

To express your interest in joining the DADAA Board you need to provide a CV and cover letter in PDF format by COB on Friday 13^th November to: 

Harry Bray, Chair of DADAA Ltd e: harry@brayco.com.au

image: George Khut, body-maps from Contemplative Interactions, 2019 photo: Jessica Wyld Photography

Last month, after 25 years with DADAA, and four years in her role as Digital Producer, Simone Flavelle made the decision to leave the organisation. DADAA’s Board, staff, and community of artists, would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the extraordinary contribution Simone made to growing a vibrant, innovative, and sustainable Western Australian Arts and Disability practice that is nationally recognised.

Simone was instrumental in shaping DADAA from its earliest beginnings into the organisation it is today. When Simone directed the Empty Chair Project in 1994 it was the first significant Arts and Disability project funded by the Australia Council for the Arts in Western Australia. This project was a catalyst for the establishment of DADAA, which, 25 years later, has become the largest Arts and Disability organisations in Australia.

One of her strengths was the brokering of partnerships between DADAA, arts companies and disability sector organisations. In 2018-19 Simone was Associate Producer for the Black Swan Theatre Company, Perth Festival, and DADAA co-production of You Know We Belong Together, which was described by one reviewer as ‘…a necessary reclamation of disabled voice, delivered with the radical power of love, and a work of kindness and care which privileges the identities of the Downs community in their own image…’

Most recently Simone co-produced Experience Collider with CircusWA supported by Telethon and presented at the 2019 AWESOME Festival. Described as ‘a pure demonstration of collaboration. Genuine and delightful’, Experience Collider was underpinned by an evaluation led by the Telethon Kids Institute’s Quality of Life research team.

But it’s perhaps Simone’s commitment and work at the coalface of complex disability communities and her support of individual artists with disability to reach new levels of agency and artistic excellence, that was most significant.

Her longitudinal investment in award winning projects like the Lost Generation Project was integral to creating access to participatory arts practice for people with intellectual disabilities whilst at the same time, researching and developing new digital arts practices.

Simone’s vision and investment in supporting artists with disabilities and her contribution and influence within the National Arts and Disability sector are immeasurable.

Former Perth Festival Artistic Director (2016-19) and DADAA Board member Wendy Martin said, ‘On behalf of the DADAA Board I would like to acknowledge and thank Simone for the exceptional contribution that she has made to the success and profile of our artists and the organisation. Simone’s visionary leadership has enabled artists with disability to thrive and create game-changing work, particularly in film and theatre.’

Since 1994, Simone worked to develop DADAA, taking on multiple roles including Board Member and Co-Executive Director. ‘During this time, I had the enormous privilege of working with many Western Australian artists with disability to create new performance, visual and filmed works’, Simone said. ‘I leave DADAA to further develop this work with artists and film makers who experience practical and systemic barriers to participation and look forward to continued association with the organisation through my family’.

Simone is now focusing on her work in the screen diversity sector as Diversity and Inclusion Manager at Screenwest, as well as establishing her independent practice as a Producer and Consultant, and we wish her continued success in all her endeavours.

image: Trinity, Portrait of Simone Flavelle, 2019, ink on paper