Description

ORGANIZATIONAL OVERVIEW
 

VISION STATEMENT

Pursuing Excellence in the Veterinary Profession.

MISSION STATEMENT

The California Veterinary Medical Association is committed to serving its membership and community through innovative leadership and to improving animal and human health in an ethically and socially responsible manner.

CORE VALUES

Leadership
Animal/Human Health
Ethics and Social Responsibility
Service to Members
Improvement

The California Veterinary Medical Association (CVMA—www.cvma.net) is seeking a dynamic new Executive Director to lead the organization into the second half of the 2020s and beyond!
The CVMA is a vocal advocate for California veterinary professionals and for the health and welfare of animals. Founded in 1888, the CVMA has approximately 7,000 members comprised of veterinarians, registered veterinary technicians, students, and academics, and is the largest statewide veterinary medical association in the country.  Beyond the Association itself, other CVMA-affiliated entities include the California Veterinary Medical Foundation (CVMF), a charitable organization providing funding to support student scholarships and programs as well as disaster-related medical care to injured or displaced animals, and Veterinary Insurance Services Company (VISC), the CVMA’s wholly-owned insurance brokerage offering veterinary-specific insurance products to the CVMA’s members.  The CVMA also maintains a Political Action Committee (PAC) that funds contributions to California legislators and legislative candidates.
Typically, CVMA runs a $4 million annual budget, the majority of which is generated by membership dues and conference revenue. For the 2025-2026 fiscal year, CVMA is estimating $4.2 million in revenue.
The CVMA’s Goals:

•    To enhance the business, professional, personal, and leadership growth of its membership.
•    To advocate for the veterinary profession and animal welfare before California’s legislature and regulatory agencies, and beyond.
•    To provide continuing education programs to the California veterinary community.
•    To be fiscally responsible and financially secure.
•    To be the respected source of pertinent information for members and the public, including through the CVMA’s magazine (California Veterinarian), electronic messaging, and social media outlets.

Volunteer Leadership: The CVMA’s 17-member Board of Governors sets the policy and vision for the Association and is fiscally responsible for its actions. The House of Delegates, an advisory body on matters affecting the practice of veterinary medicine, is composed of delegates from various geographic and other constituent groups throughout California. The CVMA also maintains over a dozen standing committees on dedicated subject matter areas ranging from legislation to animal welfare to inclusion and diversity.  Occasionally, the CVMA will commission time-limited task forces to address discrete issues identified by the Board or a committee.

POSITION SUMMARY

The Executive Director has primary responsibility for day-to-day management of the CVMA and its programs, including membership recruitment and retention, member benefits and services, continuing education offerings, legislative and regulatory advocacy, and member-facing communications.  The Executive Director oversees a staff of 16 full-time employees working across five departments (Communications, Conferences & Events, Finance, Legislative/Regulatory Advocacy, and Member Services), and also exercises primary staff oversight over the CVMF and the CVMA PAC.  In addition, the Executive Director serves as the Association’s primary liaison to VISC, as well as to the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA). 

The CVMA’s Executive Director reports to the Board of Governors, which is in turn chaired by the CVMA’s President.  The Board of Governors holds quarterly business meetings, but the Executive Director is expected to interface more frequently with the President, the Board Executive Committee, and/or the Board as a whole for purposes of keeping CVMA leadership informed about relevant activities.  
Members of the CVMA are dedicated and passionate professionals who work for the betterment of animal health and welfare and enthusiastically support their Association. The Executive Director position offers an opportunity to lead an exciting, innovative, and nationally respected organization in the service of an important mission. Never dull, this role provides interesting and new challenges with the opportunity to learn, constantly changing conditions, and travel throughout California and the United States (the latter for national events such as AVMA conventions). This is a unique opportunity to make a difference for a special community.

GENERAL JOB DUTIES

While the specific duties of the Executive Director position are many and varied, they fall into the following general categories:
   Primary responsibility for implementing motions, directives, and policies of the Board of Governors, and for proposing and implementing Association initiatives
   Primary CVMA staff interface with the President, Executive Committee, Board of Governors, and various Association committees and task forces
   Primary oversight of CVMA staff, including hiring, firing, discipline, dispute resolution, and compensation setting
   Editor-in-Chief of California Veterinarian magazine and other CVMA publications
   Primary CVMA staff liaison to UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, Western University College of Veterinary Medicine, the AVMA, the Veterinary Medical Association Executives (VMAE), and other veterinary and animal welfare stakeholders
   Primary responsibility for periodic review of and revisions to the CVMA’s governing documents, including the Constitution/Bylaws, Policy Manual, and employee handbook
   Board member of VISC, and primary CVMA staff liaison to VISC
   Works with CVMA staff, outside lobbyist, Legislative Committee, and Board of Governors relative to analyzing, assessing, formulating and taking positions on legislative and regulatory initiatives
   Personally attends CVMA conferences and seminars (approximately four per year) throughout California
   Personally attends AVMA and VMAE events (approximately three per year) throughout the United States

EXPECTED OUTCOMES FOR THE FIRST YEAR 

It is expected that the Executive Director will achieve the following by the end of the first year of employment (in implementation order):
   Within the first 60 days, meet with CVMA staff, Executive Committee, Board members, and other key stakeholders, and establish a plan of regular communication and relationship-building
   Within the first 120 days, review financial, membership, program, legislative, and regulatory issues

   By the end of the first year, be an integral and respected leader in the industry, a proactive and successful advocate for the profession, and an effective coalition-builder with aligned organizations 

THE COMMUNITY

The CVMA’s headquarters is located in Sacramento, the capital of California and seat of Sacramento County. Sacramento is located at the confluence of the Sacramento and American Rivers and is connected to the San Francisco Bay through the Sacramento River Delta. The region’s mediterranean climate is characterized by damp, mild winters and hot, dry summers.

Sacramento is the fourth-largest city in California and the center of the 25th-largest metropolitan area in the United States. Local universities include California State University, Sacramento and the University of California, Davis, which is also home to the top-ranked veterinary medical school in the world.  The UC Davis Medical Center, a world-renowned research hospital, is one of nearly two dozen hospitals in the Sacramento region.  

The Sacramento area boasts more than 200 parks and is known for outdoor recreation including hiking, golfing, canoeing, kayaking, running, and biking. Sacramento is also home to the NBA’s Sacramento Kings, the Sacramento River Cats (the San Francisco Giants’ AAA baseball team), the Sacramento Republic FC (a USL professional soccer team), and nationally recognized museums like the Crocker Art Museum and the California State Railroad Museum.

The world-renowned Napa Valley is an hour’s drive away, with other wine regions even closer at hand. San Francisco, Lake Tahoe, and more than a dozen ski resorts are less than a two-hour drive from Sacramento. Sacramento International Airport handles non-stop flights to and from more than thirty-eight U.S. destinations (including Hawaii), as well as Canada and Mexico.

For more information, please visit the Greater Sacramento Economic Council’s website at www.greatersacramento.com.

COMPENSATION 

The compensation package includes a salary of $200,000-$225,000, depending on experience and qualifications. The Executive Director also receives $10,500 per year for serving on the VISC Board of Directors (payment contingent on meeting attendance). CVMA provides comprehensive medical, dental, vision, life, and long-term disability insurance. The association also offers and contributes to a 401(k)-retirement plan. Travel, statewide and around the country, is estimated at 15%.

PROCEDURE FOR CANDIDACY

For confidential consideration, at your earliest convenience and no later than COB on May 1, 2026, please apply using this link. You will be prompted to complete a job application. Please also upload your chronological resume (to include description and size of current/prior organizations and responsibilities) and a letter of interest.

If you experience any technical issues with the above link, please contact Fabian@hrtogo.com

Requirements

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
 
While none of the below-specified experiential qualifications are mandatory, the CVMA prefers candidates to have the following professional experience that will allow them to achieve the outcomes noted above:

•   Seven or more years of professional experience with increasing responsibility
•   Experience managing a budget of at least $2M and a staff of at least 10
•   Experience working for a membership or trade association
•   An understanding of legislative and regulatory advocacy; experience in California preferred
•   Experience reporting to or being on a Board

PROFESSIONAL COMPETENCIES

Successful candidates must have the following competencies that will allow them to achieve the outcomes noted above:

• Organization and management skills
• Leadership skills
• Outstanding oral and written communication skills
• Ability to anticipate future trends that may impact the organization and stakeholders 
• Enjoys building relationships and representing the CVMA

EDUCATION/CREDENTIALS

Successful candidates must have the following education and credentials that will allow them to achieve the outcomes noted above:

• Undergraduate degree required, MBA or JD a plus
• Certificate in association management a plus
• DVM a plus

CULTURE 

The ideal candidate must possess values, a work style, personal traits, attributes, and characteristics that will create an excellent fit with the CVMA’s culture and structure, including the following:

• Trust, honor, and respect
• Honesty, reliability, proactivity, and dependability
• An ability to advance and protect the veterinary profession and the business of the profession
• Innovation and the ability to leverage technology
• Demonstrates increasing value to the varied size, type of ownership, and geography of the CVMA members
• Recognition of the community-based nature of the veterinary profession, and the varied size, ownership type, and demographic and geographic scope of the CVMA’s membership
• Passion for the CVMA’s mission and purpose
• An internal and external customer culture
• Promotes individual and team development and empowerment