Volunteer Opportunities

As part of our many member benefits, we are proud to offer different volunteer opportunities throughout the year for you to get involved, network, and meet new peers in the municipal sector. Volunteering is a great way to build upon your skills, learn from others’ experiences and expertise, get more involved, and give back to the Association.

In 2024, the AMCTO Board of Directors approved a new committee structure for the Association. The changes were made to create more meaningful opportunities for members to engage with peers and to better align with overall goals within the current Strategic Plan.

We are currently looking for volunteers to serve on a variety of committees and working groups to support members in the areas of education, professional development, policy and government relations, membership, networking, communications, and accreditation.

Applications are encouraged from members working across a range of municipal services, geographies, skills, and experiences. AMCTO is committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion and values the voices, lived experiences, and perspectives of individuals of all backgrounds. It is important that our Association reflects the diverse communities we serve. We strongly encourage AMCTO members from diverse backgrounds to apply. Applicant diversity will be considered as part of the selection process.

Explore our available volunteer opportunities below and apply by Friday, April 25, 2025, at 5:00pm. For more information about getting involved at the Zone level, please visit your Zone page and connect with your Zone Executive.

The purpose of the new Professional Growth Committee (PGC) is to create connections between members and AMCTO education and professional development staff, allowing the Association to receive feedback on existing programming and ideas on new offerings that may help to advance our mission of supporting members' and municipal staff's professional growth.
Working with staff, key duties of the committee include:
Reviewing new, existing, or revised education and/or professional development policies
Receiving updates and providing feedback on reports related to the Association's education and professional development portfolios
We are currently seeking to appoint up to eight (8) members with the following qualifications:
Completion of AMCTO Municipal Administration Program (MAP)
Other AMCTO education/professional development experience is highly encouraged
To stagger appointments to this new committee, selected members will serve a one or two-year term, commencing July 2025. The committee will meet twice per year — once in the spring and once in the fall —virtually. For details, please refer to the Professional Growth Committee Terms of Reference (via the button below). Applications to the PGC are due Friday, April 25 at 5:00pm.
Apply
The purpose of the new Network, Community & Membership Committee (NCMC) is to create purposeful engagement opportunities between AMCTO staff and a more diverse group of AMCTO members, including New Professional, Associate, Student, and Retired members. The group will discuss issues related to membership services and programs, networking, and communications. The NCMC will also incorporate the role of the previous Ethics Advisory Working Group and play an important role in reviewing the Association’s Code of Ethics and Values and discussing matters related to member ethics.
Working with staff, key duties of the committee include:
Reviewing new, existing, or revised membership and communications policies, including but not limited to:
AMCTO’s Code of Ethics and Values
Zone Terms of Reference and supporting Zone documents
Receiving updates and providing feedback on reports related to the Association's communications and marketing, and membership portfolios
We are currently seeking applications from up to ten (10) members from the following membership categories:
Four (4) representatives – Full Member
Three (3) representatives – New Professional
One (1) representative from each membership category:
Associate
Retired
Student
To stagger appointments to this new committee, selected members will serve a one or two-year term, commencing July 2025. The committee will meet twice per year — once in the spring and once in the fall — virtually. For details, please refer to the Network, Community & Membership Committee Terms of Reference (via the button below). Applications to the NCMC are due Friday, April 25 at 5:00pm.
Apply
Formerly the Legislative & Policy Advisory Committee (LPAC)

The Policy & Government Relations Committee (PGRC) provides expert input and advice to staff on emerging policy and legislative proposals to further policy work and advocacy initiatives as outlined in the AMCTO Issue Profile. Serving as our member ‘think-tank’ when it comes to relevant sector policy and advocacy issues, PRGC is a great opportunity to advance many sector changes while contributing hours toward your AMCTO accreditation(s).
We are looking for members with the following areas of experience and expertise:
- Working knowledge of municipal finance and reporting
- Experience with municipal human resources (HR) and/or municipal management
- Experience with legal analysis, various regulatory enforcement, and provincial offences
- Expertise and/or working knowledge of the Municipal Act (MA) and the Provincial Offences Act (POA)
- Experience and/or working knowledge of government relations, strategic communications, and information technology
We are looking to appoint up to six (6) members for a two-year term beginning July 2025. We encourage those from, but not limited to, northern, single, and upper-tier municipalities, municipalities with populations between 25-100,000 and under 10,000, and new professionals to apply.
It is expected that selected members will attend approximately 5-6 meetings per year and spend additional time reviewing and preparing materials following each meeting. PGRC members are expected to come to meetings prepared and ready for fulsome discussions about how to advance our advocacy work. This preparation may include reaching out to colleagues and others within your network to gather information, collect and present data to share with the group.
In addition, PGRC members may be called upon to provide advice and support to AMCTO staff on time-sensitive, government-led consultations. This may require members to seek further feedback and support from colleagues within their specific AMCTO Zone or municipality. Depending on government activity, this may average an additional 1-3 volunteer hours per month. Applications to the PGRC are due Friday, April 25 at 5:00pm.
Apply
As part of the 2022-2026 AMCTO Issue Profile, we are calling on the Province to review and update the Municipal Act (MA) with a focus on modernization, accountability and transparency, financial fairness, good governance, and continued enabling provisions.
Despite the legislative requirement to review the MA every five years, the last formal public review of the Act was in 2015. While updates have been made since then, it is time for a formal review to ensure the continued enabling foundational legislation for Ontario municipalities to thrive. This includes modernizing the powers, duties, organization, and structure of Ontario municipalities. As part of our continued advocacy, we will be developing a submission with recommended amendments to the Municipal Act. To support this work, the Working Group will help us identify key areas for improvement.
Key duties:
Bring forward best practices and lessons learned in municipal governance and administration from Ontario, Canada, and international jurisdictions to identify challenges and opportunities for solution-orientated improvements to the Act.
Identify areas of focus for our Association's continued advocacy
Provide the Policy & Government Relations Committee with a researched list of options for MA reform.
We are currently seeking eight (8) members with first-hand experience and in-depth knowledge of the legislation. Given the broad powers and authorities provided for in the MA, members forming this Working Group will ideally have backgrounds in governance, clerk administration, municipal finance, and taxation, licensing, bylaw and enforcement, municipal law, etc. For details, please refer to the MA Review Working Group Terms of Reference (via the button below). Applications to the MA Working Group are due Friday, April 25 at 5:00pm.
Apply
As an Association, we often rely on the experience, input, and advice of our members to inform our advocacy priorities and responses to Federal and Provincial government initiatives. Our Roster of Municipal Subject Matter Advisors is a unique volunteer opportunity for those who may not be able to formally commit to joining the Policy & Government Relations Committee (PGRC) or the Board to support our advocacy efforts.
Subject matter advisors will:
- Provide technical input when their experience and specialties are in alignment with an advocacy priority, project, or initiative
- Self-identify their interest in being ‘on-call’ as supplemental sources of insight for AMCTO policy and government relations staff
- Make valuable contributions to advancing our advocacy work
- Be able to attain professional development units (PDUs) towards the maintenance of AMCTO accreditations
This is a great opportunity to support our advocacy work with a flexible, short-term commitment. Applications will be reviewed and accepted on a rolling, as-needed basis.
Learn More & Apply
Adhering to best practices in the field of accreditation which emphasize the importance of an ‘arms-length’ entity between the governing body and the actual certification of applicants, the AMCTO Board of Directors established two arms-length Advisory Groups to ensure impartiality in the certification of CMO, AMP and AOMC Accreditation Program applicants. This new Accreditation Committee has been established to help create more structure for the previous Advisory Groups and allow for more cross-accreditation information sharing.
The Accreditation Committee is responsible for:
- Reviewing new, existing, or revised accreditation policies
- Receiving updates and providing feedback on reports related to the Association's accreditation portfolio
- Conducting periodic program reviews as deemed necessary by the AMCTO Board of Directors and/or staff
- On occasion, adjudicating member appeals and/or complaints regarding accreditations based on the Association's published appeals and complaints process
We are looking to appoint up to nine (9) members to the Accreditation Committee:
- Three (3) representatives for the Accredited Municipal Professional (AMP)
- Three (3) representatives for the Accredited Ontario Municipal Clerk (AOMC)
- Three (3) representatives for the Certified Municipal Officer (CMO)
To stagger appointments to this new committee, selected members will serve for a one or two-year term commencing July 2025. The committee will meet twice per year — once in the spring and once in the fall —virtually. For details, please refer to the Accreditation Committee Terms of Reference (via the button below). Applications to the Accreditation Committee are due Friday, April 25 at 5:00pm.
Apply
Following Board-approved submission guidelines and established competency standards, members of the Certified Municipal Officer (CMO) Accreditation Review Team and the Accredited Municipal Professional (AMP) Accreditation Review Team have a mandate to evaluate the certification and maintenance of CMO and AMP applications and make recommendations to the AMCTO Board of Directors regarding their approval.
Key duties:
- Review submitted applications to assess adequacy and completeness
- Evaluate documentation submitted against established competency standards
- Recommend approval of applications to the Board of Directors or provide direction/guidance to applicants regarding areas requiring further documentation or improvement
- Identify best practices to be shared with mentors for assisting future applicants
- Provide input and advice on an as-requested basis, through the AMCTO Membership & Accreditation Advisor regarding the development and maintenance of the CMO and AMP programs
We are currently looking for individuals to serve on either Review Team for a flexible term commencing July 2025. Appointments to Review Teams no longer have a set term — members will be asked to confirm their participation on an annual basis by AMCTO staff. Appointments to the Review Teams will be made on an as-needed basis by the AMCTO membership and accreditation team.
Individuals appointed to the Review Teams will review applications and meet on an as-required basis via electronic meeting, as determined by the volume of certification and maintenance of certification applications submitted. CMO Accreditation Review Team applicants must be current AMCTO members with a CMO accreditation. AMP Accreditation Review Team applicants must be current AMCTO members with an AMP accreditation. The peak work volume for these teams will generally fall between February and April each year.
Apply
The Board Discovery Program offers members an opportunity to gain deeper insights into the governance of the Association. Participants will have the chance to learn about the roles and responsibilities of the Board of Directors, engage in discussions with the Executive Director and Immediate Past-President, and observe an AMCTO Board meeting in action.
This program provides a platform for members to explore how decisions are made and how they can contribute to the Association's direction. Whether you're looking to enhance your understanding of the Association, explore leadership opportunities, or see yourself considering candidacy for a spot on the Board of Directors one day, this program is a valuable experience for all members. Applications for the program will be reviewed and accepted on a rolling basis.
Learn More & Apply
Forum Focus Group members help to identify key topical issues, trends, and speakers to support the development of year-round AMCTO professional development forum programming. Forum Focus Group members are responsible for attending two to three, one-hour meetings in the months leading up to the forum events to help the AMCTO professional development team in the planning of overall Forum agendas and activities.
Applications for the Forum Focus Groups will be reviewed and accepted on a rolling basis.
Apply

Reminder: participation in various volunteer activities qualifies as Professional Development Units (PDUs) for maintaining AMCTO accreditations.

Apply

EXISTING COMMITTEE MEMBERS: With the adoption of the new committee structure, individual members with appointments to the Ethics Advisory Group or the CMO/AMP/AOMC Accreditation Program Advisory Groups, which extend beyond June 30, 2025, will have their appointments terminated at the May meeting of the Board of Directors. Appointments to LPAC (now PGRC) and Accreditation Review Teams that extend beyond June 30, 2025 will be unaffected. Please contact our membership team should you have any questions.

We thank all those in advance for their interest in volunteering. All applications will be reviewed by AMCTO staff following the application deadline. Please note that due to the limited number of volunteer spots available, only those candidates whose experience closely matches the skill sets needed to fill current gaps will be contacted.

Cover Photo
Andrea Piacquadio

Volunteer Opportunities

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