Association Chief of Staff

OVERVIEW

Smithbucklin, a 650-person, employee-owned professional services company with more than 70 years of success serving the association market, with primary offices in Chicago and Washington, D.C., is seeking an Association Chief of Staff to serve an association management client headquartered in Chicago, IL.

Our client began as the first-ever enterprise IT user group, and continues to deliver important avenues of professional growth for the industry today. While the means of learning, networking and influencing this space have evolved – the desired result of providing a valuable user-driven perspective is the same. Our client organization is headquartered in Chicago, IL with operating revenue of over $3M and a Membership and Operations staff of 3-4.

Specializing in Technical Education, Networking and Industry Influence, our client provides valuable resources and tools to the IT and Mainframe professional globally.

The new Chief of Staff will have the exciting opportunity to support and extend our client’s mission statement that has such a storied culture and history in the industry; while helping them to evolve with the industry.

FULFILL CLIENT DUTIES, SUCH AS…

• Serve as Chief of Staff of the Board of Directors, Headquarters (HQ) liaison to various committees, volunteers and HQ staff.
• Responsible for ensuring the planning and execution of projects that are approved/directed by the client President and CEO and other board members.
• Study, learn, retain, and apply subject matter knowledge related to the Association. Become adept at the issues, environment, vocabulary, and personas of membership.
• Contribute to strategic thinking and future-focused planning and prioritization efforts of the Board of Directors (based on the direction/strategy that the board sets).
• Advise the Board of Directors on governance-related leading practices related to Bylaws, volunteer recruitment, organizational structure, policies, norms, and behaviors.
• Ensure all laws, regulatory filings, accounting practices, and other matters related to business administration are upheld and/or fulfilled.
• Drive action-planning and execution of programs and other initiatives which translate the board of director’s strategic thinking into action and outcomes.
• Execute and support the President & CEO (client volunteer role) in their prioritized areas of focus.
• Work with the Board of Directors and other stakeholders to develop and nurture a culture of engaged volunteers, applying best practices to recruitment, engagement, and recognition.
• Communicate effectively with leadership and all stakeholders on matters related to the organization; serve as the primary driver of communications (either directly, or through others).
• Drive the annual process for development of the organization’s budget, including the identification, selection, and engagement of resources or solutions within the parameters of the approved budget (i.e. operational planning).

FULFILL HQ STAFF LEADERSHIP DUTIES, SUCH AS…

• Design the optimal staff (or other resources) team to execute operations and advance strategic priorities, within the parameters of the approved budget.
• Create and nurture an environment for staff to be effective and engaged, including role clarity, expectations, performance management, and overall morale.
• Implement quality assurance regarding creation, organization, and retention of documents and materials of the organization.
• Deliver service excellence by HQ staff to volunteers, members, collaborators, funders, and other stakeholders.
• Serve as a servant-leader by helping staff develop knowledge, competencies, and skills to successfully perform their roles.
• Communicate expectations; surface and resolve conflict; and reward and recognize successes across the staff team.
• Assume accountability for all staff functions, actions, and outcomes.

FULFILL SMITHBUCKLIN DUTIES, SUCH AS…

• Participate within and contribute to the Executive Group community and maximize all learning, development, and sharing opportunities.
• Uphold all Smithbucklin shared values.
• Actively support and advance commitments and initiatives related to people care, including commitments to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), performance management, career development/pathing, employee relations, etc.
• Develop and maintain the confidence of the client organization – individually, and with Smithbucklin as a valued management partner.
• Embrace Smithbucklin’s culture of continuous improvement, leveraging all available resources (AXP, Learning Center, feedback mechanisms, supervisory and leadership coaching and development, etc.).
• Maximize Smithbucklin’s service model, depth of expertise, and resources in service to the organization you serve.

CHARACTERISTICS AND QUALIFICATIONS

• Possess a Bachelor’s degree (minimum), and have at least 3-5 years of executive-level management experience.
• Have served in a leadership role of a volunteer-governed organization.
• Wish to join an industry-leading, widely admired growing company that values diversity, equity, inclusion and its people as its number one resource.
• Have a passion for servant-leadership; can lead both “in front” and also “from behind.”
• Have experience and passion for driving positive outcomes for community-based &/or community advocacy organization(s).
• Possess executive-level communication skills (verbal and written) with expertise in synthesizing the input of many voices into cohesive themes and messages.
• Energized by opportunities to develop new revenue streams via efforts including but not limited to grant writing, fundraising, and new product development.
• A driver/enabler of strategy and growth.
• Can effectively navigate challenging situations and/or personalities which lead to positive outcomes and mitigate organizational risk.
• Accept accountabilities that come with a leadership position.
• Invite constructive performance feedback and work in a positive manner to apply the learnings.
• Can balance and derive gratification from both administrative/operational activities as well as strategic ones (in other words, easily shift gears and respect the importance of both types of work).

Smithbucklin is the association management and services company more organizations turn to than any other. Our mission is to achieve the missions of the client organizations we serve and provide uncompromised stewardship for their long-term prosperity. Smithbucklin offers full-service management and outsourced services to trade associations, professional societies, technology user communities, industry consortia, charitable organizations, corporations and government institutes. Founded in 1949, Smithbucklin has offices in Chicago, Washington D.C., Old Lyme, Conn., St. Louis, Bethesda, Md., and San Ramon, Calif., and delivers seamless association and event management services worldwide. The company is 100 percent employee-owned.

Where Do You Fit?

Whether you are just beginning your career or are a mid- or senior-level professional, working at Smithbucklin will offer you countless opportunities to develop transferrable skills, acquire meaningful knowledge and gain rich experiences at an accelerated pace. By working collaboratively with smart, ambitious, multi-talented, genuine and hardworking colleagues, you will build meaningful, deep and enduring relationships that will serve you well throughout your career, regardless of your chosen path. In addition, as a 100 percent employee-owned company, Smithbucklin offers all of our people – regardless of position or compensation – an equal chance to experience the fulfillment and reap the benefits of ownership. As owners, our employees control the destiny of Smithbucklin and are unified in the goal of building a great, enduring company.

Equal Employment Opportunity

At Smithbucklin, Equal Employment Opportunity is our commitment and goal. All qualified candidates will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, national origin, gender, age, religion, disability, sexual orientation, veteran status, marital status or any other protected status designated by federal, state or local law. Applicants are encouraged to confidentially self-identify when applying. Employment is contingent upon successful completion of a reference and background investigation based on position.