POSITION DESCRIPTION
Managing Director
Site Selectors Guild
I. INTRODUCTION
The Site Selectors Guild, Inc. (the “Guild”) is the only association of the world’s foremost professional site selection consultants. Guild members provide location strategy to corporations across the globe and for every industry, sector, and function. Founded in 2010, the Guild now comprises 62 members, many of whom are shareholders of the Guild. Our members currently hail from North America, Europe, and Asia. A volunteer-driven, for-profit corporation, the Guild has evolved from its beginnings as a relatively unstructured gathering of competitors to become a more cohesive, collaborative, and collegial organization. More information on the Guild can be found at www.siteselectorsguild.com.
The Guild is led by a seven-person Board that annually elects a Chair, Vice-Chair, Secretary, and Treasurer, and provides strategic direction for the organization. Board members are elected for staggered two-year terms and receive a small annual stipend for their work. Many of the Guild’s operational functions, notably, conference and meeting management; accounting/tax; marketing and public relations, and legal support, are provided by third parties under contract to the Guild. Other responsibilities, including membership selection, conference content planning, and new product development, are driven by member committees appointed by the Board, whose members also receive small, annual stipends.
As the Guild evolved from being exclusively a member-led and managed organization into one requiring contracted services and later also professional management, the Board hired a full-time Managing Director in 2021 who serves as an independent contractor who is responsible for the day-to-day management of the Guild and executes the Board’s vision and strategy. During this period, the Guild has grown its membership by over 25%, has significantly expanded its public relations and marketing presence, and has undertaken a variety of new programs, particularly, the launch of the Guild Partners Program (a membership program for economic developers).
In January 2023, the current Managing Director announced his decision to leave the Guild to accept another position, effective April 26, which has provided the Board with an opportunity to evaluate how to best manage the growing organization and appropriately use revenues generated by member activities. Once a new Managing Director has been hired, the Board will work with the organization’s new leader to optimize and align the work provided by service providers and the new Managing Director. In addition, the Board believes that the growth of the Guild will also require the hiring of an Administrative Assistant to support the Managing Director. Once the new Managing Director has been selected, the Board will work with this person to facilitate the hiring of appropriate administrative support.
The Managing Director (and Administrative Assistant position, if created) is an independent contractor, and no employee relationship will be created by any agreement with the Guild.
Among the roles and responsibilities of the Managing Director would be:
- Supporting the Guild in the execution of its policies, goals and objectives;
- Active management and coordination of the activities of third-party service providers to the Guild;
- Professional organizational management and administration;
- The ongoing application and oversight of sound financial management principles to ensure the profitability and sustainability of the Guild;
- Ongoing management and coordination of internal member committees and initiatives;
- Cultivation of relationships with constituents and financial partners of the Guild;
- Support for the Board in undertaking its duties; and
- Facilitate and enhance the exchange of knowledge and information among members.
The Guild is incorporated in the State of Illinois and a significant amount of the organization’s business activity occurs in Arkansas due to one of its key service providers, the Angela Rogers Group (ARG), being based in Little Rock. In addition to ARG, our other key service providers are; Development Counsellors International (New York, NY), the Hobbs Group (Greenville, SC), and Ice Miller LLP (Chicago, IL). While the Board will consider all candidates for the Managing Director position, a strong preference is for the individual to be located somewhere in the continental U.S. Some travel in support of Guild activities is expected and those expenses are reimbursed in addition to normal compensation.
II. RESPONSIBILITIES AND ROLES
As the Site Selectors Guild is a small for-profit organization, supported by various service providers, the Managing Director serves as the day-to-day manager/administrator for the corporation. We envision that the selected candidate will actively manage the annual, monthly, and weekly calendar of the organization and mobilize the Board, committees, individual members, and vendors as necessary to accomplish the tasks outlined below.
Responsibilities:
- Business Operations – Administer the business of the Guild including budgeting and financial oversight, preparation for and management of Board and shareholder meetings, routine administrative activities, business planning, business continuity, cyber security, insurance coverage, records retention and knowledge management, committee management, and shareholder and member relations. A top priority will be the implementation of an association/management software solution for the Guild.
- Vendor Selection and Management – Work with the Board to select third party vendors and manage selected vendors to support the operations of the Guild to implement Board strategy and priorities, provide financial and management oversight, ensure high quality and timely performance and establish transparent communication.
- Meetings and Events – Support any and all conferences and programs of the Guild, e.g. the Annual Conference, Fall Forum, Guild Partners, Advisory Forums, Committee meetings. As a part of this function, the Managing Director will work closely with the Guild’s vendors to design and execute these events. A list of the Guild’s events for the past four years and 2023 is summarized below in Section VI.
- Planning and Execution – Operationalize and implement the Guild’s multi-year business plan. Execute new strategic initiatives in cooperation with and through the Board, committees, individual Guild members and third party vendors. Monitor activities of competing site selection entities to maintain Guild leadership in the industry.
- Finance and Accounting – Manage the Guild’s financial affairs in conjunction with the Board, Treasurer, and third party vendors. Execute strategies to ensure the continued profitability and sustainability of the Guild. Ensure compliance with all prudent ethical business and accounting practices.
- Legal and Governance – Ensure that Board elections, operations, and activities conform to the Guild’s bylaws and that shareholder agreements and the code of ethics are enforced. Work with the Guild’s legal counsel to keep these and other documents current and relevant, and to enter into or enforce contract agreements on behalf of the Guild as authorized by the Board.
- Marketing and Communications – Provide strategic and operational leadership in partnership with the Board and the Guild’s marketing and public relations service provider to promote the organization to corporate location decision makers, economic development professionals, and other key stakeholders. Help identify new approaches to traditional and new communication outlets, including the Guild’s social media presence, website and other outward facing marketing avenues. Lead internal and external communications with all Guild shareholders and members, and financial partners and sponsors of the Guild.
- Special Projects – Undertake special projects at the Board’s direction.
III. REPORTING RELATIONSHIPS
The Managing Director will report directly to the Board of Directors and in cooperation with the Chairperson of the Board.
IV. DESIRED ATTRIBUTES AND KNOWLEDGE
- Have the proven ability to guide and execute an organization’s vision and strategy
- Be honorable and ethical in all business dealings and personal relationships
- Have strong financial and administrative background
- Be highly organized and able to work independently
- Have strong computer skills including Microsoft applications and other online platforms
- Guide the Board in effective organizational management techniques and parliamentary procedure
- Be an extremely effective communicator and listener
- Be a passionate advocate for the Guild
- Be able to travel on occasion
V. DESIRED EXPERIENCE
- Financial P&L responsibility at the organization, firm or divisional level
- Prior experience in managing third party professional service providers
- Experience on, working with, or reporting to a Board of Directors
- Management responsibilities in a membership organization
- Prior experience directing the activities of a professional or trade association, public/private partnership, or similar organization, is preferred
- Prior experience in site selection and or economic development or business/investment attraction is helpful, but not required.
VI. PREFERRED EDUCATION
All members of the Guild possess college degrees, many have advanced degrees or education beyond four years of college, as do our stakeholders. Candidates for this position are expected to reflect a commensurate level of educational attainment.
VII. HOW TO APPLY
The deadline to apply was 5 PM Eastern on Tuesday, March 14th. The reveiw of submittals began on March 15. .
VIII. GUILD EVENTS 2019-2023
For background on the Guild’s volume of activity, we have listed our upcoming events, as well as those from the past four years, below.
Annual Conferences
• March 25-27, 2019. Salt Lake City.
• March 9-11, 2020. Atlanta.
• June 10-12, 2021. Orlando.
• March 2-4, 2022. San Diego.
• March 29-31, 2023. San Antonio.
Fall Forums
• September 9-11, 2019. Dallas.
• September 23-23, 2020. Richmond. (Postponed to 2022 due to COVID-19)
• September 20-22, 2021. Dallas. (Moved from New Orleans due to Hurricane Ida)
• September 19-21, 2022. Richmond.
• October 16 – 18, 2023. New Orleans.
Guild Partner Events
• March 2, 2022. San Diego – Event at Annual Conference.
• June 23, 2022. Atlanta – Event at Atlanta Braves Game
• September 19, 2022. Richmond – Event at Fall Forum.
• November 10, 2022. Chicago – Event in Downtown Chicago.
• March 29, 2023. San Antonio – Event at Annual Conference.
• June 6, 2023. Dallas – Event in Downtown Dallas
• October 16, 2023. New Orleans – Event at Fall Forum.