Those of you following the Vantage Point blog and news are already aware that Denise Baker has started as our new Executive Director.
As an organization develops and grows, both in its programs and its culture, the type of leader that is required changes as well. To recruit a new leader, you first have to identify the strategic goals of the organization and the skills and experience in a leader that would deliver on those goals. As outlined in my last blog post, Setting up for Success: Steps to Executive Director Recruitment, this process is one of the most important tasks facing any not-for-profit board.
One of the foundation documents in the recruitment process is the job description. For Vantage Point’s Executive Director Task Force, the process of writing the job description happened in three parts:
1. Collecting input on the organization’s current mission, future priorities and desired leadership competencies from a number of sources: the current executive director role profile; a focused discussion of the full Vantage Point Board; a survey of a broad range of stakeholders; and additional thoughts that had emerged during the creation of The Abundant Not-for-Profit.
2. Identifying four critical competencies and having an important discussion to align every board member on what those words meant and what behaviours would demonstrate them.
3. Drafting the job description to provide candidates with a complete picture of the organization, its history, values, mission, vision, and strategic direction, along with the ideal qualifications and experiences. In order to be more descriptive, this type of profile is longer and more in-depth than a typical job description. In the end two documents were drafted – a role profile (long version) and job description (short version).
Our key learning was that taking the time to really understand the present and future requirements of the organization is the critical first step in the recruitment process. From there, the role description, and the top critical competencies, became the foundation for providing clarity and agreement among the board for the many difficult decisions that have to be made in the recruitment process.
We’ve provided a template for you to create your own executive director job description and role profile. Download it at www.thevantagepoint.ca
This blog was originally published at www.the vantagepoint.ca
