The Opportunity
Future Business Leaders of America, Inc. (FBLA) is seeking an experienced and visionary President & Chief Executive Officer (CEO) to oversee operations, foster member engagement and growth by offering a compelling value proposition, and execute the strategic direction as approved by the Board. The CEO must be passionate about the mission of preparing and inspiring young people to succeed in business leadership roles.
FBLA is headquartered in Reston, VA. There is a strong preference for candidates located in, or open to relocate to, this area. The organization prefers that the selected executive will work from the headquarters office a minimum of three days per week. However, all locations and hybrid arrangements will be considered.
About FBLA
FBLA is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) education association with more than 230,000 middle school, high school, and college members worldwide. FBLA inspires and prepares students to become community-minded business leaders in a global society through relevant career preparation and leadership experiences. FBLA is the largest business Career and Technical Student Organization in the world. FBLA is committed to building upon the organization’s legacy of helping students prepare for careers in business by focusing on academic competitions and leadership development. FBLA has a full-time staff of 15 and a budget of approximately $10M.
The President & CEO Role
The CEO reports directly to a Board of 17 members representing education, business, and the member divisions. The CEO shall have responsibility for the staff structure; supporting the states and chapters in their membership retention and growth; meeting planning and operations; educational publications; professional development and training; legal issues; fundraising; financial and administrative management; technology planning, design, and implementation; and relationship management with strategic partners, sponsors, and external stakeholders.
Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Leadership & Management
- Provide inspirational and mission-driven leadership that reflects the core values and purpose of FBLA.
- Facilitate the strategic planning process, including long-term planning that aligns and supports growth opportunities across current and prospective programs and services.
- Build the organization’s ability to responsibly manage and focus on the execution of chapter, state, and national events across divisions.
- Manage an effective and efficient organization as measured by achievement of priority goals, membership satisfaction and growth, revenue generation, and quality programs and initiatives; obtain and allocate resources aligned with key strategies.
- Ensure the organization is financially sound and meets short- and long-term financial obligations and commitments.
- Attract, retain, and develop staff to ensure achievement of the organization’s mission; provide a team-oriented and motivational leadership style that enhances the effectiveness of the staff.
- Work with the national board, officers, staff and volunteers, as well as members, local, and chapters to build a culture that fosters collaboration within and across the divisions and national FBLA community.
Partnership Development & Revenue Generation
- Engage student, alumni and professional networks; develop and maintain relationships with key influencers and organizations who can aid FBLA in expanding its mission and presence throughout the country.
- Play a critical role in establishing fundraising and funding strategies that target and engage key constituents in FBLA’s work and mission.
- Build a network of external partners who are advocates of FBLA; forge strong relationships with and enhance the organization’s brand identity among key constituents across the business and education landscape; maintain and strengthen ties with long-term supporters through the development of new and innovative initiatives that continue to captivate and excite donors.
- Develop and present strategies of new lines of non-dues revenue, and with board approval, implement these strategies to grow and diversify revenue.
Marketing & Public Relations
- Strengthen and extend the FBLA brand equity; develop and execute a proactive brand building and public relations strategy that supports the membership and financial growth of the organization.
- Act as a principal spokesperson in all venues, including with the media, government officials, educators, and business leaders.
- Modernize FBLA’s communication strategy; utilize social media and website to communicate and connect with the FBLA membership community and other stakeholders, and to ensure that FBLA is positioned among businesses, educators, and policymakers as the premier career student organization.
Membership
- Support the development and execution of a board approved strategy to strengthen the recruitment and retention of members.
- Maximize engagement of members through events and member programs; continuously demonstrate FBLA’s strong value proposition, delivering relevant, high quality programs and initiatives to students.
- Ensure that FBLA offers engaging and innovative opportunities that provide depth of learning experiences and with distinct unique value across each division.
- Effectively lead the change initiatives needed to assure FBLA’s continued role as a thought leader with key constituents in career technical education and business and as a leader in delivering innovative, relevant experiences.
- Ensure member statistics and data are accurately captured and monitored.
Required Skills, Experience, and Desired Qualifications
- 5 to 10 years’ executive management experience in 3 or more of the following areas: nonprofit operations leadership, for profit enterprises, higher education, information systems, fundraising, publications, public relations, government relations, marketing, meeting planning, or finance/accounting.
- An undergraduate degree from an accredited college or university is required. An advanced degree and/or pertinent experience is preferred.
- Excellent coalition-building skills with an ability to communicate and work effectively with a variety of internal and external stakeholders.
- Exceptional communication skills; articulate; exudes passion and gravitas; and has an ability to inspire, engage, and influence others to achieve desired objectives, as well as to promote and expand an organization’s presence.
- Brand building experience; understands how to craft, disseminate, and activate strategic messaging to advance an organization’s mission, brand, and visibility.
- Strong financial acumen with experience in short/long-term budgetary planning that support strategic and operational plans.
- Experience in building a strong fundraising and partnership strategy that ensures a continuous pipeline of funds to support the organization’s operations and expansion strategy; ability to raise funds and/or secure resources to support operational needs; capable of soliciting and securing substantial corporate contributions, major gifts, grants, and investments from a diverse array of donors and revenue sources.
- Experience working with Boards to develop strong governance and accountability mechanisms; an ability to leverage board members’ experiences, wisdom, and perspectives to achieve organizational success.
- An awareness of career technical education, youth development, and economic empowerment; an ability to connect with youth and engage with individuals of diverse backgrounds.
- A change agent who is comfortable creating and driving a fast-paced, ever-changing, and dynamic environment.
- An effective network builder; able to engage senior business executives, industry stakeholders, government officials, educators, and other non-profit leaders to engage in partnerships, programming and governance; able to work across sectors and industries.
- An entrepreneurial approach to thinking about the platforms and strategies needed to prepare young people for a successful future and how to launch new strategies for increased member value; creativity and the capacity to think outside of the box; ability to make innovative and resourceful decisions.
- Demonstrated business acumen to assess the business landscape, identify resource requirements, and market products to meet the needs of diverse constituencies.
Compensation
A competitive compensation package will be offered to attract an outstanding candidate.
To Apply
To apply, please send a cover letter and current resume (Microsoft Word format preferred). The cover letter should outline how your experience fits the requirements of the position as this will be an important factor in considering your candidacy.
Sterling Martin Associates is committed to providing equal opportunity for employees and applicants in all aspects of the employment relationship, without regard to race, religion, color, age, gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), marital status, parental status, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, ancestry, national origin, citizenship, political affiliation, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability, or other applicable legally protected characteristics. All employment is decided on the basis of qualifications, merit, and business need.
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