Job Description

Sustainable Purchasing Leadership Council | Chief Executive Officer

Location: Remote

Sustainable Purchasing Leadership Council

Founded in 2013, the Sustainable Purchasing Leadership Council (SPLC) convenes buyers, suppliers, and public interest advocates, with a membership base representing over $300 billion in collective purchasing power, in support of social, economic, and environmental stewardship. Within a fluid and rapidly evolving landscape of sustainability efforts worldwide, the SPLC equips members with the tools and knowledge required in order to prioritize opportunities for impact, identify the leading standards and approaches for the selected opportunities, benchmark progress, and receive recognition for their impact. 

The first six years of the organization’s existence have delivered impressive results. SPLC has attracted into its membership some of the most influential procurement representatives globally, due to the organization’s deep understanding of the challenges buyers and suppliers face today, and its ability to design a meaningful community of practice to support its members. As its membership has grown and diversified, SPLC has maintained deep integrity around its mission, principles, and commitment to a genuine leadership agenda. 

SPLC is preparing for its next stage of growth, in order to mature and grow into a resilient and impactful organization that continues to deliver both: 1) unique and lasting value to its member organizations; and 2) meaningful contributions to advancing a sustainable future. The potential for SPLC’s impact is seemingly endless, with the capacity to harness the market influence of institutional purchasing to positively transform industries globally. 

About the Chief Executive Officer Position 

SPLC’s next CEO will be a visionary, ambitious leader, with strong business and fundraising acumen. The CEO will play the critical role of building up this long lever organization in order to transform global supply chains. 

In addition to possessing a deep understanding of the challenges and opportunities faced by buyers and suppliers globally, the incoming CEO should also be well versed in leading a membership-based social change organization, and have experience in managing an independent business unit. The CEO should also have exceptional professionalism and presence, and should be comfortable engaging directly with senior leadership across industries, geographies, and cultures. 

This opportunity is uniquely designed for a leader who is personally and professionally driven to advance social, economic, and environmental stewardship. The CEO will engage deeply with membership, and work in partnership with a strong staff and Board, in order to design and implement pathways to meaningful impact. 

Primary Duties and Responsibilities

Visionary Leadership and Strategic Planning 

• In partnership with the Board, staff, and membership, bring the organization’s compelling and ambitious vision to reality, through the development and ongoing evolution of actionable strategic plans.
• Steward the organization’s public interest mission by ensuring ongoing programmatic excellence and rigorous impact evaluation, in line with the organization’s strategic plan. 
• Advance the thought leadership role of the organization, both individually and through the broader activities of the organization’s staff, members, and programs.

Financial Management and Resilience 

• Assess the financial health of the organization and develop a pathway toward greater financial resilience. 
• Monitor financial management systems and regularly communicate updates to the Board on matters related to financial health and risk management. 
• Oversee budget development with all functional areas of the organization. 

Membership Development and Fundraising 

• Listen and engage deeply with members, Board, partners, funders, and others in order to develop a nuanced understanding of the evolving context(s) in which the organization works. 
• Actively engage and energize the organization’s membership, board members, committees, partnering organizations, funders, and other stakeholders. 
• Enhance member experience, improve delivery on value proposition for members,  and continue efforts on member recruitment and retention.
• Lead revenue generating and fundraising activities to support existing program operations and enable strategic program expansions. 
• Diplomatically navigate relationships with other organizations, including developing new and strengthening existing strategic partnerships that advance the organization’s mission and strategic goals. 
• Serve as a public face and voice for the organization with key partners, prospective funders, members, and other stakeholders. 
• Continuously improve external communications to enhance the coherence and visibility of the organization’s brand. 

Team Leadership and Operational Management

• Oversee the achievement of strategic goals through excellent leadership and management of staff; recruit, develop, lead, and retain high performing personnel.
• Ensure the quality and integrity of finance, administration, fundraising, communications, human resource, legal compliance, and IT systems.
• Ensure effective systems to track and communicate program progress and successes to the board, members, funders, partners, and other stakeholders.
• Actively engage, manage, and support the Board of Directors and other high-level advisory groups.
• Maintain and promote a collaborative organizational culture grounded in shared values.

Qualifications

The ideal candidate will bring:

• Senior Management; 5+ years in a leadership position supervising executive and/or senior level staff (e.g. Executive Director, Division Head, Departmental Lead, S/VP).
• Multi Stakeholder Collaboration; ability to work with the entire ecosystem of public sector, private sector, and civil society stakeholders.
• Nonprofit Leadership; experience guiding nonprofit profit strategy and managing operations (e.g. Executive level position at a nonprofit, several years on a nonprofit Board).
• Experience and Recognized Leadership in a supply chain, sourcing, or related role within the sustainable purchasing space.
• Financial Operations; experience with general financial oversight of a nonprofit; experience preparing financial reports for Boards and stakeholders.
• Communications; excellent oral and written communication skills; proficient at navigating technical material.
• Program Management; experience overseeing, developing, and scaling membership-based social change.
• Dynamic Work Style; ability to work flexibly in an ever changing setting; comfort with ambiguity and uncertainty.
• Entrepreneurial Mindset; experience in early stage and/or startup business environment; familiarity with building organizational capacity; ability to move quickly and efficiently even when navigating complex challenges. 
• Visionary Leadership; the ability to clearly envision and rally people around a shared future state and represent an organization’s mission on a large stage.

To Apply

The Sustainable Purchasing Leadership Council (SPLC)  has retained Schaffer&Combs, a certified B Corporation, to support this high-priority search. In order to apply, please submit an updated resume and thoughtful cover letter to the following link that outlines how your skills and experiences meet the qualifications of the position. 

Please refrain from contacting SPLC directly; all inquiries should be directed to Schaffer&Combs at [email protected]. We will be accepting applications on a rolling basis.

Job Categories: Sustainability. Job Types: Full-Time.

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