Gaston Regional Chamber

Position Title:President/CEO

Reports to: Personnel Committee, Executive Committee and Board of Directors. Direct

Report to the Chair of the Board.

Location:Gaston County, North Carolina

Date:August 27, 2014

SUMMARY STATEMENT

The President/CEO of the Gaston Regional Chamber is the Chief Executive Officer of a member-driven business advocacy organization focused on improving the business climate of Gaston County.

NATURE AND SCOPE

This position reports directly to the Chair of the Board with direction from the Executive Committee and Board of Directors. Responsibilities include the development of short and long term goals as derived from the Board’s strategic plan, creation and execution of annual budget, development of a business plan, management of all staff positions, presentations of Board and member reports of Chamber status, and promotion of Gaston County. The President/CEO must have working knowledge, preferably proven experience, in the field of economic development. This position is responsible for any fund-raising efforts related to the Chamber.

PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTABILITIES

  1. Under the guidance of the Board of Directors, create an annual business plan and put in place staff and volunteer resources for its execution. The business plan should consist of strategies to grow the membership base, enhance the value of membership to existing members, and address the critical issues that are identified by the business leaders and the membership at large. A system of measuring progress toward attainment of the business plan should be established.
  2. With the assistance of the Treasurer and internal accounting staff, create and execute an annual budget that will insure the financial integrity, stability, solvency and growth of the Chamber. Insure that an annual auditor an annual CPA review is conducted in a timely fashion.
  3. Create, manage and make every effort to maintain a professional staff that is customer service-driven and has the ability to execute the Chamber business plan as outlined by the Board. Goals and accountability measures should be set annually by the President/CEO for each staff member, as well as corrective action when required. The Board has one employee – the President/CEO. The President/CEO has authority to hire and fire all staff in consultation with Chamber Legal Counsel and Personnel Committee
  4. Provide Board of Directorswith a monthly report on the status of the chamber to include current financial statements, division/committee/taskforce reports, membership and staff as needed.
  5. Act as the Chamber’s legal agent, signing all contracts and legal documents as directed by the Executive Committee and the Board of Directors. The President/CEO shall be responsible for the maintenance of all official records of the organization as required by State and Federal laws to include, but not limited to, the charter, bylaws, minutes of executive committee and board meetings and all regulatory compliance measures required for 501C6 organizations.
  6. The President/CEO shall serve as the spokesperson for the Chamber, responsible for articulating Chamber positions as it relates to local, state and federal issues.
  7. Create and maintain a good working relationship with local, state and federal elected officials, local business and community leaders as well as leaders at a stateand national level.
  8. Establish a good working relationship with the Gaston County Economic Development Commission (EDC) staff and the Greater Gaston Development Corporation to insure the development of an improved and stronger unified economic development system utilizing all resources in the community, region, state or nation.
  9. Essentially, the President/CEO is directly accountable for the successful implementation of all Chamber initiatives. As the Chamber’s business plan is currently staffed, the President/CEO is directly responsible for ensuring that goals are met for Governmental Affairs/Public Policy Division and Top 50 CEO group or Manufacturer’s Council. This position is responsible for being knowledgeable and providing coaching/training for all other staff relative to all programs within the business plan.
  10. The President/CEO shall facilitate the work of the Executive Committee, Board of Directors and Board of Advisors for the Chamber.

PREREQUISITES AND QUALIFICATIONS

Professional Characteristics

  1. Strong political/business acumen;
  2. Excellent verbal and written communication skills with knowledge of current media communications;
  3. Strategic/visionary thinking skills to encompass present and future economic/business trends;
  4. Professional presence and public speaking abilities;
  5. Ability to engage/energize groups and individuals around initiatives both internally and externally;
  6. Excellent skills in building community consensus and creating synergy to achieve goals;
  7. Ability to lead business community visioning processes;
  8. Excellent interpersonal/team building skills;
  9. Ability to build connections with diverse groups within the community;
  10. Maintains culture of service to members;
  11. Ability to establish/maintain effective working relationships with diverse groups in the community.

Education/Experience

  1. BA/BS degree in Business, Finance, Economic Development or related field;
  2. Minimum of 7 years successful experience in Business or Chamber of Commerce management as CEO, President or General Manager; significant experience as a Chamber volunteer;
  3. Working knowledge and demonstrated experience in the field of Economic Development;
  4. Experience in supervision/management of staff/team;
  5. Demonstrated competence in the use and knowledge of PC based software;
  6. Experienceand expertise in budgeting, finance and administration.

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