CHIEF COMMUNITY OFFICER
Pillar Search & HR Consulting is honored to continue its partnership with the Boston Athletic Association (B.A.A.) on the search for the B.A.A.’s new Chief Community Officer. This is an outstanding opportunity for a Boston-area community builder and leader.
ABOUT BOSTON ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION
The B.A.A. is a non-profit organization with a mission to promote a healthy lifestyle through sports, especially running. The B.A.A. is committed to a world where all people can access and benefit from running and an active lifestyle. The B.A.A. advances its mission and vision by organizing mass-participatory running events such as the Boston Marathon, creating or supporting community fitness events, and sponsoring a running club that serves the greater Boston area.
ABOUT THE ROLE
Reporting to the CEO and serving on the organization’s leadership team, the Chief Community Officer will guide the B.A.A.’s community work to facilitate meaningful engagement and impact aligned with the organization’s mission and vision. They will collaborate internally and externally to lead the planning and execution of a successful, cohesive strategy; cultivating and establishing partnerships with diverse groups across all of their communities, including those who are underrepresented at B.A.A. events and the industry overall, while building trust and alignment toward a shared vision of equitable access and participation in our sport.
RESPONSIBILITIES
- Lead the community function at the B.A.A. and partner with other organizational leads to ensure the community strategy is embedded appropriately in all that they do. Help all staff understand this important piece of the organization’s work and how they can contribute to it.
- Create and advance an inclusive community strategy and related programming across functions, in alignment with the B.A.A.’s mission, vision, and strategic priorities; gathering input and evolving the strategy, as appropriate.
- Reach community members throughout Boston, the various cities and towns on and surrounding the Boston Marathon course, and beyond, through culturally competent and authentic ways.
- Establish metrics for community work, monitor implementation and evaluate results of strategy and standard operating procedures. Support the creation and delivery of community impact reporting.
- Serve as a primary contact, representative, and liaison for B.A.A. community actions / strategy with internal and external stakeholders. Play a leading role in community initiatives, and support community discussions and crisis management, as appropriate.
- Explore, pilot, and implement new ways to partner with community organizations and partners.
- Ensure there is an effective process to gather and utilize feedback from community organizations and partners.
- Support and oversee community building through sport, e.g., by including, empowering, and celebrating people around their own health and wellness.
- Oversee the effective management of and outcomes associated with the B.A.A. Volunteer Program, which is composed of 10,500 volunteers annually, and one of their larger communities. Support the internal staff members managing this program.
- Sponsor the Head of Public Relations, overseeing the PR strategy, program and storytelling. Proactively create a productive image for the B.A.A., its work and its vision; ensuring that community engagement work is effectively shared externally.
- Collaborate with the leadership team to make decisions on behalf of the organization; bring forth and balance your functional area’s needs and agendas, as well as the rest of the organization’s. Serve as an advocate and leader for the B.A.A. as a whole.
- Champion diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging (DEIB), as is expected of all leadership team members. Develop and achieve measurable functional goals related to DEIB while modeling inclusive behaviors and proactively managing bias.
- Manage the community function’s budget effectively in partnership with Finance.
- Support the creation of an updated approach/model to staffing community events.
- Oversee, coach, and develop B.A.A. staff who support community and volunteer programming and engagement, as well as community and public relations. Directly manage 3 employees in this space.
- Other related duties as assigned.
WHO WE’RE LOOKING FOR
There are innumerable ways to learn, grow and excel professionally. The B.A.A. knows that people gain skills through a variety of professional, personal, educational, and volunteer experiences. They, along with Pillar Search & HR Consulting, respect this when we review applications and take a broad look at the experience of each applicant. We want to get to know you and the unique strengths you will bring to the work. This said, we are most likely to be interested in your candidacy if you can demonstrate the majority of the qualifications and experiences listed below.
- 8 or more years of related work experience in a community (or comparable) role – with a record of achieving strategic outcomes and delivering on an organization’s mission.
- 10 or more years preferred in the Greater Boston area.
- Comprehensive knowledge of the communities within the Greater Boston area and their various needs.
- Passion for health and fitness and promoting active lifestyles through sport.
- Knowledge and experience of the sport of running preferred.
- Exceptional relationship management and influencing skills; able to build and maintain relationships with a diverse set of constituents. Skillful organizer who can manage and participate in generative conflict.
- Strong communication skills; bilingual language abilities a plus.
- Excellent planning and organizational skills, with an ability to prioritize and support team members with prioritizing effectively.
- Demonstrated success in setting goals and strategic planning around diversity, equity, inclusion, accessibility and belonging initiatives.
- History of inspiring others and leading by example. Genuine enthusiasm for meeting, motivating, and involving people in community activities.
- Proficient in Microsoft 365 tools, including Outlook, Excel, Word, and PowerPoint. Experience in Salesforce a plus.
- Flexibility to attend night and weekend events.
WORK EXPECTATIONS AT B.A.A
The B.A.A. is a hands-on team and seek employees who are passionate about our work and service to their community. The Chief Community Officer is a 40 hours/week, exempt position. The role will require flexibility to work on some weekends and evenings in order to be present within communities and at events. Additionally, there will be longer work hours surrounding B.A.A. race events. Limited local travel required.
COMPENSATION & BENEFITS
The salary range is competitive and commensurate with lived and professional experience. The B.A.A. will promote your professional growth and development by providing access to:
- Competitive health & dental insurance plans
- Life insurance, short term, and long-term disability plans funded 100% by the B.A.A.
- 401(k) matching dollar-for-dollar up to 4% after one year of service, elective deferrals may begin upon hire
- An annual allotment of professional development funding (up to $2,000 per calendar year)
- Paid vacation based on years of service
- 11 paid holidays, 9 scheduled and 2 floating
HOW TO APPLY
To apply to this position, please prepare a resume and cover letter to the attention of the B.A.A. Human Resources team and submit your materials to Cindy Joyce of Pillar Search & HR Consulting at jobs@pillarsearch.com.
Please note that, due to the high volume of resumes received for this role, phone calls are not accepted, and Pillar is unable to have informational calls about the role. Only those candidates selected to move forward will be scheduled for introductory calls as part of the recruiting process.
The B.A.A. is an equal opportunity employer and does not unlawfully discriminate against employees or applicants for employment on the basis of an individual’s race, color, religion, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, marital status, veteran status or any other status protected by applicable law.
About Pillar Search & HR Consulting: A woman-owned business based in Boston, Pillar Search & HR Consulting provides executive search/recruiting and human resources consulting expertise to nonprofit and mission-driven organizations, working with senior leaders and the boards of directors to hire and develop the very best talent across all functional areas of the organization. Pillar’s Founder, Cindy Joyce, is a Certified Diversity Recruiter. For more information, please visit www.pillarsearch.com.
