The Chatham Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors is seeking an engaged and forward-thinking leader to continue the work of the chamber. The board, volunteers, and staff have worked extremely hard to create a strong organization throughout the years and the next leader will continue this work into the future bringing innovation, creativity, and experience to lead the area’s leading business organization.

THE COMMUNITY

Chatham County is located in the Piedmont area of North Carolina.  It is also known as “The Heart of North Carolina” being in the geographic center of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 76,285. Its county seat is Pittsboro.

Chatham County is part of the Durham-Chapel Hill, NC Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill Combined Statistical Area, which has a population of 2,043,867 as of 2020 census.

Founded in 1771, Chatham County encompasses an area of more than 707 square miles. The county is situated between two of the state’s three largest centers of population and commerce, the Triangle Regional and the Piedmont Triad. Located just 30 minutes from Greensboro and Raleigh, this gives us easy access to Raleigh-Durham Airport and major universities, such as University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, Duke University, North Carolina State University, North Carolina Central University, University of North Carolina-Greensboro, North Carolina A & T University and Elon University.

The county has five incorporated towns within the county: Siler City, Pittsboro (county seat), Goldston, Apex and Cary, which has a small area in the eastern part of the county. We also have many unincorporated communities across the county, all of which have a rich history and unique rural features.

THE CHAMBER

The Chatham Chamber, a county-wide chamber, is a vibrant network of businesses and organizations working together to promote economic prosperity and strengthen our community. With an approximate annual budget of $400,000, we represent approximately 420 member organizations in all parts of Chatham County and the local area. The Chamber promotes strong leadership, networking, education, and programs that encourage partnerships between businesses and the community.

Chamber staff and volunteers work in close relationship with the Chatham County government, the corporate community and related partner organizations. The President/CEO will demonstrate the ability to engage people to work collaboratively, provide direction and resources to staff and volunteers, forge effective relationships, understand, and maintain positive relationships with public officials, pursue new ideas and challenge traditional thinking and assist the Board of Directors with meeting strategic plans and financial goals. 

POSITION SUMMARY

The Chatham Chamber of Commerce President & CEO has the overall responsibility for the complete operation of the Chamber as it involves program, planning, and operations, working under policy guidelines of the Board of Directors and acting in accordance with the policies, procedures, and bylaws of the Chamber. The President & CEO is responsible to the Board for the full range of activities; coordination of the program of work; organizational structure and procedures; motivation of volunteers; income and expenditures; maintenance of membership; employment, training, and supervision of staff; interpretation of policy; and long-range planning.

Primary Responsibilities:

• Responsible for the overall operation of the organization.
• Cultivate, recruit, and engage prospective and current chamber members to sustain and grow our membership.
• Develops and maintains beneficial relationships/partnerships with key organizations.
• Develop, cultivate, recruit, and engage program, initiative, and event sponsors. Recruit new sponsors each year to assist in the growth of the sponsorship program and financial success of the chamber.
• Implement a range of services for our members that will meet their current needs as well as advance the community’s business objectives.
• Plan and promote events that provide opportunities for business-to-business networking.
• Organize and implement programs, activities, and events that allow members to promote their businesses’ products, services, and employment opportunities to the community.
• Recruit and motivate volunteers from the community to participate on various chamber committees, task forces, including the board of directors.
• Responsible to the Board of Directors, including providing management, input and guidance to the Board and its sub committees.
• Serve as the spokesperson and representative of the Chamber to the membership, community, governmental entities and officials, and other community organizations. This will be done through various media sources including, but not limited to, newsletters, public speaking opportunities, public reports and forums, and chamber social media & website.
• Hire, train, motivate, and supervise chamber office staff in a workplace conducive to maximum performance and strong employee and member morale.
• Oversee all accounting functions including auditing, budgeting, financial analysis, capital management, and payroll and works closely with the chamber Treasurer and Bookkeeper/Accountant in maintaining financial accountability.
• Attend meetings of the Executive Board and Board of Directors. Assist the Board Chair with the planning of agendas and organization of the meeting.
• Attend all committee meetings, unless otherwise delegated to an employee.
• Attend municipal meetings and other community meetings as appropriate.
• Other reasonable duties as requested by the Board of Directors.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, ABILITIES

• Proven experience in leadership, management and staff development and additional experience with related personnel issues and HR policies.
• The person will be action-oriented versus reactive, have excellent team building skills, have a consensus building style, be oriented to organizational cohesiveness, and will be an effective negotiator and compromiser who is known as one who reasons with others.
• A strong and decisive person, the CEO will be a risk taker, assertive, courageous, determined, and persistent while tactful and not argumentative.
• Politically sensitive and savvy while not a politician, will be diplomatic to balance interest, and will be both open and open minded.
• Prefer experience in all facets of organization management.
• Experience in working with volunteer boards of directors, leadership training for volunteers, and providing a basis for cooperation and goodwill within the organization.
• Planning and organizational skills
• Strong command of written and verbal communication skills
• Self-starter with a high energy level proven leadership skill
• Creative thinker
• Demonstrated knowledge of office equipment, computers, and software (business, accounting, CRM
• Engaging personality, business acumen, and strong communication skills are essential.
• Ability to create and implement engaging social media and marketing content to promote Chamber events, member news, and general brand of the Chamber.
• Ability to learn new technology systems.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

The selected candidate will have been employed in a senior position, preferably as a manager of a comparable membership/nonprofit organization or similar experiences with a community-focused organization.  Graduate or current attendee of the US Chamber Institute of Organization Management (IOM) status is a plus. A minimum of five years of relevant experience is desired. Experience serving a similar sized budget is a plus.  It is preferred that the ideal candidate possess a bachelor’s degree. An advanced degree in business or public administration would serve as a bonus. Any equivalent combination of education, training, and experience may be considered.

Residence

The successful candidate will be required to live within a reasonable commute to Chatham County and it is preferred that the candidate chosen would reside within Chatham County.

Work Schedule & Other Information:

• This is a full-time exempt position with a monthly stipend for health benefits.
• Office hours are Monday – Friday, 8:30 am to 5:00 pm; breakfast meetings, weekend, and evening events, are expected, as well.
• Ability to adjust schedule to accommodate for events or meetings.
• Must be able to work evenings, weekends, and some holidays.

This is not necessarily an exhaustive list of responsibilities, skills, duties and working conditions associated with this position. It is intended to be an accurate reflection of the current job; however, Board of Directors may revise position and tasks based on business needs including emergencies, staffing needs and workload.

DEADLINE TO APPLY IS DECEMBER 20, 2023

Interested candidates are required to submit a letter of interest, resume/CV, and your expected salary requirements.

Submissions received incomplete will be returned.

Please email documents to:

Anissa Starnes, IOM

Chief Impact Officer

jobs@ygmtrcDOTcom

NO PHONE CALLS

The Chatham Chamber of Commerce is committed to a policy of Equal Employment Opportunity and will not discriminate against an applicant on the basis of age, sex, sexual orientation, race, color, creed, religion, ethnicity, national origin, alienage or citizenship, disability, marital status, veteran or military status, genetic information, or any other legally recognized protected basis under federal, state, or local laws, regulations or ordinances. Applicants with disabilities may be entitled to reasonable accommodation under the terms of the Americans with Disabilities Act and/or certain state or local laws.

About Chatham Chamber of Commerce

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