To AEA members: We would like to make you aware of our new Association Management Company’s work in recruiting an Executive Director (ED) for the American Evaluation Association. An ED Selection Liaison Committee composed of volunteers from the Board is working closely with them on this search and communicating with the Board. The Board will make the selection of the ED after personal interviews with finalists.

Below is the job description. Although we are not looking for an evaluator to fill this position, but, rather, someone with skills in association management, we hope you can use your networks to encourage people who may be qualified for the position to apply. Feel free to disseminate this announcement to those who might have interests and skills for the position.

If you have any questions, please contact any member of our Board liaison group. These are:

Jody Fitzpatrick, president of AEA for 2013 at jody.fitzpatrick@ucdenver.edu

Beverly Parsons, president-elect at bparsons@insites.org

Nicole Vicinanza, Board member at nvicinanza@jbsinternational.com

Kathy Newcomer, Board member at newcomer@gwu.edu

or Ricardo Millett, member of the Selection and Transition Task Force at ricardo@ricardomillett.com

Thank you for your help in disseminating this job description!

Position Description: Executive Director for the American Evaluation Association

SmithBucklin is seeking an Executive Director in our Washington, D.C. office to work closely with the Board of Directors and membership as the chief staff executive for our client organization, the American Evaluation Association (AEA).

The American Evaluation Association is an international professional association of evaluators devoted to the application and exploration of program evaluation, personnel evaluation, technology, and many other forms of evaluation. Evaluation involves assessing the strengths and weaknesses of programs, policies, personnel, products, and organizations to improve their effectiveness. AEA has approximately 7500 individual members representing all 50 states in the United States as well as over 60 foreign countries.

The organization’s mission is to improve evaluation practices and methods, increase evaluation use, promote evaluation as a profession, and support the contribution of evaluation to the generation of theory and knowledge about effective human action. AEA operates under a policy-based governance model with the Board focused on identifying strategic priorities and the Executive Director responsible for all aspects of strategic execution, financial management and business operations.

Candidate Background-The Executive Director will be a versatile executive and possess a broad understanding of association management, serving a volunteer Board of Directors and building consensus among a highly diverse and dynamic membership constituency. Qualified candidates will also demonstrate a track record of collaborative leadership and operational skills that will lead to continued strong growth for AEA in quality, membership, and contribution to the public good.

Consider this-SmithBucklin client association executives lead some of the most prestigious professional associations in the country. They are entrepreneurial in their thinking, yet pragmatic in leading continual growth in member value creation for their client organizations. Managing critical issues such as membership growth, Board leadership development, diversification of organization revenues, attracting new volunteer leaders and overall financial performance is what excites SmithBucklin executives every day. If you share this excitement and have a history of building, growing and running a business, agency, or association, then we would like to hear from you.

Make a difference-SmithBucklin association executives are the agents of change–helping our client organizations achieve their goals and maintain financial health–and are recognized leaders in their respective communities of interest. Now you can be a critical part of the SmithBucklin team. We are looking for a high-energy, high-achieving executive who not only can bring strategic, financial, operational, marketing and talent development skills to our client organizations, but is also able to contribute internally to the overall growth of the Business Trade Industry Practice within SmithBucklin.

Take action-This opportunity will allow you to take your business acumen, leadership, interest in the public good and diversity, political savvy and strategy skills to the next level. If you have 10-15 years of experience successfully growing an organization or business and you understand the opportunities and challenges facing the American Evaluation Association, then take the next step by applying.

Qualifications:

We are looking for candidates with demonstrated experience, personal attributes and a track record of success that includes:

• Leading the growth of a diverse and dynamic organization in an executive role with accountability to the Board of Directors, ideally with direct experience in the public and/or nonprofit sector.

• Developing and executing strategic and operations plans, financial management and budgeting experience. Managing effective and efficient operations, member-centric programs and projects. Ability to set appropriate goals and outcomes.

• Managing communications for public relations, advocacy, education, conferences and networking activities. Strong oral and written communication skills.

• Managing complex relationships and the ability to identify and articulate a strong membership value proposition.

• Experience as an association executive, board member and/or experience in a role with accountability to a volunteer board.

• Appreciation of evaluation as a discipline and field of practice and research.

• Commitment to diversity and inclusion across a large and varied membership, including an international constituency.

• The ability to work in partnership with Board working groups and other organizations including international partners; the confidence and comfort required to surface, confront and resolve conflict internally and externally. Ability to negotiate among the demands of multiple competing stakeholder groups.

• Flexibility, versatility and adaptability, utilizing multiple styles (i.e., can make things happen many different ways). Possessing great stamina, resilience and mental agility and the capacity to cope with ambiguity. Demonstrating excellent holistic/conceptual ability, but also has great capacity for detail; with the ability to do both visioning and task lists.

• Possessing politically savvy, aware of both internal and external politics; and the ability to deal with changing organizational dynamics.

All candidates considered must be able to articulate and follow a code of ethics. A Bachelor's degree required/Master's preferred.

Business Trade associations represent the majority of SmithBucklin's client organizations. Our Business Trade Industry Practice provides full-service management to a mix of 47 trade associations and professional societies operating within the business sectors of manufacturing, wholesale trade, retail trade, distribution, agriculture, education, financial, business to business and consumer services with both local and international chapters. Our Business Trade staff teams help associations create value for the members by delivering strategy and thought leadership, member value creation, networking opportunities, commerce solutions, education and certification, advocacy and promotion and setting industry standards. SmithBucklin's Business Trade Industry Practice collectively manages $70 million dollars in client organization budgets and serves more than 180,000 members.

SmithBucklin is a professional services company specializing in Association Management. We are the world's largest association management company, founded in 1949. The company provides full-service management and outsourcing services to trade associations, professional societies, technology user groups, corporations, government institutes/agencies and other nonprofit organizations. SmithBucklin's mission is to drive growth for its client organizations and provide uncompromised stewardship for their long-term prosperity. SmithBucklin offices are located in Chicago, Washington, D.C., St. Louis and St. Paul, Minn. SmithBucklin is 100 percent employee owned and an Equal Opportunity Employer.

American Evaluation Association│16 Sconticut Neck Rd #290 │Fairhaven MA 02719
1-888-232-2275 │1-508-748-3326 │info@eval.org