Opportunity Resources Seeks CEO for Columbus Citizens Foundation
March 4, 2019 – Executive search firm Opportunity Resourceshas been enlisted to find a new executive director/ chief executive officer for the Columbus Citizens Foundation (CCF), which fosters appreciation of Italian-American heritage and achievement. The assignment is being led by Freda Mindlin, the recruitment firm’s president.
The New York-based non-profit wants a CEO who is a strategic, innovative and charismatic leader with demonstrated strong management and fundraising experience, and who inspires confidence and trust, said Opportunity Resources.
In response to recommendations from outside consultants retained by the foundation’s board to advise on CCF’s future growth and continued relevance, the CEO role has been restructured and expanded, said the search firm. The new leader will be expected to provide a unified, cohesive, complimentary strategic direction for growing and enhancing the foundation’s scholarship program and support for recipients while strengthening the membership and programming benefits of CCF’s sister organization, the House.
The non-profit is primed for growth, said Opportunity Resources. The CEO will be expected to be a motivated, transformational leader who will diplomatically institute changes, as needed, to achieve the desired higher levels of growth.
Direct Reports
The CEO will report to and work closely with the board of governors. The CEO has seven direct reports including scholarship director, controller, development director, director of marketing and communications, membership director, assistant to the director and general manager of the House and executive chef.
The CEO’s scope of responsibilities will include strategic planning and implementation; fundraising and budgeting; communications and public relations; marketing; operations and administration, said the search firm. The CEO will assess the organizational capacity to implement strategies and goals and report gaps in the organization’s systems and staff to the board and recommend corrective measures to be taken.
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Candidates must have at least 15 years of experience gained in progressively senior positions, preferably at a non-profit educational, cultural, philanthropic or social service organization or related field with responsibilities and complexity similar to CCF, said Opportunity Resources. The individual should also have prior success leading people, raising money, managing finances and working with a board. Candidates from the business sector with relevant experience will also be considered. Prospects based in the New York City Metro/Tri-State area are preferred.
The successful candidate will have a keen appreciation for CCF’s mission and the ability to articulate that mission with conviction, said the search firm. Other qualifications include: demonstrated capacity to think strategically and creatively; the ability to negotiate and navigate change; good business acumen and management skills; talent for cultivating and managing relationships with a wide variety of people internally and externally; a strong work ethic; an open, friendly and collaborative personality; high level of self-awareness; and a positive outlook, and a sense of humor.
Non-Profit Cultural Institutions
Columbus Citizens Foundation, founded in 1945, is a philanthropic and fraternal membership organization composed of two non-profit corporations. The foundation awards multi‑year scholarships to elementary, high school and college students. Its sister organization, called the House, is a non-profit corporation that includes the Taverna, the members’ restaurant and social club, and the banquet, special events and members meeting rooms. CCF is governed by an 18-member board of governors.
New York City-based Opportunity Resources, founded in 1986, is a national boutique search and management consulting firm focused on finding leadership for not-for-profit cultural institutions. Clients include museums of all disciplines, visual and performing arts centers, university galleries and museums and related organizations. The firm recently placed top leaders at the Auburn Cord Duesenberg Automobile Museum in Auburn, IN, the Westmoreland Museum of American Art in Greensburg, PA, the Columbia Museum of Art in Columbia, SC and the Currier Museum of Art in Manchester, NH.
Ms. Mindlin, the firm’s president and CEO, has more than 30 years of executive search experience in the not-for-profit cultural sector. This includes several years when she was affiliated with Johnson Smith & Knisely and Ward Howell, two international search firms where she managed their not-for-profit recruiting practice divisions. She has personally executed or supervised several hundred senior-level executive search assignments for museums in every genre, including history, science and visual art and performing arts organizations throughout the country.
Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief; Dale M. Zupsansky, Managing Editor; Stephen Sawicki, Managing Editor; and Andrew W. Mitchell, Managing Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media
