SRI Executive Seeking CEO for The Power of Nutrition
October 22, 2020 – Executive search firm SRI Executive has been enlisted to find a chief executive officer for The Power of Nutrition, a London-based charitable foundation committed to ending the cycle of undernutrition and helping children grow to their full potential.
The non-profit’s incoming CEO will be expected to be a dynamic and inspirational leader with the ambition and vision to embrace the challenges of the coming decade and to raise the organization to even higher levels of excellence and delivery of impact at scale, said SRI. The individual will be responsible for creating and delivering on the board of trustees-approved strategic plan and for ensuring that the organization succeeds in its mission in an uncertain global environment.
Duties and responsibilities of the role involve leadership and governance, resource mobilization, external representation and communication, and organization and human resources management.
“The candidate will be politically astute, with excellent diplomatic and networking skills and experience in high-level representation with a demonstrated ability to mobilize political and financial support for The Power of Nutrition,” said the search firm. “You will foster an environment that encourages a diversity of thought and cross-cultural collaboration. As CEO you must drive forward and create a culture to support the ethos of the organization and provide value based, clear and mission-driven strategic and adaptive leadership.”
Candidates should have degree-level qualification or equivalent experience gained in a professional environment. They must have experience of working at strategic and operational levels and driving success across organizations and partnerships. Excellent leadership skills, line management experience and the ability to enthuse, motivate and develop teams to deliver results are also necessary, as is experience in dealing with multiple tasks, sensitivities and challenges at the same time.
Other requirements include: seasoned experience in developing strategic relationships and as a coalition builder; a track record of driving quality and innovation and encouraging enterprise in others; excellent all-round communication skills and relationship management abilities; and knowledge and the ability to run an organization that is compliant with all regulatory and statutory obligations, and which is financially stable.
Candidates should have experience working and leading in an entrepreneurial environment and a proven track record of securing new business/investments/fundraising in a tough and competitive financial climate.
Among the skills and qualities needed for the role include: the ability to lead by example with empathy, vision and innovation; curiosity and creativity, while driving purpose through passion; authentic leadership skills, with the ability to be flexible and adaptive to meet the organization’s need; and being highly enthused and motivated with a can-do attitude.
The ideal candidate will be a proactive lateral thinker and thoughtful disrupter who exhibits balanced and fair judgement, high emotional intelligence and integrity, excellent communication and negotiation skills. He or she will also be commercially astute with an understanding of finance and/or fundraising issues as well as relentless and resilient.
The Power of Nutrition’s investors and implementers want the foundation to be a leader in the global effort to eradicate stunting. Undernutrition is the underlying cause of 45 percent of all child mortality, the organization said. In Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia, nearly four in 10 children are growing up with stunted bodies and brains.
“Putting a stop to undernutrition is one of the best means we have to transform children’s health, education and livelihoods,” said the non-profit. The Power of Nutrition is working to unlock $1 billion in new financing to transform children’s futures on a scale that few can achieve alone, including substantial co-financing at country level. The Power of Nutrition has a unique matching model in which it matches any dollar raised to make investments in support of national government nutrition programs, further leveraging funding from implementing partners.
Global Recruiters
Established in 1997, SRI Executive is a global executive search and strategy consulting practice specializing in international development. The firm has partnered with more than 200 organizations to place senior leaders.
Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief; Dale M. Zupsansky, Managing Editor; and Stephen Sawicki, Managing Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media
