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Executive Director Search: Job Description

Organization: Kantara Initiative
Job Title: Executive Director
Job Type: Full Time Contractor
Date Posted: February 6, 2010
To Apply: Send a cover letter and resume to ksearch@elists.isoc.org
Description:

The Executive Director (ED) of the Kantara Initiative is responsible for the successful operation of the organization, including aspects of Operations, Strategy, Business Development, Member Relations, and Marketing. This includes the cultivation of strategic relationships and member recruitment as well as personnel management, all conducted internationally. Additionally, the ED shall perform other activities as required by the Board of Trustees that are commensurate with the duties customarily provided by an Executive Director.

The ED shall be appointed in accordance with the Kantara Initiative Bylaws, report to the Board of Trustees, and operate under guidance provided by the Leadership Council. All permanent Kantara Initiative staff will report directly to the ED, with the reporting relationship of paid contractors depending on the particulars of the project.

The ED position is for a full-time contractor. The Kantara Initiative is flexible regarding work location given the highly distributed and global nature of the organization U.S. residency is not a requirement. In support of the organization’s mission, the ED is expected to travel regularly, both domestically as well as internationally.

Primary Roles & Responsibilities Include:

  • Administrative & Infrastructure Operations
    • Oversee the daily operation of the organization according to the Bylaws and Operating Procedures.
    • Work with the Board of Trustees, Leadership Council, and key personnel to formulate and execute on the organization’s strategy, goals, objectives and future vision.
    • Continually improve the operational efficiency and financial viability of the organization.
    • Develop an annual budget in collaboration with the Treasurer, Officers, Board of Trustees, and Leadership Council.
  • Group / Program Support
    • Participate in Executive Committee, Leadership Council and Board of Trustees meetings, providing periodic reports on all principle activities such as the Assurance Review Board (ARB), Interoperability Review Board (IRB) and other certification programs.
    • Help organize and lead Kantara Initiative conferences and workshops, seeking and collaborating with co-sponsors as necessary.
    • Continually work to accelerate awareness and adoption of Kantara Initiative Recommendations.
    • Develop, implement, and maintain a forward-looking roadmap for Kantara Initiative that covers key milestones for the organization for a period specified by the Kantara Officers.
  • External Liaison / Representation
    • Act as a visible and accessible representative for Kantara Initiative, effectively representing the organization, its programs, work groups, and discussion groups.
    • Actively participate in and present at Industry events, representing the Kantara Initiaive perspectives, goals and activities.
    • Help coordinate activities and projects with other industry consortia, standards bodies, or professional organizations. Act as an executive liaison to other organizations.
    • Help coordinate marketing and other outreach activities to spread the Kantara Initiative perspectives.
    • React quickly to help orchestrate response to Industry news and events that would benefit from Kantara involvement.
  • Membership Growth / Evangelism
    • Recruit organizations to join Kantara Initiative as paying Members, especially at the Board of Trustees level, and encourage active participation across all levels.
    • Identify and drive programs that deliver on the Kantara Initiative mission, expand the organization’s financial viability, and increase the benefit of membership.
    • Continually work to expand Kantara Initiative Membership on all levels, increase participation within existing Members, and improve working relationships with other organizations.

For Reference:

Requisite Skills & Experience:

The successful candidate for the position of Kantara Initiative Executive Director will need to have proven successful experience managing a distributed organization, including budget responsibilities, preferably within a technology intensive area. This includes the skills required to build, manage, and otherwise develop an effective team, including contractors, required to support the operational needs of an international organization.

In addition to the operational aspects of the position, the ED will be required to interact appropriately with member companies, government officials, individual contributors, partner organizations, press, and industry analysts. As such, the successful candidate will be required to demonstrate an ability to act diplomatically and respectfully. A key skill of the successful candidate will be the ability to facilitate the building of consensus across stakeholders with distinctly varying points of view. The candidate will also need to have experience speaking in public and be able to react effectively to press inquiries.

Kantara Initiative is a technical organization supporting the development of open standards and related best practices and policies. As such, the successful candidate will need to display an understanding of the interplay between technologies within various standards organizations and their deployers. While the successful candidate is not required to be fluent in the details within the identity industry to be considered, proven experience dealing with similar issues will be required.

The successful candidate for the ED position must have experience:

  • Managing distributed operational and technical teams.
  • Developing and managing against a budget.
  • Working with international entities.
  • Public speaking and general diplomacy.
  • Designing and executing marketing campaigns.
  • Working with Internet-related issues, technologies, and businesses.
  • Speaking fluent English in business settings.

The successful candidate for the ED position should have an understanding of:

  • Building successful international business relationships.
  • Standards development organizations and their processes.
  • Technology development and adoption phases.
  • Internet technologies.
  • Trends within the Internet and security markets.
  • How to effectively work with business and government partners.

The successful candidate for the ED position would benefit from experience:

  • Working for a not-for-profit organization.
  • Working in more than one country.
  • Speaking languages in addition to English.
  • Chairing long-running, highly distributed, volunteer committees.
  • Working with one or more of the following: SAML, OpenID, IMI, OAuth, SSL/TLS

For more information or to apply for the position, please send email to: ksearch@elists.isoc.org
This job description is also available in PDF format for your convenience.