THE POSITION: PRESIDENT OF C100

For most of its history, C100 had only a modest staff headed by an Executive Director who reported to the Chair of the C100 Board of Directors. The Executive Director focused mainly on administrative functions among the members and between the members and the staff whereas the Chair, together with the Board of Directors, addressed public and policy issues. However, as C100 took a more active role in both U.S. and international affairs and as C100's membership and staff steadily grew, C100's members believed the organization needed a President as a true chief executive to support the Chair, the Board, and the membership to collaborate with its members on diverse C100 programs and activities, to speak authoritatively on C100's behalf to a wide range of public and governmental audiences, to develop and execute the group's strategy, to manage the group's fiscal affairs and development efforts, and to direct and supervise its staff.

Working on-site, the President reports to the C100 Board of Directors and works closely in coordination with the Chair (who is a C100 member elected to that role by the entire C100 membership for a three-year term). The President also manages the C100 staff, which is divided between a main office in New York City and a government relations office in Washington DC.

The President's salary would be in the range of $200,000 to 250,000 per year, depending upon the individual's qualifications and background.

THE PRESIDENT’S ESSENTIAL COMPETENCIES

C100 desires to recruit a President who will possess the following critical skills and attributes.

• Visionary Strategic Leadership: The President must understand and support C100’s twin missions, articulate the value proposition that C100 brings to its members, and be able to envision, develop, communicate, and execute on this vision via a multiyear strategic plan with the Chair, the Board of Directors, and, as appropriate, the full C100 membership in accordance with those two key missions.
• Pragmatic Hands-On Management: The President must have a proven multiyear record of successful direct day-to-day staff management and of close collaborative relationships with members of an active board of directors within a nonprofit organization (or other equivalent and relevant organizational, academic, government, or industry background). The President must also be able to set priorities and assume responsibilities for concrete results, effective team and individual performance, clear roles, goals, and schedules, recruitment and retention of key personnel, proper staff incentives and career development pathways, and management of accountability.
• Pertinent Subject Matter Knowledge: The President must bring to the job knowledge about the history of Asian Americans generally and Chinese Americans in particular and about the history of U.S.-China relations over the past two centuries. The President must also understand the difficult global geopolitical environment facing the United States and China in the 21st Century, especially in the Indo-Pacific region.
• Development Experience: The President will direct C100's successful fundraising efforts, working closely with the Chair to instill confidence and harness the resources of C100 members to increase annual giving and identify additional sources of support including corporate sponsorship opportunities. The President must work well with the Director of Development to ensure stable and sufficient funding for C100 from all of its members and from other donors on a multiyear basis.
• Gravitas, Sensitivity, and Credibility in Communications: The President must represent C100 to government, business, and professional leaders in the United States and China and work and partner with a wide range of other nonprofit groups and associations across C100's twin missions as well as with C100 members and staff. As such, the President must be known and respected across these communities, must have strong interpersonal skills, and must be an effective communicator, both orally and in writing. The President must be able to make clear and persuasive statements and presentations on complex and even controversial topics to diverse domestic and international audiences and the media as well as to the C100 membership itself and staff, and, equally important, must be able to listen well and to cope effectively with divergent views.
• Fiscal Prudence: The President must be able to work closely with the Chair and the Board of Directors and particularly with the Chief Financial Officer to plan and manage each C100 annual budget.
• Ability to Understand and Harness Technology: The President must understand and utilize modern information technology to advance C100’s programs and activities, particularly through use of social media and remote communications and operations, given the dispersed locations of the C100 membership throughout the United States and Greater China and the two C100 offices as well as the global and often real-time reach and power of such technology.

In short, the C100 President must provide thoughtful, articulate, and visionary executive leadership that will be inclusive, transparent, and empowering in a manner that supports and guides the organization's twin missions as directed by the Board of Directors, while embracing the operating model of a member-driven organization.

THE PRESIDENT’S OTHER QUALIFICATIONS

C100 also expects the President to have these other qualifications.

• At least a bachelor's degree, with a graduate or professional degree strongly preferred.
• Must be currently authorized to work in the United States without any employer sponsorship for such work authorization.
• Fluency in English, with additional proficiency in Mandarin Chinese strongly preferred.
• High integrity and ethical standards.
• Respect for equality, diversity, and inclusion.
• The ability to travel regularly, both domestically, particularly between the two C100 offices in New York City and Washington DC, and internationally, particularly between the United States and Greater China.

Applications, including cover letters and resumes, and nominations should be sent to the attention of G. Angela Henry and Mark Tarnacki at C100@PhillipsOppenheim.com.