Regional Talent Network Director Job Description

Categories:

• Talent

Position Description

The Regional Talent Network is a new initiative in Northeast Ohio that is responding to the State of Ohio’s realignment of its workforce development system to be more responsive to employer needs. The state program, called the Ohio Skills Bank, reflects the direct link between talent development and economic growth, and calls for a stronger role by the University System of Ohio in meeting the employment needs of growing companies. Each region of the state is working on how best to implement the Ohio Skills Bank and to develop a stronger talent development system.

In Northeast Ohio, dozens of employers, educators, workforce development professionals, social service agencies and government officials have been collaborating to form a Regional Talent Network that will improve the region's ability to prepare residents for jobs and fill high-demand positions. The Fund for our Economic Future is engaging national workforce development and management consulting firms to work with the Regional Talent Network in its earliest stages to ensure buy-in from business and to establish an operating framework for workforce development in the Northeast Ohio region. The Project Director will work with the CEOs who serve on the network’s employer council, the national consultants, university/community college leaders, work force intermediaries, State officials, chambers of commerce, the Fund, and other players to further refine the Regional Talent Network and establish it as a valued accelerator of talent development in Northeast Ohio.

This full-time Project Director will lead a working group of loaned staff from partner organizations representing the business, education and government-service sectors. The Project Director will report to the steering committee of CEOs, funders and state partners, including the Lieutenant Governor and Chancellor.

CANDIDATE CHARACTERISTICS

This leader should be someone from the region that knows many of the stakeholders, the culture and political structure. This leader would be a risk-taker, not a status-quo leader, a systems thinker and an advocate for change. He or she would value existing best practices and expertise in system realignment that exists in the region. This person should have demonstrated capacity leading diverse teams, high emotional intelligence and demonstrated ability to build consensus across disparate groups.

He or she needs to be “CEO-ready,” since much of the work will involve interactions with employers. At the same time, the Project Director must be able to relate well to the providers of talent, including community colleges, universities, technical schools, work force intermediaries, and social service organizations.

The Project Director would build and leverage partnerships and relationships to facilitate work rather than manage an existing process or network. Most of what this person will need to influence will not be under his or her direct control – but he or she will be working with senior leaders who will be capable of creating necessary change.

The Project Director will be: knitting together a compelling vision; engaging partners to build and resource a staff team using a loaned staff model; finding best practice ideas inside and outside the region and engineering their replication; keeping the innovators of specific projects informed and nurtured; working actively with the leadership group/board; connecting people who don’t normally work with each other; and always looking for the unexpected opportunity to move the overall effort forward. He or she would build an organization, but also would be building a network of innovations that can be invested in and taken to scale throughout the region.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Organizing the leadership team/board. The Leadership Team is key to this initiative. The Project Director would be the critical player in bringing the right people to the table and convincing them that something with this level of risk is worth their commitment of time and resources.
• Partnering with the State on the Ohio Skills Bank initiative. Providing assistance to the State of Ohio and its delegates across the region in the implementation of the Ohio Skills Bank. Coordinating information and resource sharing among employers and education partners to create a framework for regional workforce development decision-making in Northeast Ohio is a key deliverable.
• Brokering dialogue and creating networks across sectors and throughout the region. The integration of the “parts” with each other will be key to long term success. The Project Director will need to take a lead in brokering discussions across the system and across the region, not just within specific sectors. This role is absolutely critical.
• Communications. The Project Director, and “innovations champion,” will need to be engaged in continuously communicating what the challenges are, what the assets are that the region has to work with, and what has to be done to respond to those challenges. Helping people in different sectors understand the intellectual framework, as well as crafting specific messages for specific constituencies (policymakers, chambers, school districts, philanthropy, etc.), will be key. Also key will be challenging the region’s leadership to step up to the plate to make significant change—to face the brutal facts and be willing to commit to a new future.
• Becoming well informed on all the current talent initiatives in cities and counties across the region. Knowing what assets to build upon, including foundation-funded and company-generated initiatives, will be critically important so the Project Director can determine which innovations are worth replicating and investing in. It is also important to know the landscape so that this effort is truly regional and innovative ideas are recognized from all locations.

OTHER DUTIES

• Establishes credibility throughout the region and with the Leadership Team as an effective developer of solutions to regional talent challenges.
• Responsible for driving the Regional Talent Network to achieve and surpass the goals and objectives and manage the budget and cash flows.
• Spearheads the development, communication and implementation of effective strategies and processes. (i.e. growth strategies, change processes, etc.)
• Collaborates with the Leadership Team to develop and implement plans for the operational infrastructure of systems, processes and loaned staff designed to accommodate the objectives of the initiative.
• Motivates and leads a high-performance leadership team; attracts, recruits and retains required members of the Leadership Team.

COMPETENCIES

To perform the job successfully, an individual should demonstrate the following competencies to perform the essential functions of this position.

• Problem solving—the individual identifies and resolves problems in a timely manner and gathers and analyzes information skillfully.
• Oral communication—the individual speaks clearly and persuasively in positive or negative situations, demonstrates group presentation skills and conducts productive meetings.
• Delegation—the individual delegates work assignments, gives authority to work independently, sets expectations and monitors delegated activities.
• Leadership—the individual inspires and motivates others to perform well and accepts feedback from others.
• Management skills—the individual includes partners and staff in planning, decision-making, facilitating and process improvement.
• Judgment—the individual displays willingness to make decisions, exhibits sound and accurate judgment, and makes timely decisions.
• Planning/organizing—the individual prioritizes and plans work activities, uses time efficiently and develops realistic action plans.

EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE

• Masters Degree preferred; emphasis on adult education, business, government relations, and/or marketing. Education is considered to include both the formal/traditional as well as learning from life and work experience.
• 8-15 years of related work experience desired; preferably a combination of assignments in marketing, business development, healthcare, local government relations, consulting, education and training.
• Experience in leading large-scale change and/or complex projects desirable.

COMPENSATION

This position is viewed as a senior management position and will offer competitive compensation.

TIMETABLE

This position is a contract hire to begin as soon as possible (since the Ohio Skills Bank initiative is now in process).

CONTRACT AGENT

Initial funding for this position is provided by the Fund for Our Economic Future. The Greater Akron Chamber will serve as the contract agent for this engagement and the Project Director will work from their offices in Akron, Ohio (but will also travel extensively across Northeast Ohio).

ACCOUNTABILITY

The Project Director will be accountable to the Greater Akron Chamber as fiscal agent for the Partners who are:

The Fund for Our Economic Future
The State of Ohio Department of Development
The University System of Ohio
Canton Chamber of Commerce
Greater Akron Chamber
Greater Cleveland Partnership
Medina County Economic Development Corporation
Stark Development Board
Team Lorain County
Team Northeast Ohio
Youngstown-Warren Chamber of Commerce

APPLICATION PROCESS

Applications are due Tuesda, July 15, 2008. Interested parties should forward cover letter and resume to:

Gregg Cramer
Senior Director, Business Development
Greater Akron Chamber
cramer@greaterakronchamber.org

and

Bradley W. Whitehead
President
Fund for Our Economic Future
bwhitehead@futurefundneo.org