Women's Council of REALTORS® Begins Hunt for Next CEO

Women's Council of REALTORS® is a nationwide community of approximately 13,000 real estate professionals, including many of the industry's best and brightest. Its network of more than 250 local and state networks in nearly 40 states with volunteer leaders trained to position their groups as a business resource in their REALTOR® communities is the backbone of the Council.

This structure represents the largest network infrastructure in the REALTOR® family, including 1,200 elected officers that drive over 1,500 programs annually focused on business leadership.

Women's Council offers award-winning business leadership programs, including the Network 360 Leadership Conference, and a Women's Council Leadership Institute, carrying out the Council's mission to advance women as professionals and business leaders in the industry and communities members serve.

Business leadership education is also a core purpose of the Council today. The Performance Network Management program provides members specific training in areas including presentation skills, running a business, negotiation skills, and networking and referrals.

Finally, the Women's Council hosts a robust referral network. The average commission income from Council member-to-member referrals is $15,000, with 54% of members referring business to each other annually.

Position Scope

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) serves as the staff leader of the Women's Council and is directly responsible to the leadership team and reports to the Executive Committee for the effective conduct of Council affairs.

As the key evangelist and driver of the organization, the successful candidate will deliver the passion, leadership, and organizational skills needed to drive significant growth, engagement, program excellence, and member customer loyalty. Working closely with the Executive Committee, the CEO will be responsible for leading and driving the execution of the company's strategic mission objectives and related policies.

The successful candidate will be great at building a highly engaged, inspired, and productive staff. They will be adept at balancing their external needs with the effective management and motivation of the team. They will be an out-of-box thinker that will help the staff be resourceful, responsive, and nimble. Under their guidance, the staff will become ever more effective at improving the quality of programming, working effectively with local networks, and continually increasing membership and participation.

The infectious enthusiasm, depth of networking skills, and presentation abilities of the CEO will enable them to represent the organization and secure speaking engagements across the industry and beyond to raise the stature and awareness of the Women's Council of REALTORS®.

The ideal candidate will be adept at identifying and securing partnerships and sponsorships and fostering relationships with high-powered individuals in the industry to further the objectives of the Women's Council membership. They will also have proven skills at expanding the diversity and inclusiveness of the membership and leadership and incorporating DEI disciplines into every component of the organization.

Ideally, the CEO will be able to fully leverage the potential of NAR resources to help develop staff and leadership, increase marketing exposure, and maximize participation in the Council's leadership training programs, events, and local networks.

The successful CEO must have proven abilities to continue to strengthen the financial health of the organization to ensure the Council's programs and events can be enriched and enhanced.

Key Responsibilities

Reports to Leadership Team and Executive Committee – President and the Leadership Team

The CEO Is directly accountable to the Leadership Team and Executive Committee for management of the Council. They are a partner in setting member-centric Council direction, goals, and priorities. The CEO is responsible to provide full transparency on the execution progress of the strategic plan, programs, and events. They will ensure necessary information, liaison, and staff support to committee chairs to enable committees to effectively fulfill their charges. They also carry out other specific responsibilities as officers and the governing board may specify.

The CEO coordinates board meetings and all official functions of the Council and maintains official minutes of the governing board, the annual business meeting, the Executive Committee, and other official meetings.

The CEO is responsible for arming the leadership team with appropriate talking points/presentations. They also sit as ex-officio, non-voting member of the NAR Board of Directors.

The CEO also provides communications to the governing board and provides appropriate detail on the status of Council goals and priorities; informs officers of problems, emerging issues, and intended solutions.

Manages Council Staff of 7

The CEO is responsible for directing, managing, and maximizing the effectiveness and productivity of the Women's Council of REALTORS® staff. They will assess staffing requirements and build an organizational structure to maximize productivity of the staff.

They are solely responsible for the hiring, firing, supervision, and professional development (including individual goals and annual review) of Council staff, providing direction and support in the fulfillment of their responsibilities.

Membership Engagement

The CEO arms the network leaders with research, content and promotional materials to generate increases in membership, engagement, member retention and relevance. They accomplish these important goals while operating within the confines of the Council's charter, bylaws, articles of incorporation, and policies established by the governing board. They build strong working relationships with local and state network leaders. The CEO arms the entire network with materials, marketing, and programs to encourage deeper engagement at the local, state, and national levels.

Program Development and Continual Enhancements

Leadership development is one of the key strengths of the organization. The successful CEO will ensure the Council's programs are impactful, engaging and continually updated. They will ensure development of Council programs, services and activities that meet member needs.

They will also oversee the following program activities:

• Serves as publisher/supervising editor of Council publications.
• Conducts research and related projects on subjects of importance to the membership and prepares and publishes the results.
• Oversees development of education programs to advance the professional, technical, and business skills of the membership, operating within the budget and program objectives approved by the governing board.
• Oversees development and delivery of membership recruitment and retention programs, evaluates results, and recommends policies, procedures, and actions to achieve membership goals.
• Directs the planning, promotion and delivery of national meetings and conferences.

The CEO will also be excellent at generating interest in Council programs by overseeing highly engaging public relations, online marketing, and social media programs. They will also empower the local and state networks to promote Council content and national events.

Manages the Financial Well-being of the Organization

The CEO ensures the organization is financially healthy by effectively managing budgets, cash flow and investments. They will be adept at managing finances and ensuring the organization is financially healthy and sustainable for the long run. They continually pursue new revenue opportunities to increase revenues to provide opportunities to reinvest in new programming and upgrade current member offerings.

The CEO provides regular financial updates to the leadership team, including monthly financial reports and draft annual budget for review and input from the leadership team into the budgeting process.

Manages Council funds in various accounts and financial vehicles in accordance with approved investment policy.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Ensures that diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts are not just a statement but an integral aspect of each of the Council's programs, relationships, services, operations, and leadership. The successful CEO will forge relationships with organizations that service underserved organizations, which is indeed how this organization was founded 85 years ago.

Manages Operation and Company Policies and Procedures

The CEO will develop and document administrative procedures and programs to implement the policies of the governing board and to maintain oversight and transparency of Council programs and activities. Ensures compliance with and regular review of Council bylaws.

The successful CEO will negotiate and execute contracts and commitments as authorized by the governing board or within established policies including but not limited to the lease for office space and any financial/legal/HR services agreements with NAR. They provide methods for maintaining adequate recordkeeping and security for all files, legal and historical documents, and membership and mailing lists. The CEO will also ensure compliance with all legal and regulatory requirements for operation of the Council and will consistently update cybersecurity protocols. They will also build a disaster recovery plan for all elements of the organization.

Strategic Planning

The CEO leads the strategic planning effort in partnership with the leadership team and Executive Committee. They work with staff to operationalize strategic goals and turn initiatives into achievable and measurable action plans and deliverables. They will work with staff to develop key performance indicators to monitor and report on progress. They will host an annual member satisfaction survey to track member awareness, engagement, and satisfaction.

Technology Acumen and Leadership

The ideal candidate will be abreast of today's technologies used to maximize member engagement, renewals, and customer service. Specifically, they will be up to speed on membership management, customer relationship management systems, marketing/social media automation, cybersecurity and website trends. Secondarily, they will need to be in tune with emerging technologies and trends to ensure they are included in leadership training and curriculums for Council events. They will also be skilled at identifying and incorporating technology, outsources and other methods to maximize the productivity of the staff.

Business Development and Partnerships

The successful CEO will dramatically expand the awareness, stature, and impact of the Women's Council of REALTORS® by representing the organization and its mission in industry arenas and in areas of focus of leadership development and women's business priorities.

They will become a member of the National Association of REALTORS® and by virtue of the position become a member of the NAR Institute Advisory Committee and a non-voting member of the NAR Board of Directors. They will forge deep partnerships with many departments within the National Association of REALTORS® to fully leverage resources.

The ideal candidate will have proven success in developing and maintaining effective relationships with other organizations as appropriate to further the purpose and objectives of the Council.

Key Skills

The proactive leader of the Women's Council of REALTORS® will create a culture of innovation, resourcefulness, positivity, and member responsiveness. They will also:

• Be passionate and dedicated to the ideals and goals of the Council.
• Be driven and passionate about their work and capable of working effectively under pressure.
• High integrity with excellent leadership, interpersonal, and motivational skills.
• Possess the ability to balance working effectively to support volunteer leadership while effectively managing internal employees, corporate organization, and outside resources.
• Be able to draw the fine balance between external relationship building while also possessing proven administrative, financial management and organizational skills.
• Demonstrates creativity in identifying and managing resources.
• Is forward thinking, anticipating needs and issues and identifying opportunities.
• Is an excellent communicator, able to articulate, both orally and in writing, the Council's purpose, objectives, and programs, and works effectively with diverse individuals and personalities.
• Be an inclusive team player that inspires leadership and membership at every level.
• Has strong presentation and speaking skills to represent the Council in various forums to further our outreach.
• Minimum of a 4-year college degree, ideally with an emphasis in management, education, or marketing.

Work Location: At the Headquarters office, Chicago, IL

If you are interested in applying for this position, please send your resume to Marilyn Wilson at [email protected].

To view the original article, visit the WAV Group blog.