COOK SILVERMAN SEARCH
MANAGING DIRECTOR

ABOUT COOK SILVERMAN SEARCH

Cook Silverman Search (Cook Silverman) is a retained search firm focused on senior executive positions for nonprofit organizations. Our client base represents a broad range of organizations, including independent schools, universities, conservation and environmental organizations, health care, social service, social justice, museums, science, animal welfare, faith-based organizations, and the arts.

We are committed to providing ethical and exceptional service to every client we serve. We know thousands of professionals in nonprofit organizations throughout the United States, enabling us to help connect the best candidates with the right positions.

With over 450 searches successfully completed in the last twenty plus years, Cook Silverman has a long record of success: a deep bench of senior management, fundraising, marketing, finance, and communications, executives and strong connections within the nonprofit sector that makes us one of the most effective search firms in the business. In addition to our years of experience in the field, our team takes an approach that ensures we have our pulse on the market and an in-depth understanding of the needs of our clients, the potential pool of candidates, and the best methods to reach them.

For more information, please visit www.cooksilverman.com

POSITION OVERVIEW

The Managing Director will be an experienced leader with strategy, seasoned in business development, possessing strong interpersonal capabilities in addition to being a strong people and project manager. The Managing Director will be responsible for managing all aspects of the executive search process with clients and internally with a matrixed search team. 

Effective Managing Directors forge lasting, strategic partnerships with nonprofit client organizations and are responsible for cultivating these partnerships over time, approaching every client engagement as a steppingstone to a longer-term opportunity. 

Position is full time, and candidates must currently reside and have worked in the San Francisco Bay Area for a significant portion of their careers . The position is remote – the successful candidate will work from a home office. 

REPORTING RELATIONSHIPS

The Managing Director works closely with the CEO and the Cook Silverman team as needed to ensure success.

SALARY AND BENEFITS

  • Salary range is $225,000 – $250,000 plus performance-based bonus plan

  • Benefits include:

o   Medical, dental, and vision paid 100% for employee only

o   10 paid holidays

o   2 weeks PTO per year (first year)

o   Workers’ compensation insurance and short-term disability insurance

o   Retirement 401k option

YOU ARE

·        Diplomatic, driven, and an experienced and enthusiastic professional who is passionate about working with nonprofit leaders

·        A tenacious client manager who understands the needs of their clients and is bound by integrity and customer service

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES

Strategy & Vision

  • Develop and execute on a strategy for cultivating potential clients and achieving ambitious business development goals.

  • Monitor client, market, and competitor activity to inform strategy and provide feedback to firm leadership team.

  • Participate in leadership meetings and collaborate to develop best-in-class recruiting and human capital services and products and identify opportunities to
    maximize efficiencies and deepen team impact.

  • Enhance the firm’s reputation by providing exceptional service to clients and by presenting as an industry leader at conferences and throughout various
    media platforms.

Business Development & Partnership Cultivation

  • Generate a minimum of $500,000 in annual sales.

  • Identify and pursue opportunities for business development through leveraging client and candidate networks and referrals.

  • Steward strong client relationships and participate in closing strategic opportunities.

  • Travel for in-person meetings with clients, as needed.

  • Consistently deliver high levels of client service, including thought partnership, accessibility, and the timely responses and deliverables to clients.

  • Serve in a consultative role to clients regarding strategic hiring decisions and organizational development, leveraging the expertise of our Executive Search
    teams to support the development of client talent practices.

  • Work closely with marketing to establish successful programs to support the business development pipeline.

Portfolio & Team Management

  • Lead a portfolio of client engagements and provide effective and diplomatic leadership in a complex, matrixed environment.

  • Set clear expectations for colleagues (search team)and provide on-going direction as needed to ensure high quality and timely deliverables.

  • Ensure detailed and accurate business development forecasting for pipeline as well as data related to client and potential client interactions.

  • Consistently meet or exceed benchmarks and metrics for efficiency and quality.

COMPETENCIES

Ideal candidates will be entrepreneurial and proactive in managing a portfolio of searches in a fast-paced, detail-oriented environment. 

  • BA required, Master’s degree or advanced coursework preferred

  • 15-20 years of relevant experience in recruiting, sales, employee relations, human resources, client services, or other industry or functional expertise

  • Experience as senior staff with nonprofit organizations

  • Demonstrated client management success

  • Exceptional listening and interpersonal skills, including the ability to establish dynamic and trust-based partnerships with clients and candidates

  • Written and oral communication skills of the highest caliber

  • Exceptional project management skills, including the ability to manage multiple projects and competing priorities

  • Strong human management, the ability to motivate, mentor, and coach professional staff to deliver high-quality results

  • Ability to multi-task with excellent attention to detail

  • Ability to travel as required

Required Competencies

  • High degree of political and interpersonal savvy

  • Ability to handle sensitive information with appropriate discretion and strict confidentiality

  • Experience as a key member of a high-performing team

  • Ability to multi-task and adjust priorities in a fast-paced environment

  • Initiative and the ability to work independently

  • High degree of responsiveness and flexibility

  • Sound judgment and professional maturity

  • -Great sense of humor

  • Exceedingly strong work ethic and commitment to customer service

  • Commitment to and identification with the core values of the firm and our client organizations

EQUITY STATEMENT

Cook Silverman takes our role in combating the discriminatory factors that influence barriers many of our candidate’s face very seriously.

These include barriers influenced by historical and institutional factors, particularly racial bias and the gender gap. 

We approach our work by acknowledging and valuing the intersections of race/ethnicity, age, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, national origin, and ability.

We are committed to a nondiscriminatory approach and provide equal opportunity for candidates in all of our search efforts. Cook Silverman embraces the following actions to promote diversity and inclusion in our work towards a more equitable sector:

  • Pursue cultural competency throughout our organization by creating substantive learning opportunities and formal, transparent policies, such as wage
    equity

  • Educate our clients about equitable hiring practices and diversifying their boards and staff to represent the communities they serve

  • Pool resources and expand offerings for underrepresented candidates by connecting with organizations committed to diversity and inclusion efforts

  • Employ best practices for being more intentional and conscious of bias during the recruitment and hiring process, including eliminating gendered keywords
    in job descriptions, appreciative inquiry, having a structured hiring process, directly addressing unconscious bias when discussing candidates with clients,
    and diversifying our networks.

  • Advocate for nonprofit sector policy that promotes diversity, inclusion, and equity

  • Challenge systems and policies that create inequity, oppression and disparity through enforcing and educating clients and candidates on such issues as fair
    and equitable hiring and advocacy work within the sector

  • Demonstrate our commitment to equity and equal pay for all, by posting salary ranges on all opportunity descriptions and highlights.

    Cook Silverman is a woman-owned and operated business and is registered as a California small business.

TO APPLY

To apply for this position, or for additional information on the opportunity, please send a copy of your resume with a cover letter to Victoria Silverman at victoria@cooksilverman.com.

All applications and inquiries will receive a response and be kept strictly confidential. Only qualified candidates will be considered.

Cook Silverman Search is an Equal Opportunity Employer.