Head of Association & Operations

Position: Head of Association Performance & Operations
Description Smithbucklin is an employee-owned professional services company with over 600 team members and more than 75 years of success serving the association market. We are looking for a Head of Association Performance & Operations to join our Chicago or Washington, D.C. office. The Head of Association Performance & Operations is responsible for implementing standard operating procedures, assessing association health, identifying areas for improvement, and leading projects to drive growth and innovation across our association management client base.

About Smithbucklin Smithbucklin empowers associations, societies, and communities to enrich and move industries, fields, and professions forward. Working together in a network-based organizational structure, we help organizations operate efficiently and effectively, through the right combination of talent, expertise and technology, which enables growth and mission impact. This role might be a great fit if…
* You are an association guru
* You believe that associations are a key enabler in today's business world
* You are data-driven and performance-focused
* You live for finding better and faster ways to do things
* You thrive on driving growth and improvement
* You enjoy having a wide array of working relationships In this role, you can expect to… The Head of Association Performance & Operations is responsible for: (1) Implementing tools, templates, and standard operating procedures for association management, (2) Running Smithbucklin's Association Excellence Program (AXP), a client satisfaction, self-assessment, and benchmarking tool for association management clients, and (3) Providing proactive and reactive support for special projects on association management clients.

The Head of Association Performance & Operations has one direct report, who is a shared support resource. Implementing Tools, Templates, & SOPs
* Lead the development of tools, templates, and standard operating procedures (SOPs) for the association management unit.
* Ongoing owner and curator of SOPs, including implementation, training, and adoption.
* Create new, update, refine, and improve SOPs and tools as needed.
* Assess adoption as part of overall client health, support implementation where needed, and analyze ROI of efficiencies. Association Excellence Program
* Lead all aspects of Smithbucklin's proprietary Association Excellence Program, including: *

Annual review cycle for 70+ association management clients *

• Health scan type approach to identify areas of success and improvement *
• Meet with internal teams and external clients to review and discuss results *
• Educate Smithbucklin team members and external clients on the process *
• Recommend specific action plans to improve results
  * Develop and evolve the AXP model, including updating benchmarks, refining evaluative framework, and optimizing question strategy.
  * Oversee ongoing development and continuous improvement of underlying survey and reporting technologies
  * Stay apprised of and incorporate latest trends in association performance management
  * Aggregate and analyze AXP and external data to understand trends in Smithbucklin's client base Client Support
  * Work directly with internal client teams to develop plans for: *
• Areas for growth & development, to maximize potential *
• Problem areas, to shore up underperformance and mitigate risk
  * Coach Smithbucklin client leaders on how to address issues and capitalize on opportunities
  * Work on new business pitches and client retention efforts
  * Identify special projects that will drive better performance
  * Analyze data, develop data sources and visualizations that create insights
  * Be a catalyst for growth, change, and innovation Required Experience
  * 10+ years of experience in the association industry
  * 5+ years of experience in a senior leadership role
  * Experience in different types of associations: trade, professional, healthcare, chapters, SIGs, etc. Desired Experience
  * Active Certified Association Executive (CAE) designation
  * Experience in the professional services industry
  * Consulting experience for association industry
  * Experience as a Business Analyst More About…