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Details
Posted: 20-Apr-26
Location: San Ramon
Type: Full Time
Salary: $160,000-$200,000
Categories:
Executive Director/CEO
Additional Information:
Hybrid/Remote is allowed.
Internal Number: 1878
Inventures is a professional services company, based in the San Francisco Bay Area of California, that launches and manages technology alliances and industry associations worldwide using best practices and offering worry-free services that inspire collaboration and accelerate results across various industries. As an operating company of Smithbucklin, an employee-owned professional services company with more than 70 years of success serving the association market, Inventures specializes in serving non-profit, mission-driven organizations that represent a collaborative community within one or more industries.
The Executive Director will serve one or more Boards of Directors of these organizations by driving strategic initiatives, fostering innovation, and leveraging collaborative partnerships to advance the mission of Inventures’ clients. In this highly visible leadership role, the Executive Director will guide the organizations served with vision and resourcefulness, ensuring continued growth, operational excellence, and impact across the industries served. This role requires an individual with automotive electronics industry experience.
As Executive Director, you will provide strategic, financial, and operational leadership for one or more clients assigned. In collaboration with the Board of Directors, you will manage each client’s business operations, drive its mission forward, and ensure organizational excellence across programs, membership, and industry engagement. Your leadership will support the client’s continued growth, enhance its reputation, and expand its value for members.
What You’ll Do
General Administration
- Develop and execute the annual operations plan based on the strategic plan. This will include establishing and monitoring key performance indicators to ensure alignment with strategic goals and continuous improvement.
- Maintain and update governing documents, including bylaws, policies, and best practices.
- Identify and pursue additional revenue opportunities.
- Represent your assigned clients within the respective industries, ensuring visibility and integrity.
- Manage all association contracts according to the board-approved policy.
- Lead a highly effective team and function as a liaison between the team and board.
Leadership & Culture
- Foster a culture of collaboration and excellence.
- Identify emerging trends and technologies to ensure clients remain relevant and forward-thinking in their respective, rapidly evolving industries
Board of Directors & Governance
- Ensure effective governance practices in collaboration with the Board.
- Coordinate Board meetings, including agenda development, materials distribution, and minute-taking.
- Support the Officers in their assigned duties.
- Report on the membership status to the Board.
- Track and report progress on client’s strategic plan, actively contributing to strategic planning cycles, navigating industry disruption, and driving innovation.
Membership
- Develop and execute, in partnership with the Board, strategies to grow and diversify the client’s membership base, ensuring long-term sustainability and relevance.
- Assess member needs and oversee membership recruitment and retention.
- Oversee the annual dues process and oversee effective management of the membership database, including the accuracy of the online Membership Roster.
Events
- Oversee site selection and contracts for member events.
- Partner with leadership and event teams to deliver the member events and client participation in other industry events.
- Oversee event sponsorship, program development, and participation.
Finance
- Monitor financial performance, review and present monthly financial statements.
- Develop annual budgets.
- Oversee investments and annual audits.
- Ensure financial stability and accountability for the organization.
- Identify and mitigate financial risks while ensuring compliance with regulatory and legal standards.
Technology & Communication
- Oversee content strategy, maintenance, and enhancements of the client websites.
- Oversee the development and execution of a comprehensive digital strategy, including social media, email campaigns, content marketing, and ai adoption to amplify client’s visibility and engagement
Sponsorships & Industry Relationships
- Lead sponsorship development, ensuring contracts, invoicing, and deliverables are executed.
- Utilize data analytics to evaluate sponsorship impact and identify opportunities for growth and deeper engagement with complementary organizations and partners.
- Strengthen the client’s role as an industry thought leader.
- Seek opportunities to partner with other complementary organizations.
- Speaking opportunities for clients to be represented.
- Partnership opportunities to build client membership.
- Build relationships with other leaders to keep eye on the pulse of where the client’s industry is heading.
Basic Qualifications
- A bachelor’s degree and at least 5-10 years of executive management experience, preferably within organizational management and collaborative communities.
- Strong expertise in organizational leadership, financial management, and operational excellence.
- Experience leading associations or technical alliances, ideally within automotive or related industries.
- Experience with open collaboration models including open-source software development projects and licensing.
- Ability to effectively communicate to C-level and technical audiences
- Excellent communication and relationship-building skills with boards, members, and partners.
- A proven ability to manage staff, volunteers, and diverse stakeholders.
- Success in strategic planning, membership growth, and sponsorship development.
Key Leadership Skills:
- Strategic thinker with a proven ability to drive organizational vision and innovation.
- Exceptional interpersonal and relationship-building skills with the ability to inspire and influence stakeholders.
- Resilient leader with a commitment to fostering collaboration and teamwork.
Where Do You Fit?
Working at Inventures will offer you countless opportunities to develop transferable skills, acquire meaningful knowledge, and gain rich experiences at an accelerated pace. By working collaboratively with smart, ambitious, multi-talented, genuine, and hardworking colleagues, you will build meaningful, deep, and enduring relationships that will serve you well throughout your career, regardless of your chosen path. In addition, as a 100 percent employee-owned company, Inventures offers all of our employees – regardless of position or compensation – an equal chance to experience fulfillment and reap the benefits of ownership. As owners, our employees control the destiny of Inventures and are unified in the goal of building a great, enduring company.
Our remote environment offers you flexibility as completing a standard 40-hour week, with the possibility of additional hours based on project deadlines.
Equal Employment Opportunity
At Inventures, Equal Employment Opportunity is our commitment and goal. All qualified candidates will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, national origin, gender, age, religion, disability, sexual orientation, veteran status, marital status, or any other protected status designated by federal, state, or local law. Employment is contingent upon the successful completion of a reference and background investigation based on the position.
Inventures will not sponsor applicants for work visas and as a precondition of employment, you must be authorized to work in the United States permanently.
About Inventures
Smithbucklin, a 650-person, employee-owned professional services company with more than 70 years of success serving the association market, with primary offices in Chicago and Washington, D.C. Smithbucklin is the association management and services company more organizations turn to than any other. Our mission is to achieve the missions of the client organizations we serve and provide uncompromised stewardship for their long-term prosperity. Smithbucklin offers full-service management and outsourced services to trade associations, professional societies, technology user communities, industry consortia, charitable organizations, corporations and government institutes. Founded in 1949, Smithbucklin has offices in Chicago, Washington D.C., Old Lyme, Conn., St. Louis, Bethesda, Md., and San Ramon, Calif., and delivers seamless association and event management services worldwide. The company is 100 percent employee-owned. For more information, please visit www.smithbucklin.com or call 1-800-539-9740.Equal Employment OpportunityAt Smithbucklin Corporation, Equal Employment Opportunity is our commitment and goal. All qualified candidates will receive consideration for employment without r...egard to race, national origin, gender, age, religion, disability, sexual orientation, veteran status, marital status or any other protected status designated by federal, state or local law. Applicants are encouraged to confidentially self-identify when applying. Employment is contingent upon successful completion of a reference and background investigation based on position.
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