Job description

The Organization

The Greater Lafayette Commerce (“GLC”) is a nonprofit economic development and chamber of commerce organization serving Tippecanoe County, Indiana, the home of Purdue University. GLC is membership-based and supported through investments by local industries, businesses, governments, colleges and universities, nonprofits and individuals. Its mission is to advance economic and community prosperity for a superior quality of life.

The vision of GLC is that Greater Lafayette will be a vibrant community, where people, businesses and industries come to thrive. GLC is the leading local organization for community initiatives, growth, and economic development. It serves the cities of Lafayette and West Lafayette and 5 other towns in the County along with collaborative efforts in 8 other counties in the west-central region of Indiana. The GLC staff develop and lead high- profile programs and events in support of membership working with the President & Chief Executive Officer, Vice President-Economic & Workforce Development, Vice President-Marketing & Communications and this position, the Vice President - Finance and Administration. The GLC culture embraces team members working collaboratively for the good of all, often assisting in areas beyond traditional job responsibilities, with many opportunities for personal and professional growth. The work environment is dynamic, forward- thinking, fast-paced and goal-oriented. With the addition of this role the Leadership Team will commence implementing EOS, Entrepreneurial Operating System, across the organization.

The 27-member volunteer Board of Directors includes public sector leaders, representatives of larger corporations, nonprofit executives and entrepreneurial business owners. GLC has a 15-member staff and a FY2023 operating budget of $2.5MM. Funding comes from Chamber dues, sponsorships and events, and investment in economic development efforts. GLC has also been awarded a $30MM Regional Economic

Acceleration and Development Initiative (“READI”) grant from the State of Indiana and a $8.0 MM grant from the Indiana Education Foundation in support of talent and workforce development efforts. Overall grant administration will be one of the responsibilities of this role.

Within the structure of GLC, there are four functions: A Chamber of Commerce representing over 900 member organizations, an Economic and Workforce Development Organization, a Marketing and Communications team, marketing the organization and Region, and the Foundation managing $38 Million in grants. The overall annual budget exceeds $2.25 Million.

More information on GLC can be found on its website: www.greaterlafayettecommerce.com.

This role represents the culmination of a reorganization of the GLC leadership team and is critical to the launch of EOS. GLC’s President & CEO and Board of Directors have therefore embarked on a search to recruit a new leader who will join the leadership team to guide the staff and important business activities in Tippecanoe County and the broader region.

Tippecanoe County is in the west-central region of Indiana, approximately 60 miles from the state capital of

Indianapolis and 120 miles from Chicago. The County’s population is 200,000+, which includes the cities ofLafayette (70,800 population) and West Lafayette (44,600 population). Approximately 8.25% of the County’s population is Hispanic or Latino, 7.8% Asian and 5% Black. West Lafayette is home to Purdue University, a world-renowned public research university with over 49,000 graduate and undergraduate students and strong academic programs in science, technology, engineering, math and business. Purdue has been ranked as one of the Top Ten Most Innovative Universities in the nation.

In the early 1820s, Lafayette was founded as a shipping center on the Wabash River. Two hundred years later, the area has a transformed economy with education, manufacturing, healthcare, and services as leading industry clusters. In addition to well established businesses, Greater Lafayette has an expanding entrepreneurial and small business community which make up a significant majority of the Chamber’s members.

The Greater Lafayette area features an outstanding quality of life based on education, affordable housing, an increasingly diverse population, and a myriad of parks and recreational opportunities. There are numerous choices for K-12 education including strong public and private schools in the area. Arts and culture include galleries, community fairs and festivals, a thriving farmer’s market, restaurants, cultural and performing arts.

Greater Lafayette and surrounding communities offer a variety of housing options ranging from historic neighborhoods to renovated lofts to apartments. Leisure and entertainment options include concerts and theatre along with university athletic and artistic events. The proximity to the large metropolitan markets of Indianapolis and Chicago provides other benefits such as an international airports and professional sports.

The Greater Lafayette area and State of Indiana have been recognized on a national level:

• 2021 Indiana Chamber Community of the Year as recognized by the Indiana Chamber of Commerce
• “One of the best small places for business and careers,” Forbes 2018
• “#25 of Top 50 Cities to Start a Small Business, Go.Verizon.com 2021
• “Lafayette - Top 10 Most Livable Small Cities in the U.S.” Smart Asset, 2020
• “Greater Lafayette, #6 Among Nation’s Top 300 Housing Markets,” WSJ+Realtor.com 2021
• Top 5 State in the U.S. for Doing Business, Chief Executive Officer 2019
• State of Indiana AAA Bond Rating, Standard & Poor’s, Fitch, Moody’s
• State of Indiana #1 for Total State Share of Manufacturing Employment

More information on the Lafayette area and Tippecanoe County can be found on the following websites:

• City of Lafayette: www.lafayette.in.gov
• City of West Lafayette: www.westlafayette.in.gov
• Tippecanoe County: www.tippecanoe.in.gov
• Greater Lafayette community information: www.greaterlafayetteind.com
• Indiana Chamber’s Community of the Year: www.youtube.com/watch?v=XpvEdtQSClc

The Position

Location

The Vice President - Finance and Administration position is located in GLC’s offices at 337 Columbia Street, Lafayette, Indiana 47901; telephone 765.742.4044.

Reporting Relationships

The Vice President - Finance and Administration reports to the President & Chief Executive Officer (“CEO”) and supervises three and a half staff members involved in Grant Administration, Grant Management,

Accounts Payables and Receivables, HR, and a suite of outside resources including accounting and legal consultants.

Other important interactions and relationships include executives and employees of GLC member organizations; municipal, county, state and federal elected officials and their staffs throughout the region; representatives of other business, nonprofit and private sector partnership organizations; education officials; members of the media; and the public at large.

Position Charter

The Vice President - Finance and Administration oversees the various staff, budgets, and programs that report through the leadership groups.

Major Duties and Responsibilities include:

• Oversee the annual budget process and monthly financial system and reporting
• Control and evaluate the organization’s fundraising plans and capital structure
• Ensure cash flow is appropriate for GLC’s operations
• Ensure compliance with the law and GLC’s policies
• Ensure grant compliance with all federal and state requirements
• Assist the CEO with building regional relationships and grant support
• Lead the creation of a Regional Development Authority and/or Regional Planning Commission
• Actively identify grant opportunities and lead submission of grant proposals
• Manage the Regional Board of Representatives and READI Funding Committees
• Supervise all finance and grant personnel
• Prepare reliable current and forecasting reports
• Set up and oversee the company’s finance IT system
• Manage GLC’s HR and Benefits programs
• Work with the Leadership Team to make strategic decisions about the organization including staffing, budget and work plans. This may include the adoption of additional responsibilities
• Report to the Board of Directors and to staff about strategic organization direction

Additional responsibilities are to be determined based on the successful candidate’s capabilities and ambition.

Compensation

The Vice President - Finance and Administration is expected to earn an attractive compensation package; appropriate benefits and some relocation assistance may be provided.

The Candidate

Education

A Bachelor’s degree is required, Master’s degree preferred; CPA is considered a plus.

Professional Qualifications

The ideal candidate will demonstrate at least five to ten years of a proven track record of accomplishment and success in an executive or senior leadership position with significant staff management, financial, operational and planning responsibility. This executive may come from any of a variety of backgrounds, e.g.: the top executive of a progressive and successful comparably sized chamber of commerce, or related significant business association or non-profit; experience as the “number two” or other senior-level executive at a larger like enterprise as noted above; or an executive from a complex private or public sector entity. Significant Board interaction and experience leading large numbers of volunteers is strongly desired.

Preferred Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Leadership experience (has effectively served in a top or senior leadership role of a complex corporate, community or economic development organization)
• Strong financial leadership (has managed complex financial systems and grant compliance at the Federal and State Levels)
• Volunteer organization experience (appreciates the value of voluntary organization structure; proven ability to motivate and utilize staff and volunteers)
• Fiscal management (demonstrated ability to manage budget of $500K to $2+ MM)
• Collaborative relationships (demonstrated track record of developing effective relationships built on trust among all sectors and constituents)
• Communication skills (strong communicator with internal and external audiences; good writing skills; ability to develop and make effective presentations; comfortable with public speaking)
• Diversity, equity and inclusion (embraces changing demographic profile of community; commitment to active involvement with minority-owned businesses; promotes diversity and inclusion programmatically)
• Educational institutions (demonstrated collaboration with leaders of large, research-focused universities, community and technical colleges, public and private K-12 schools)
• Public policy (capable of advocating sound public policy and developing effective and even-handed working relationships with elected/appointed officials and their staffs)
• Board relationships (significant exposure to Board development, recruitment and governance)
• Economic/business development (can help influence ED initiatives and outcomes while serving in a supporting role to other GLC staff and established delivery systems)
• Community/regional development (able to identify both local and regional issues and effectively collaborate with regional organizations to achieve common goals)
• Varied industries (experience within a business environment with diverse industries including manufacturing, education, healthcare, services, retail)
• Planning (has successfully developed and implemented both operational and strategic plans)
• Technology (adept at modern technology; actively promotes enhancements and expansion of technology)
• Media/public relations (ability to effectively articulate goals, objectives and policy positions of GLC to the media and the community at large)

Desired personal traits

• Ethical (possesses honesty, integrity and the highest moral standards)
• Genuine (sincere; authentic; transparent)
• Visionary (forward-thinking; seeks best practices; anticipates/suggests enhancements to improve the organization)
• Organized (ability to manage multiple high priority projects, programs, events, people simultaneously while meeting tight deadlines)
• Leadership (willingness and capacity to inspire GLC staff to achieve stretch goals; strategic thinker)
• Relationship building (collaborative; values working with others to achieve positive results; consensus builder; willing and able to work with and through others)
• Teamwork (recognizes many parties are necessary to accomplish big things; speaks of “we” first, not “I”)
• Political acumen (ability to strategically navigate among municipal, county, state and federal leaders)
• Engaging (personable; relates well to people; builds effective relationships; socially adept)
• Strategic (a forward-looking thinker; creative; can develop “outside the box” solutions)
• Energetic (genuinely enthusiastic; strong personal work ethic)
• Independent thinker (can accomplish tasks independently, take charge when needed, act persuasively and persevere while maintaining self-disciple, focus and mental stamina)
• Results driven (well organized; meets established goals and objectives)
• Executive presence/credibility (polished; self-confident; able to rally others and command respect of CEO, Board, GLC staff, business, government and community leaders)
• Staff leadership (empowers staff; inclusive while providing basic direction and allowing staff team to execute; holds staff accountable; serves as a mentor for staff in their own professional development)
• Visible (highly visible to staff, members and business leaders; active in the community)
• Sense of humor (able to enjoy life and see the humor in sometimes difficult situations)

Challenges and Opportunity

The projected first-year accomplishments for the new Vice President - Finance and Administration include:

• Establish presence as Vice President and gain an in-depth control of all financial aspects of GLC and its grant operations
• Initiate and complete the process for organization of the Regional Development Authority and/or

Regional Planning Commission to compete for READI 2.0

• Form effective working relationships with key municipal, county, state and national government leaders, entrepreneurial business owners and corporate executives, economic development, community and tourism partner organizations, university, college and other educational officers and leaders of regional entities
• Evaluate all aspects of GLC operations to include finances and budgets, programs, events, and staff team
• Work with the HR team to successfully retain and hire key personnel
• With the Leadership Team, lead the implementation of EOS
• Identify additional roles and responsibilities as the year progresses

Greater Lafayette Commerce is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

Job Type: Full-time

Pay: From $90,000.00 per year

Benefits:

• 401(k)
• 401(k) matching
• Dental insurance
• Health insurance
• Life insurance
• Vision insurance

Physical setting:

• Office

Schedule:

• 8 hour shift
• Monday to Friday

Supplemental pay types:

• Bonus pay

Ability to commute/relocate:

• Lafayette, IN 47901: Reliably commute or planning to relocate before starting work (Required)

Education:

• Bachelor's (Required)

Experience:

• Accounting: 3 years (Preferred)
• Non-profit accounting: 3 years (Required)
• Business development: 3 years (Preferred)
• Public Policy: 3 years (Preferred)
• Diversity & Inclusion: 3 years (Preferred)
• Grant Management: 3 years (Preferred)

License/Certification:

• CPA (Preferred)

Work Location: In person

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