Chief Executive Officer

Summary The Pearl Initiative (PI) is entering the next phase in its growth and is now in the process of recruiting a Chief Executive Officer (CEO) to lead the organisation, with a focus on building a financially sustainable organisation, designing and directing strategies that support and enhance the organisation’s operations regionally.PI is looking for a dynamic CEO to lead its growing team and establish a formal presence of PI in Saudi Arabia, grow awareness of PI’s mission, and build relationships with key corporate partners and lead business development. As CEO, the successful candidate will lead the continued growth of the organisation with support from a regional Board of Governors (the Board) and an active Executive Committee. To succeed, you will already have strong operational and fundraising experience with a focus on scaling impact and building a robust organisation. The right candidate will be a strong ambassador and role model for the Initiative’s mission and values.The right candidate for the CEO role will provide dynamic leadership, vision and direction to the organisation while overseeing and taking ultimate responsibility for all fundraising, strategy development and execution, and day-to-day operations. The CEO will lead a dedicated team at the organisation and liaise closely with the Board and the Executive Committee.About The Pearl Initiative The Pearl Initiative (PI) is the Gulf region’s leading independent, private sector-led non-profit organisation working to improve corporate accountability and transparency across a number of themes, including Anti-Corruption Best Practices, Diversity in Business Leadership, Governance in MSMEs, Governance in Family Firms, Governance in Tech and Governance in Philanthropy. PI was established in 2010 by regional business leaders and the UN Office for Partnerships. PI is the first private non-profit organisation in the Gulf Region to receive special consultative status from the United Nations Economic and Social Council. In 2021, PI launched its updated strategy with bold ambitions for expansion over the next few years resulting in PI Vision 2025.Who is PI looking for?The Pearl Initiative’s CEO must possess a passion for, and commitment to improving the socio-economic environment across the Gulf region, with a focus on expansion and deepening in Saudi Arabia. Reporting to the Board via the Executive Committee of the Board, the CEO will have overall strategic and operational responsibility for the Initiative’s staff, programmes, expansion, and execution of its mission and its fundraising efforts.The CEO must possess at least 10 years of experience significant experience successfully establishing and leading dynamic and multi-cultural teams in a high impact environment. The candidate must possess outstanding communication skills, strong leadership qualities, strong financial acumen, good planning and organisational skills. The candidate will also have had significant experience, achieving core fundraising goals, maintaining positive relationships with key internal and external stakeholders, achieving organisational goals, and maintaining sound financial practices.The CEO will be comfortable engaging in both high-level engagement activities (including public speaking, media interviews, and pitches to senior business executives) as well as taking a hands-on role in fundraising and building a financially sustainable organisastion. The candidate must possess a strong entrepreneurial drive, while demonstrating a proven track record in fundraising from institutional donors, grantors and corporate funders (collectively referred to herein as Funders).The ideal candidate must have a strong interest in business development, executive and Board management and building strategic relationships with PI’s partners. The candidate should have a keen interest and experience of building relationships with key donors and has demonstrating examples of business development or being integrally involved and organising campaigns.Primary Duties and ResponsibilitiesPrimary responsibilities include overseeing the organisations wide range of programmes, managing internal and external relationships (including partner and media relations), coordinating a significant number of regional events and recruiting and retaining top talent. Managing the Initiative’s team in an effective and highly productive manner is a critical responsibility. In addition to ensuring that annual KPI’s are regularly set and met, the CEO is also responsible for ensuring that the organisation is reporting regularly to the Board on organisational activities. Furthermore, the CEO is responsible for annual budget management and organisational fundraising.Leadership: Maintain a positive working environment that facilitates collaboration and information sharing and is conductive to attracting, retaining and motivating a diverse and dynamic team.Ensure the holistic and timely recruitment of talent that is dynamic, diverse and driven.Lead, coach, develop and retain and highly performing team.Ensure effective systems to track progress, and regularly evaluate programme impact, to measure successes that can be effectively communicated to the Board, Partner Companies, Funders, and other stakeholders.Fundraising: Develop diverse funding streams and long-term plans to best support the mission and goals of the organisation.Fundraise for all Initiative programmes, securing regional and international Funders.Onboard and retain organisational/corporate sponsors across the Gulf Region.Identify new potential income streams for ongoing or new programmes.Ensure production of effective, high quality proposals and reports.Communications: Set the tone of the Initiative brand through all media, content, and social media communications.Develop strong relationships with members of the media and use these connections to increase brand awareness and media opportunities.Give speeches and provide interviews with comfort.Organisational Growth:Provide leadership in developing and executing programme plans with the support of the Programme Managers and carry out plans as authorized by the Executive Committee and/or the Board.Build further presence in each of the 6 countries across the Gulf Region, cultivate relationships with existing partners and Funders, establish partnerships with new Funders, and enhance communication with all relevant stakeholders in these markets.Finance:Ensure optimal financial performance of the organisation.Maintain processes for proper record keeping and internal financial controls.Develop and manage organisational annual budget for Board approval.Review and report all financial activities to the Executive Committee on a monthly basis.Review analysis of financial activities (income and expense) to discern trends and develop forecasts, identify areas of improvement, anticipate and address any problems in advance.Essential Professional Experience/Skills & Qualifications:A minimum of 10 years of experience running a similar sized organisation and/or a department with a minimal annual budget of USD 5,000,000.Strong communications and interpersonal skills. Strong preference for Bilingual candidates.Proven track record of successful fundraising in the private sector and nonprofit space.Good general knowledge and an interest in corporate governance and its related topics (transparency, accountability, anti-corruption, ESG, family business governance etc.)Ability to point to specific examples of having developed and operationalized strategies that have taken an organisation to the next stage of growth.Strong communications, marketing and PR skills based on experience acting as a spokesperson for an organisation.Unwavering commitment to high quality work and data-driven programme evaluation.Excellence in organisational management with the ability to motivate employees, manage, and develop high-performance teams, set, monitor and achieve KPIs, and closely manage budgets.Experience working and reporting to a board of directors with the ability to cultivate board member relationships.Action-oriented, entrepreneurial, adaptable, and innovative in approach to management.Ability to set and oversee annual work programs and manage the process of work programme approvals in coordination with the Board.Personal Attributes:High energy individual who demonstrates flexibility in work priorities, capable of multi-tasking and operating efficiently and effectively across multiple areas of responsibilityProven ability to set priorities, work independently, be proactive, manage multiple projects and meet deadlinesAbility to thrive in a fast-paced, entrepreneurial environment and has a do what it takes mentality in order to achieve the PI’s objectivesDemonstrated capacity to exercise independent judgment and sound decision-making in the midst of diverse and complex organisational environmentsStrong team orientation, relationship-building and negotiation skills, and ability to collaborate with diverse groups of peopleHighly organised, able to work independently, and thrives under the pressure of deadlines
#J-18808-Ljbffr

---