Hiring a Rare Person for Three Tasks

Maybe you can suggest a candidate?

Person Description

1. Intelligent; well educated. I want to learn from him/her.
2. Eager to learn; coachable. I want to teach him/her.
3. Relocatable to Fresno, Calif., with intent to stay here 5+ years. If married, spouse wants to move to Fresno.
4. Versatile. Excellent writer. Public speaker or can learn. Comfortable on phone with strangers. Can travel 10-20 percent of time.
5. Kind. Deals with adversaries without "gotcha" attitude. Cares about childrennot just abstractions of children.
6. Energetic, yet balanced. Job is insatiable, not mere 40 hours/week. A workaholic who holds his/her family as less important than his/her career is not desirable.
7. Passionate in his/her beliefs.

Job Description

Hat 1: Director of Volunteer Support

In 2004, we plan to plunge into utilizing volunteers to mass market Honest Education. It takes more than a conventional manager to lead volunteers; he or she will need extra helpings of gentleness and tact. For all their talent, energy, and intentions, volunteers are volunteers. The power-of-the-paycheck is absent.

Just like employees, volunteer candidates must be attracted; chosen; trained in methods; equipped with tools; coached and inspired for effectiveness; evaluated. Some need corrective guidance, even re-assignment; sadly, a few will need to be "let go." Further, because we plan to recruit volunteers to manage other volunteers, the Director of Volunteer Support needs to be able to manage managers.

Hat 2: Assistant Development Director

In the wonder world of non-profits, the euphemism "development" is used for fund raising. I will retain primary responsibility for fund raising. In his role as Assistant Development Director, our new person will help me:

• develop direct mail prospecting packages,
• work with consultants to write fundraising letters
• test them on a variety of rented address lists,
• write quarterly progress reports to help donors know that their gifts are being used wisely, and
• assist me research and approach potential major benefactors.

Hat 3: Bridge to the Future

Fresno home-town hero William Saroyan's last words are said to be, "I always thought God would make an exception in my case."

Mirth aside, I'll turn 61 in 2004, and with the health hits I've had, I think it prudent to plan for me to stay in the job for about five more years. To fulfill our vision, we need to move beyond Marshall-as-the-hub-of-the-wheel into a new era where each of us is a thread in a large tapestry. So I expect that each new member of the leadership team to think of him or herself as an understudy with the potential to become president

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