Senior Director, Business Diversity

The Commercial Club of Chicago and Civic Committee Overview

The Commercial Club of Chicago works to shape Chicago’s future to make our region a better place for everyone to live, work, and do business. Since 1877 we have helped shape Chicago into one of the world’s greatest cities. The Commercial Club of Chicago is a membership organization of senior leaders in the region. Our members span the business, education, civic, cultural, and philanthropic sectors – unified by excitement for the future of Chicago. We believe cooperation and an open exchange of ideas are fundamental to success. Today, the Commercial Club continues to address social and economic issues of importance to the Chicago region.

In 1983, the Civic Committee was formed as an entity within the Commercial Club to identify key issues facing the State of Illinois and the greater Chicago region and providing leadership, high-quality research, long-term policy recommendations and programmatic actions for the benefit of the city and region. The Civic Committee is composed of the leaders of the Chicago region’s leading private sector employers and works with public officials and other civic organizations on transformational initiatives to promote our region’s social and economic well-being. The Civic Committee generally serves as the Commercial Club’s lead on policy and initiatives in public safety, business diversity, transportation and infrastructure, and state and local finance.

We also work alongside, and partially fund, the organizations established by us to tackle key issues head-on:

• Civic Consulting Alliance:  Civic Consulting Alliance has an effective model for addressing systemic problems and achieving lasting change. We leverage the power of public-private collaboration through a unique approach to management consulting, to channel Chicago’s proud history of civic engagement.
• Kids First Chicago:  Kids First Chicago’s mission is to dramatically improve education for Chicago’s children by ensuring high-quality public schools are accessible to all families. We believe a healthy education environment where kids, schools, and communities thrive is the key to a world-class city. We believe that those closest to our students – families, community members, and educators – are best equipped to design policies and systems that will improve equity and lead to stronger outcomes for our students, communities, and city.
• P33:  Our ambition is to transform Chicago into a tier one technology and innovation hub and promote inclusive economic growth.

For additional information on the Commercial Club and Affiliated Organizations, please refer to our websites at Commercial Club of Chicago or Civic Committee.

Terms of Employment

This is a full-time position with benefits, reporting to the Senior Vice President for Economic Opportunity. Initial employment will be on a probationary basis, with detailed evaluations and feedback for new employees at the 30-, 60-, and 90-day marks.

Position Summary

The Civic Committee launched the Business Diversity Initiative (BDI) with a vision to make Chicagoland the most prosperous economic region in the country. Our goals are to promote the economic inclusion of underrepresented businesses, increase jobs in underinvested areas like the South and West sides of Chicago, and create an ecosystem of organizations working collectively to sustain change over time. We’ve organized BDI into three pillars (procurement, workforce and ecosystem) through which work will be executed. BDI is steered by a senior executive Task Force.

The Senior Director, Business Diversity will report to the Senior Vice President for Economic Opportunity. The successful candidate will be a strategic leader and execution partner, recognized business diversity subject matter expert, and effective change champion. The successful candidate should have a proven track record of implementing economic inclusion strategies within complex organizations and business functions including supply chain, procurement, asset management, legal, and business development. This role will lead an assigned portion of BDI strategy with a focus on increasing engagement with underrepresented businesses in Chicago. This role will interface frequently with the BDI Task Force and other executive leaders. The successful candidate must be an effective communicator with proven abilities to collaborate across a complex organization, and with local and national stakeholders to construct impactful initiatives and programs that transform business diversity and lead to measurable outcomes.

Essential Functions

• Design and implement business diversity related programs that drive real change and ignite economic inclusion in Chicago.
• Work with a dynamic group of executives, managers and community leaders to increase utilization of underrepresented businesses in Chicago.
• Develop proactive ways of identifying, developing and growing underrepresented businesses in Chicago.
• Support companies in identifying and developing viable underrepresented businesses in high growth sectors/industries based on regional insights/trends.
• Define short, medium and long-term goals for underrepresented business growth. Measure the impact of business diversity initiatives, and manage progress towards goals.
• Facilitate workshops, focus groups, and listening sessions that cultivate understanding, open communication, and empower collaboration throughout Civic Committee membership.
• Attend conferences, meetings and sessions on behalf of the Civic Committee.
• Equip leaders and Civic Committee member organizations with the knowledge, skills, and resources they need to become business diversity champions within their operations.
• Work collaboratively with other organizations including non-profits, universities, governmental and advocacy groups to understand root cause issues impacting economic inclusion in Chicago while working collectively to drive transformative, measurable change.

Communication and Collaboration

• Champion diversity and inclusion at every level (e.g., Civic Committee and Commercial Club members, internal Civic Committee staff, external partners, etc.), promoting awareness and understanding of tangible proven ways of increasing representation, inclusion and engagement of diverse businesses and workers.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams, colleagues, and diverse businesses to achieve shared goals, resolve challenges and drive significant change in Chicago.
• Develop a BDI performance scorecard that includes key performance indicators, data and insights. Distribute to Civic Committee leadership monthly and membership quarterly. Support BDI data requests as needed.

Primary Responsibilities

• Help shape the Civic Committee’s Business Diversity Initiative by using data and constructing programs that drive collective action.
• Advise the Civic Committee by creating impactful goals and action plans aligned with business diversity objectives and leverage best practices from supply chain management, diversity and inclusion and economic development.
• Design and launch impactful Business Diversity programs for involving Civic Committee members’ organizations, using data and standard methodologies. Think beyond the “usual suspects” of business or supplier diversity programs.
• Conduct in-depth assessments of various regional approaches to business diversity, identifying areas for improvement and tracking progress over time. Be the champion of continuous improvement and celebrate wins, big and small.
• Support and guide submissions for external benchmarking surveys and awards, showcasing the Civic Committee’s commitment to business diversity.

Position Requirements

Education and Experience Requirements

• 10+ years of prior, relevant experience leading business diversity or comparable efforts.
• MBA or comparable professional degree preferred but not required.

Required Personal Attributes

• Exude the knowledge, expertise and credibility expected of an initiative leader, influencing decisions and leading others without formal authority.
• Collaborative, innovative, and embodies a willingness to roll up sleeves to get the job done.
• Adept at building strong relationships across departments and levels.
• Able to inspire trust, lead a team, think creatively, and take initiative.
• Natural curiosity and growth mindset for innovation and trying innovative approaches.

Competencies

• Depth of understanding and proven abilities to deploy solutions that lead to increased engagement of underrepresented businesses via supply chain management, procurement, asset management, legal and other organizational third party opportunities.
• A masterful understanding of issues impacting underrepresented business growth including the wealth gap, regional disparities and lack of access (capital, social networks and resources).
• Previous experience partnering with c-suite executives to develop enterprise level business diversity strategies with the ability to influence organizational direction.
• Excellent communication, interpersonal, and organizational skills.
• Strong relationship building, partner management, and interpersonal skills.
• Data and research centric with the ability to uncover hidden business diversity gaps and opportunities.
• Be an innovative leader, staying abreast of emerging trends and standard methodologies to push the boundaries of what’s possible.
• Experienced at presenting to audiences of all sizes.
• Track record of optimally leading and implementing impactful business diversity initiatives within organizations.
• Strong business acumen with the ability to translate business diversity aspirations and initiatives into tangible business outcomes and illustrate ROI.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to translate data into actionable insights.
• Excellent communication, presentation, and facilitation skills, able to engage audiences effectively.
• Excellent project management skills.

Working Environment

The position is in Chicago. Regular travel within the city is required.

We believe that the path to achieving our missions requires our organizations and teams to regularly collaborate, work in teams, maintain collegiality, and provide a space for thought-partnership, all of which are best accomplished in person. However, we also recognize that appropriate flexibility is beneficial to the effectiveness of our employees and our organizations. With that in mind, we offer opportunities for employees to work in a combination of in-person and remote work (“hybrid” option).

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement

The Club and its affiliated organizations are equal opportunity employers and do not unlawfully discriminate against employees or applicants for employment on the basis of any legally protected characteristic, whether actual or perceived, including, including, but not limited to, an individual’s race, religion, color, creed, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation national origin, ancestry, citizenship status, marital status, pregnancy, age, disability, genetic information, veteran status, or other legally protected status. This policy applies to all terms, conditions, and privileges of employment, including recruitment, hiring, placement, compensation, promotion, discipline, and termination.

Compensation

Commensurate with experience; the Club offers a competitive benefits package, subject to specific policy eligibility guidelines.