Seek and ye shall possibly find
A Seek advertisement for a CEO in Brisbane went up on 11 April 2018. Now while we don't know it was for the PMSA, the recent departure of Rick Hiley after a short lived and seemingly absent tenure in a similar role, and some of the wording makes me think it is an advertisement for the PMSA role.
So let's assume, hypothetically, that it is.
The advertisement did not stay up for very long for such a senior, important, and broad role. Can we assume that the role has been filled? There are quite a few dangers in recruiting so quickly.
The first of course is that the employer already has someone in mind and is 'going through the motions' to appear that they're seeking someone but not really. That's probably not likely given that the advertisement was placed by a recruiter and the fee for recruiters/head hunters based on the alleged salary of the person previously in the role would be about $100,000. That's a lot of money to spend to recruit someone who has already been selected. But the PMSA is not known for spending its money wisely, particularly in recent times.
The main danger in recruiting quickly though is that the selection panel will recruit without knowing their own biases – they will recruit 'someone just like me' and that the unconscious bias of wanting 'one of us', someone who conforms to an ideal they hold of the person they want. Does the person worship at one of our churches would, for example, perhaps be an unspoken pre-requisite. Or it may actually be a pre-requisite, and the organisation will miss out on many highly qualified people. As with the recruitment and appointment of Councilors, they are recruiting from a very small pool.
Faith aside, other unconscious biases include how people look, the school or university they attended, lack of experience with similar faith based organisations, and responding to questions the way they would. Unless people are aware of our own biases, it's not possible to check them in the recruitment process, and it's possible to recruit entirely the wrong person. History would sadly repeat itself. The PMSA has not shown itself as being comfortable with anyone who challenges their accepted way of thinking; it is unlikely they would recruit someone who is likely to do this.
Recruiting too quickly also means that you may miss out on quality candidates. The advertisement went up and then a couple of weeks later was taken down. Has the role been filled? How many quality candidates applied in that time? How many were short listed? It seems very sudden.
A friend of mine who works in recruitment told me that the advertisement was so long and so wordy that it would have put some good candidates off from applying - the length of the advertisement showed a lack of clarity about the role rather than making it attractive to potential candidates.
A few points about the role as advertised:
The advertisement went up while the AICD review is ongoing and did not stay up for very long - meaning a candidate has potentially been selected. The AICD review is not mentioned in the advertisement but the role requires the successful applicant to "Ensure that the organisation has appropriate governance policies in place and that these are regularly reviewed by the Board." What does the word appropriate mean in this context, and to whom must the policies be seen to be appropriate? The current Council? Stakeholders? The NSSAB?
The advertisement also states that: the organisation is
"...One of Australia’s most iconic faith based Not for Profit organisations. Built on strong Christian values, the business plays a critical role in providing strength, support, finance and governance for all its key stakeholders."
Thankfully the word customer was not used. But iconic? More ironic perhaps.
"As this organisation embarks on a new and exciting phase in its development, it will look to develop and implement a new strategic vision and operational model."
We would love to know what the new strategic vision and operational model are, especially as the AICD review is not yet completed. How is it possible to recruit someone in an environment where you don’t know what it is the CEO is expected to achieve?
“Reporting directly to the board, this exciting and pivotal position will be responsible for driving and delivering the commercial and strategic priorities of the organisation, whilst working collaboratively with the Executive Leadership team, the Board and supporting Committees, Business Managers and Church bodies.”
My recruiter friend tells me that any CEO worth her or his salt would be asking for a flow chart of who is responsible to whom, the whole box and dice of reporting lines, the financial links and responsibilities between all those parties, and probably run a mile. Once a decent candidate is shortlisted and was told the employer, a simple google search as part of the candidate’s own due diligence would reveal so much that they would be unlikely to proceed. It makes a recruiters job very difficult when an employer has such a bad reputation.
I actually hope that the advertisement was taken down because someone said it was too soon to recruit, and to recruit so quickly.
We can all but hope.
Job Advertisement
In case you missed it, here is the job advertisement that we suspect was for the CEO of PMSA role.
11 Apr 2018
Location
Brisbane, CBD & Inner Suburbs
Work Type
Full Time
Classification
CEO & General Management, CEO
The Opportunity
Our client is one of Australia’s most iconic faith based Not for Profit organisations. Built on strong Christian values, the business plays a critical role in providing strength, support, finance and governance for all its key stakeholders.
As this organisation embarks on a new and exciting phase in its development, it will look to develop and implement a new strategic vision and operational model.
Reporting directly to the board, this exciting and pivotal position will be responsible for driving and delivering the commercial and strategic priorities of the organisation, whilst working collaboratively with the Executive Leadership team, the Board and supporting Committees, Business Managers and Church bodies.
Key Responsibilities include:
Actively engage key stakeholders to develop, implement and annually review a Rolling Strategic Plan to maximise value and recommend the Plan to the Board for input, review and approval.
Effectively manage the relationships between the organisation and key stakeholders, seeking input on key issues as appropriate.
Communicate regularly with the Chair and other Board members and ensure the Board is being provided with the information necessary to fulfil its legal duties and responsibilities.
Provide leadership to develop and continually reinforce the Vision (Strategic Direction), Mission (Purpose) and Values (Culture) of the organisation.
Ensure that the organisation has appropriate governance policies in place and that these are regularly reviewed by the Board.
Facilitate and participate in an annual evaluation of CEO performance conducted by the Board or relevant Board committee.
Encourage marketing, public relations and communication to ensure that the organisation and its mission, programs and services are consistently presented in a positive light to relevant stakeholders.
Key Skills Required:
Postgraduate qualification in business or related field.
Extensive experience and record of achievements at a CEO level across the Not for Profit or Commercial industry sectors.
Ability to model Christian values, and therefore support the Christian mission of the organisation
Solid leadership and emotional intelligence skills with demonstrated ability to engage others to understand and embrace organisational culture, directions, goals and client service ethos.
Strategic thinking, with the ability to create and articulate a vision and the capacity to plan and prioritise at the strategic level.
Strong governance and risk compliance skill set.
Ability to identify opportunities for change and lead improvement initiatives.
Superior presentation and communication skills, with a personal presence and the ability to act confidently as the public spokesperson for the business.
Demonstrate integrity in all dealings; be honest and open; listen to and consider stakeholder views; and act in a way that reflects the culture and values of the organisation.
Ability to grow an association through steady and continuous improvement against established performance objectives.
For more information please call Callan Raine at Recon Executive on 0411 686 652 or Chris McGowan at Explore The Blue on 0401 448 813. Alternatively, to apply, please click below
