Chief Executive Officer

 Sustainable Purchasing Leadership Council | Chief Executive Officer

Location: Remote


Founded in 2013, the Sustainable Purchasing Leadership Council (SPLC) is a global community of purchasers, suppliers, advocates, and experts committed to driving positive impact through the power of procurement.

SPLC connects members directly to sustainable procurement expertise and has a proven track record of supporting hundreds of organizations to design and execute meaningful sustainable procurement strategies. SPLC members gain access to one-on-one training, a network of engaged peers, and practical guidance that includes case studies, webinars, contract language, tools, and category-specific resources.

SPLC’s unique value is rooted in its over ten years of knowledge and ability to meet members where they are by helping them build custom roadmaps for sustainable procurement success that contributes to essential environmental and social outcomes.  

Within a fluid and rapidly evolving landscape of sustainability efforts worldwide, the SPLC equips members with the tools and knowledge required to prioritize opportunities for impact, identify the leading standards and approaches for the selected opportunities, benchmark progress, and receive recognition for their impact.

The first decade of the organization’s existence has delivered impressive results. SPLC has attracted into its membership some of the most influential sustainable procurement leaders globally due to the organization’s deep understanding of the challenges buyers and suppliers face today and its ability to design a meaningful community of practice to support its members. As its membership has grown and diversified, SPLC has maintained deep integrity around its mission, principles, and commitment to a genuine leadership agenda.

SPLC is preparing for its next stage of growth, to mature and grow into a resilient and impactful organization that continues to deliver both: 1) unique and lasting value to its member organizations; and 2) meaningful contributions to advancing a sustainable future. The potential for SPLC’s impact is massive, with the organization's capacity to harness the market influence of institutional purchasing (our purchasing members command some $700B in annual spend)  to positively transform the products and practices of industries around the globe.  

About the Chief Executive Officer Position

The Sustainable Purchasing Leadership Council’s next CEO will be a strategic, goal-oriented leader, approaching the internal team and external market with integrity in every interaction. The CEO will play the critical role of building up this long-lever organization in collaboration with members and allied sustainability and procurement organizations to drive forward social justice and environmental sustainability at every opportunity.

In addition to possessing a deep understanding of the power of procurement and the challenges and opportunities faced by buyers and suppliers globally, the incoming CEO should also be well-versed in leading a membership-based nonprofit social change organization and have experience managing an independent business unit. The CEO should bring a passionate belief in the SPLC’s mission and a curious, problem-solving nature to the job. They should have exceptional team building and collaboration skills with a bent towards creative innovation and partnership development, as opposed to a record of outsourcing to paid “experts.”

This opportunity is uniquely designed for a leader who is personally and professionally driven to advance social, economic, and environmental stewardship through sustainable business strategy. The CEO will engage deeply with membership, and work in partnership with aligned organizations, our strong staff, and Board to design and implement pathways to meaningful impact.

Primary Duties and Responsibilities

Visionary Leadership and Strategic Planning

  • Together with the Board, staff, and membership, bring the organization’s compelling and ambitious vision to reality through developing and evolving actionable strategic plans.

  • Steward the organization’s public interest mission by ensuring ongoing programmatic excellence and rigorous impact evaluation in line with the organization’s strategic plan.

  • Advance the thought leadership role of the organization, both individually and through the broader activities of the organization’s staff, members, and programs.

Financial Management and Resilience

  • Assess the organization's financial health and develop a pathway toward greater financial resilience.

  • Discover and develop new, sustainable revenue sources.

  • Monitor financial management systems and regularly communicate updates to the Board on financial health and risk management matters.

  • Oversee budget development with all functional areas of the organization.

Membership Development and Fundraising

  • Listen and engage deeply with members, Board, partners, funders, and others to develop a nuanced understanding of the evolving context(s) in which the organization works.

  • Actively engage and energize the organization’s membership, board members, committees, partnering organizations, funders, and other stakeholders.

  • Enhance member experience, continuously improve value proposition delivery, and continue building member recruitment and retention.

  • Lead revenue-generating and fundraising activities to support existing program operations and enable strategic expansion.

  • Diplomatically navigate relationships with other organizations, including developing new and strengthening existing strategic partnerships that advance the organization’s mission and strategic goals.

  • Serve as a public face and voice for the organization with key partners, prospective funders, members, and other stakeholders.

  • Continuously improve external communications to enhance the coherence and visibility of the organization’s brand.

Team Leadership and Operational Management

  • Oversee the achievement of strategic goals through excellent leadership and management of staff; recruit, develop, lead, and retain high-performing personnel.

  • Ensure the quality and integrity of finance, administration, fundraising, communications, human resource, legal compliance, and IT systems.

  • Ensure effective systems to track and communicate program progress and successes to the board, members, funders, partners, and other stakeholders.

  • Actively engage, manage, and support the Board of Directors and other high-level advisory groups.

  • Maintain and promote a collaborative organizational culture grounded in shared values.

Qualifications

  • Senior Management; 5+ years in a leadership position supervising executive and/or senior-level staff (e.g., Executive Director, Division Head, Departmental Lead, S/VP).

  • Multi-Stakeholder Collaboration; ability to work with the entire ecosystem of public sector, private sector, and civil society stakeholders, and committed understanding of the value of such multi-stakeholder work.

  • Nonprofit Leadership; experience guiding nonprofit profit strategy and managing operations (e.g., Executive level position at a nonprofit, several years on a nonprofit Board).

  • Experience and Recognized Leadership in a supply chain, sourcing, or related role within the sustainable purchasing space.

  • Financial Operations; experience with general financial oversight of a nonprofit; experience preparing financial reports for Boards and stakeholders.

  • Communications; excellent oral and written communication skills; proficient at navigating technical material.

  • Program Management; experience overseeing, developing, and scaling membership-based social change.

  • Dynamic Work Style; ability to work flexibly in an ever-changing setting; comfort with ambiguity and uncertainty.

  • Entrepreneurial Mindset; experience in early stage and/or startup business environment; familiarity with building organizational capacity; ability to move quickly and efficiently even when navigating complex challenges.

  • Visionary Leadership; the ability to clearly envision and rally people around a shared future state and represent an organization’s mission on a large stage.

Please refrain from contacting SPLC directly; all questions should be directed to SPLC-CEO@roseint.com. Use the button below to fill out our form to express your interest in the role. We will be accepting applications until the position is filled.

Click Here to Express Your Interest.