Executive Director

Our Mission

The Illinois Center for Employee Ownership (ILCEO) is the state’s leading non-profit resource for education, guidance, and support on employee ownership. As part of the national Employee Ownership Expansion Network (EOX), we serve as Illinois’s central hub for free, unbiased information about how business owners can transition to employee ownership.

Our mission is simple: to help business owners, employees, and communities understand the power of shared ownership. Through education, outreach, and partnerships, we promote models like Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs), Worker Cooperatives, and Employee Ownership Trusts (EOTs)—proven strategies that preserve businesses, protect jobs, and build community wealth.

ILCEO offers practical tools and trusted connections—articles, case studies, expert resources, and referrals to qualified professionals—to make every ownership transition informed, successful, and sustainable.

Position Overview

The Executive Director is responsible for overseeing all aspects of the Center’s operations, including strategic planning, program management, fundraising, financial management, staff leadership, and community engagement, while ensuring the organization effectively fulfills its mission by collaborating closely with the board of directors and representing the organization publicly. The Executive Director carries out the vision and mission of the organization.

Responsibilities

Strategy and Leadership

• Working in partnership with the Board of Directors to create the Center’s strategic plan and implement new processes and approaches to achieve it
• Identify, hire and manage effective team members and contractors to support the strategy
• Maintain strong communication with the board of directors, providing regular updates on organizational performance, and ensuring alignment between the board's vision and operational execution
• Identify, hire and manage effective team members to support the strategy
• Provide for all staff and partners a strong day-to-day leadership presence
• Review, design, and execute improvements to organizational structure; find knowledge and skills gaps and help address them
• Represent the Center publically

Fundraising

• Ensure the financial sustainability and stability of the organization
• Identify fundraising targets and lead efforts to raise funds, including but not limited to corporate, individual, foundation, and municipal grants
• Manage grants, including tracking key metrics and completing grant reports in a timely fashion

Financial Management

• Oversee the organizational budget with approval from the board of directors ensuring alignment with the vision and mission of the organization
• Administer and review all financial plans and budgets; monitor progress and changes; and keep the board informed of the organization’s financial status
• Coordinate and lead the annual audit process, liaise with external auditors and the finance committee of the board of directors; assess any changes necessary
• Maintain and execute financial policies procedures, accounts payable and receivable, including contracts

Partnership and Business Development

• Lead outreach and cultivate relationships with potential audiences, including business networking groups, community groups (i.e. chamber of commerce), business advisors, educational institutions and state/local government.
• Cultivate relationships within the professional and service provider community
• Build on existing deep roots in business and community ecosystems
• Cultivate relationships within government & education
• Organize stakeholder convenings
• Implement outreach on succession planning and employee ownership to the business community
• Develop and facilitate educational events to help spread awareness of employee ownership across the state
• Create and maintain a database of contacts and upload to Center’s CRM.
• Submit periodic reports, as requested.
• Attend conferences on behalf of organization

Marketing and Outreach

• Implement outreach to the business community
• Conduct marketing and PR efforts
• Develop and manage web and social media plans
• Create materials for advertising, conferences and displays
• Develop toolkits, templates and presentations to assist business leaders
• Participate in conferences and exhibitions

Operations and Human Resources

• Develops and implements operational efficiencies, including policies and procedures
• Manages all HR, including benefits administration, payroll, business registrations, tax submissions, insurance requirements, etc.
• Ensures organization is in good legal standing
• Manage risk and insurance
• Lead the performance management process that measures and evaluates progress against goals for the organization
• Serve as liaison with organization climate, employee well-being, project updates, proposals, and planning

Qualifications and Experience

• Commitment to social and economic equity
• Financial literacy and proven ability to create and manage budgets
• Experience interacting and reporting to a board of directors, including building and executing on strategic plans
• Track record of successful fundraising and/or grant writing and business development
• Proven ability to lead a nonprofit organization or large department of a similar size
• Excellent written communication and public speaking skills
• Hands-on, engaging leadership style
• Strategic thinker and builder
• Confident decision making
• High personal standard of ethics and accountability
• Experience with grassroots organizing and advocacy a plus
• Marketing or public relations in mainly a business-to-business environment with some business to consumer experience helpful.
• Ability to build and execute social media strategy through competitive research, platform determination, benchmarking, messaging, and audience identification.
• Commitment to continuous learning and personal mastery of new skills/knowledge
• Demonstrated ability to successfully work independently
• Entrepreneurial
• Mission driven with high expectations for the quality of service provided
• Comfortable managing teams and contractors
• A bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience
• Minimum of 10 years business or nonprofit management
• Demonstrated leadership starting or building organizations
• Knowledge of and openness to all forms of employee ownership, including Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs), worker cooperatives, employee ownership trusts
• High degree of familiarity and ability to work independently with Microsoft Office Suite, Google Suite, and social media platforms

Compensation and Benefits

Job Title: Executive Director

Reports to : Board of Directors

Compensation Program : Competitive salary and benefits. Anticipated total salary and benefits package to range from $75,000 to $90,000 for FTE based on experience.

Location : Chicagoland area (work from home or co-working office; significant in-person collaboration required)

Travel: 20%-40% of the time

ILCEO is committed to providing equal employment opportunities and establishing an inclusive and diverse workforce. Our workforce comes from a variety of different backgrounds, and we pride ourselves on hiring team members that have a commitment to social and economic equity.