Research Director

The Nonprofit Professionals Advisory Group (NPAG), an executive search and consulting firm dedicated to serving the nonprofit and mission-driven community, is seeking nominations and applications for the position of Research Director.  Over the last five years, NPAG has experienced unprecedented growth and success in its work for the nonprofit community necessitating new hires at every level. Now staffed with a team of four principal consultants and three associate consultants navigating search projects, NPAG is seeking a talented and creative research director to help design and implement a sophisticated and dynamic research and data infrastructure that accommodates for the fast-changing world of person-to-person contact.  Applicants must hold a college degree, with a degree in Library Science or a related field preferred, and be highly self-motivated, strongly detail-oriented, intellectually agile, quick-thinking, and boundlessly curious.  The ideal candidate will additionally have a minimum of five to seven years work experience, highly-developed research skills, comfort working flexible hours as needed, and a strong personal commitment and understanding of the various segments that make up the nonprofit community. 

History and Mission of the Nonprofit Professionals Advisory Group

The Nonprofit Professionals Advisory Group is one of the fastest growing executive search firms serving the nonprofit sector.  Only five years old, the firm has established itself nationally and internationally through its service to mission-driven organizations across the globe.  Its website was recently named by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation as one of the “best resources on the web” for nonprofit job seekers.  Yet what is most unique about NPAG is that it is a business developed and managed virtually, optimizing the expansion of its networks through consultant offices in New York, Washington, DC, Boston, and Moscow, Russia.  NPAG’s virtual infrastructure enables it to leverage new technologies and to unbundle highly sought after and once “exclusive-to-the-well-heeled” retained search services to provide its clients higher quality, lower cost, and fully flexible services while also offering its employees a creative, energetic, and family-friendly work place.  Also distinguishing NPAG among its competitors is its willingness to provide clients training in executive search so that they may retain the ability to recruit talent to their organization long into the future.   

Laura Gassner Otting founded Nonprofit Professionals Advisory Group in 2002.  Prior to founding NPAG, Laura had a combined career in search and nonprofit leadership, serving as Senior Vice President of ExecSearches.com, a leading web-based search firm for nonprofits, as Vice President at Isaacson, Miller, one of the largest search firms dedicated to the mission-driven sector in the country, as a presidential appointee for the White House Office of National Service, and as a Program Officer for the Corporation for National Service.  Struggling with her seemingly competing desire to attend to her growing family and to serve a burgeoning portfolio of both new and loyal clients, Laura decided to combine her talents in search, technology, and nonprofit leadership to design a modern search firm with a new, innovative, and fully virtual infrastructure that could offer clients higher-quality, lower cost service while offering employees and herself more flexibility and a better work/life balance.  Laura’s knowledge and skill was recently recognized by Kaplan Publishing, who asked her to write a book for those looking to transition from the for-profit to the nonprofit sector; Change Your Career has been widely praised by industry leaders and highlighted in such publications as The Washington Post, The Chronicle of Philanthropy, Wall Street Journal, and BusinessWeek.com.

NPAG’s exceptional team of three Vice Presidents and three Associates is also essential to its success.  The team stems from the nonprofit, academic, search, and professional service sectors and, like their clients, NPAG’s Vice Presidents and Associates understand that high quality work, service-centeredness, and a creative, energetic workplace must come first.  NPAG’s Vice Presidents and Associates bring their formidable combined experience to bear in their day-to-day work and both understand and invest in their clients’ concerns during critical times of leadership transition. 

Opportunities and Challenges for the Research Director

The newly created position of Research Director comes at an important time in NPAG’s growth and development as an executive search firm and, as such, the individual hired will be placed in the center of many of the firm’s activities.  The firm currently relies on a talented team of research and administrative personnel who use their technological savvy to collect data from relevant sectors of the nonprofit community as guided by NPAG’s Vice Presidents and Associates.  However, the growth of the firm will soon outpace its ability to continue to provide the necessary direction and oversight to this team and to provide the depth and relevance of research which our clients have come to expect.  Moreover, as NPAG leadership looks toward the future of consulting for nonprofit organizations in leadership transition, it envisions an expanded role for the research team wherein the research division will be capable of not only providing NPAG Vice Presidents and Associates relevant contacts for executive search projects, but also NPAG clients a professional assessment and analysis of their current and potential market position.  Finally, the Research Director will be a key thought-partner to NPAG leadership as they seek to develop a next generation database that is sufficiently rich in information to provide the firm easy access to candidate, source, and client information yet sufficiently flexible and dynamic to accommodate for the fast-changing world of personal contact.  The Research Director will lead these efforts, working closely with NPAG clients, Vice Presidents, and Associates to develop outreach strategies and to then guide the research and administrative team.

The position will initially be a part-time position with an estimated 10 hour/week work load, but is expected to grow as the firm continues its rapid expansion.  The main tasks the Research Director will be charged to complete include: 

• Leading the research team in its work by interfacing effectively with NPAG clients, Vice Presidents, and Associates at the beginning of each new search to determine the parameters of the search, the candidate experience needed, and both the traditional and nontraditional networks from which the successful candidate might come;

• Directing the research team through effective written and verbal instruction and overseeing their progress as they develop networking and outreach lists as well as paid and free advertising suggestions;

• Exploring the development of a new ‘product’ for interested NPAG’s clients through a professionalization and formalization of the research and outreach strategy that could offer clients a refreshed understanding of their present and potential position and influence in the marketplace;

• Assisting in the development of a next generation database which will capture and codify knowledge and connections developed throughout the firm, is capable of growing in pace with the growth of the firm’s networks, and leverages technology to be maximally efficient and accessible for the firm’s users;

• Keeping NPAG leadership abreast of sector changes and developments identified during client-driven research to ensure the firm continues to be a thought leader in the mission driven world; identifying opportunities to build knowledge in the sector through presentations at conferences, development of NPAG-led curriculum, submissions of articles, or partnering in research studies.

• Participating in company-wide meetings and discussion about systems development and ongoing quality improvement to ensure NPAG benefits from the collective wisdom of all its team members.

Qualities of the Ideal Candidate

While no person is likely to contain all of the qualities sought for the Research Director position, successful candidates will, first and foremost, combine wide-ranging knowledge about the vast nonprofit sector with the ability and motivation to learn about specific segments of the mission-driven community as needed in each new search. Qualified candidates must have highly refined research skills, be capable of broad and deep critical thinking, and have the ability to learn quickly and problem-solve effectively in a fast-moving, technology-dependent environment.  The ideal candidate will work with NPAG through a flexible consulting arrangement and will bring a high level of energy, motivation, and discipline to his/her work.  Additionally, s/he will have: 

• A college degree, with a Masters in Library Science preferred, and five to seven years’ work experience in the nonprofit, academic, or otherwise mission-driven community;

• Exceptional research capabilities, familiarity with the latest research technology, and the ability to translate superb research into easily understandable presentations to clients;

• The ability to work independently and to problem-solve effectively balanced with the wisdom to know when to seek guidance;

• A strong detail-orientation and an unfailing commitment to and pride in quality work;

• Fluency and facility with web-based technology such as search engines, shared calendars, instant messaging, and databases, and both comfort and ability working effectively in a virtual environment;

• A boundless curiosity and a tried and tested approach to research that believes there are no dead-ends, only other roads to pursue;

• The confidence and skill to appropriately question, manage, and advise individuals who are leaders in their fields;

• An inclination toward and excitement about life-long learning and the drive to thrive upon new challenges and opportunities;

• A collegial, team-oriented working style;

• Modesty to accept guidance as needed;

• A healthy sense of humor and appreciation for creativity and fun in the workplace.

To Apply

Applications will be reviewed on a first-come-first-considered basis. Candidates are encouraged to apply as soon as possible. Applications including a cover letter describing your interest and qualifications, your resume (in Word format), and a writing sample should be sent to:  npag-rd@nonprofitprofessionals.com. 

In order to expedite the internal sorting and reviewing process, please type your name (Last, First) as the only contents in the subject line of your e-mail. Please note in your e-mail where you learned of this position.