Chief Operating Officer Job Posting
The South Louisiana Economic Council (SLEC) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation economic
development agency established to support regional economic development in the parishes of
Assumption, Lafourche, St. Mary, and Terrebonne, an area referred to as the Bayou Region. SLEC
is one of eight regional economic organizations officially designated as strategic partners in the
implementation of the economic development policies and programs of Louisiana Economic
Development.
Position: Chief Operating Officer
Salary Range: $65,000 — $80,000
This is a full-time, on-site position based in Thibodaux, LA.
Key Responsibilities
The key responsibilities listed below are intended only as illustration of the various types of work
that may be performed. The omission of specific statements of duties does not exclude them
from the position if work is similar, related, or a logical assignment to the position.
Organizational Strategy
- Develop and implement strategic plans and initiatives to drive economic growth and development across Louisiana’s Bayou Region
- Identifies and maximizes opportunities to leverage existing resources and build a broad coalition of program champions and partners in respective areas of industrial interests.
- Work with stakeholders to identify and prioritize economic development opportunities, including targeting key industries and sectors for growth and development.
- Conduct research and analysis to inform economic development strategies and decision-making.
- Develop and implement programs and initiatives to support small business growth and development, including providing access to capital, training, and technical assistance.
- Identify and pursue funding opportunities to support economic development initiatives, including grants, loans, and public/private partnerships.
Organizational Leadership and Oversight
- Oversee the day-to-day operations of the South Louisiana Economic Council, including managing senior leadership and staff, budget development and implementation, and resource utilization to ensure effective and efficient operations.
- Develops and administers a Sustainability Plan to incorporate funding strategies, including one-year, five-year, and ten-year plans to meet the goals of the management plan and effectively utilize all potential streams of revenue.
- Direct all senior level activities of the Council, including setting organizational goals and topline strategies that will drive regional economic development, high-wage job growth, and small business prosperity; evaluates success of organizational efforts and leads improvements and pivots as needed.
- Ensure Council compliance with all required State, Federal, and Board rules, statutes, and guidance.
Board, Government, and Community Relations
- Build and maintain strong relationships with key stakeholders and community organizations, to foster collaboration and drive economic development as well as maximize awareness and productive utilization of Council resources, incentives, and programs.
- Serve as the Council’s liaison with external agencies and private groups to develop and maintain working relationships.
- Coordinate activities of all committees and subcommittees.
- Perform all other related projects as requested by the CEO
Qualifications
Education and/or Experience
- 3-5+ years of professional experience in related disciplines
- Bachelor’s degree. Experience or coursework in the areas of community and economic development, communications, policy studies, organizational development, business management, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
- Any equivalent combination of education and experience sufficient to successfully perform the essential duties of the job.
Preferred Experience
- Demonstrated work experience in progressively senior positions.
- Demonstrated capacity for engaging and working with senior leadership in the public or private sector.
- A track record of success in fundraising and leading committee members and staff to support and engage in a development strategy.
- Experience with strategic planning, program design, management, and implementation.
- Demonstrated achievement in partnership development or external relations, including an ability to mobilize people and create champions to support the organization’s mission.
- Demonstrated capacity to think strategically and develop and implement tactics to deliver toward achieving strategic goals and to build a diverse coalition of doers to accomplish a goal.
- Demonstrated capacity to develop a plan for fiscal sustainability and leverage existing and future resources and partnerships to do so.
- Experience working with academic and industrial partners.
- Experience with grant writing/proposal development and management
Other Preferred Requirements
- Organizational and time management skills to accommodate changing priorities.
- Highly self-motivated and results driven.
- Outstanding interpersonal skills and an ability and desire to develop and maintain deep relationships with a variety of diverse constituents.
- Ability to interact with general public and other stakeholders as a bridge between the exhibits, work programming, facility and visitors.
- Team building and negotiation skills to collaboratively formulate, implement and evaluate policies and programs to achieve goals and objectives.
- Skills to collect, assess and analyze data to adaptively manage a campaign to deliver a program and develop methodology for program evaluations, assessments and measurable outputs.
The duties listed above are intended only as illustrations of the various types of work that may be performed. The omission of specific statements of duties does not exclude them from the position if the work is similar, related or a logical assignment to the position.
The job description does not constitute an employment agreement between the employer and the employee and is subject to change by the employer as the needs of the employer and requirements of the job change.
The South Louisiana Economic Council and its associated entities are equal opportunity employers. We do not discriminate against employees or applicants for employment on any legally recognized basis or any protected class under federal, state, or local law.