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New Opportunity: Benefits Consultant (Part-Time, Remote, and Flexible Hours)

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Executive Search Boston

Pillar Search & HR Consulting is helping Boston-based Good Measures to find a Benefits Consultant! This is an ideal role for someone looking for a part-time, remote opportunity with flexible hours.

 

Title:  Part-Time Benefits Consultant

Hours:  4-5 hours per week; temp-to-perm possible

Organization:  Good Measures (www.goodmeasures.com)

Location:  Remote until further notice. Once the office reopens, the role may be based in Boston, MA and/or Portsmouth, NH (or may continue as mostly remote, so a local candidate is strongly preferred)

Hours:  Flexible

Reports to:  Chief Administrative Officer

 

About Good Measures:  Good Measures is an exciting startup company that is poised to revolutionize health and nutrition.  Good Measures combines nutrition science, personalized Registered Dietitian coaching, and digital tools to offer people a convenient, effective way to improve their health. We factor in age, gender, medical conditions, medications, physical activity, allergies, and food preferences, to provide individuals with the knowledge and tools to make better eating decisions. Good Measures members can, among other benefits, achieve better nutritional balance, lower their cholesterol levels, lower their blood pressure, lose weight, and better manage their blood glucose levels.

 

About the Opportunity: Good Measures is seeking a part-time Benefits Consultant to join us immediately. The Benefits Consultant will administer a wide variety of benefit programs including medical, dental, life and disability insurance, retirement and leaves of absence, as well as manage benefits-related policies.  Specifically, the Benefits Consultant will be responsible for the following:

  • Partner with Good Measures’ Benefits Broker, insurance companies and vendors
  • Onboard/off-board employees from benefits, including:
    • Present benefits overview/options in new hire orientation sessions
    • Conduct departure meetings with benefits-eligible employees
  • Manage and communicate benefits to all current and potential employees
  • Communicate provisions of all benefit programs to employees.
  • Ensuring compliance with legally required benefit plan documentation and reporting
  • Planning and conducting the annual open enrollment process, which takes place in November/December each year
  • Managing the COBRA process for terminated employees
  • Tracking attendance for an assigned group of employees and responding to questions about time off policies
  • Other projects as assigned

Requirements:

  • Bachelor’s degree preferred
  • 10+ years of experience in benefits management/administration required
  • Advanced Excel skills
  • Strong attention to detail
  • Multi-state and multi-site experience strongly preferred
  • Team player
  • Excellent verbal and written communication skills
  • Proven ability to work in a fast-paced, growing organization
  • Experience with ADP a plus

For Immediate Consideration: Please contact Cindy Joyce of Pillar Search & HR Consultant (Good Measures’ HR Consultant) at cindy.joyce@pillarsearch.com.

Good Measures is an equal opportunity employer that is committed to diversity and inclusion in the workplace. We prohibit discrimination and harassment of any kind based on race, color, sex, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, genetic information, pregnancy, or any other protected characteristic as outlined by federal, state, or local laws. This policy applies to all employment practices within our organization, including hiring, recruiting, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, leave of absence, compensation, benefits, training, and apprenticeship. Good Measures makes hiring decisions based solely on qualifications, merit, and business needs at the time.

A woman-owned business founded in Boston in 2015, Pillar Search & HR Consulting provides executive search/recruiting and human resources consulting expertise to nonprofit and mission-driven organizations, working with senior leaders and boards of directors to hire and develop the very best talent across all functional areas of the organization. 

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Now Hiring! Revenue Accounting Manager for Reading Partners

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Pillar Search is proud to collaborate with Reading Partners on the hiring of their new Revenue Accounting Manager.  This position will be based at the Reading Partners’ headquarters in Oakland, CA. 

The high level:

The Revenue Accounting Manager is a new role best suited for an experienced accounting professional who is detail-oriented, hands-on, results-driven with proven communication skills and a strong work ethic to work in a challenging, fast-paced, nonprofit environment. This person is responsible for the timely and accurate reporting of all revenue, including, but not limited to: temporarily restricted, government, and unrestricted grants as well as deferred revenue, all private donations, other grant awards, and fee for service (FFS) from school partners. This person is also responsible for ensuring revenue is posted to the GL accurately and documented within the Reading Partners CRM (Salesforce) in full accordance with GAAP. The Revenue Accounting Manager will report to the Controller.

 

If you’re looking to apply your vast knowledge of accounting to help a growing nonprofit help more students learn to read, please read on!

 

About Reading Partners:

Reading Partners mobilizes communities to provide students with the proven, individualized reading support they need to read at grade level by fourth grade.

Reading Partners knows that reading is the foundation for all future learning, and the ability to read transforms lives and empowers children and communities to reach their full potential. Research shows that students who read at grade level by fourth grade have a greater opportunity to succeed in school and in life.

That’s why they partner with under-resourced schools and engage volunteer reading partners to work one-on-one with students who struggle with reading.

An evidence-based and community-driven organization, they recruit and train volunteers to work one-on-one with students for 45 minutes twice a week, following a structured, research-based curriculum.

The Reading Partners program model works and is backed by evidence-based research which proves that their students make significant gains in reading. On average, Reading Partners’ students more than double their rate of learning while in the program.

 

What you’ll do:

  • Ensure accurate and timely revenue recognition
    • Coordinate the daily operations related to revenue recognition and establish regular and effective communication channels with designated program and development colleagues.
    • Manage the weekly processing of cash receipts and recording of revenue.
    • Prepare detailed revenue analysis, reconciliations and budget-to-actual variance reports.
    • Ensure all revenue and related accounts are posted to the GL accurately and in accordance with GAAP.
    • Perform monthly close tasks associated with revenue including the preparation of various reconciliations, deferred revenue roll forward, monthly revenue journal entries and monthly revenue related analysis.
    • Monitor accounts receivable and ensure timely processing in system to ensure all documentation is in compliance with company policy and all rules/ regulations set forth by our contracts.
    • Assist in preparation of monthly management reports.
    • Maintain and analyze accounting records.
    • Assist with the preparation of accounting schedules, reports and financial statements monthly and as requested by senior leadership.
    • Manage all private and foundation grants and ensure they’re booked according to the conditions stipulated in the contract.
    • Ensures all monthly invoices are submitted to various grants, contracts and governmental agencies as well as all reimbursement invoices.
    • Track all in-kind gifts.
    • Assist in ensuring a constant state of annual fiscal and funder audit readiness through clean and accurate coding, tagging and reporting.
    • Ensure direct expenses tagged to municipal grants/ contracts are allowable and compliant under contract/ grant provision.
  • Partner with Finance/ Accounting colleagues and other business partners
    • Ensure GL records and internal CRM database (Salesforce) are congruent.
    • Work closely with external audit team regarding all quarterly review and annual audit requirements.
    • As needed, may help with bookkeeping operations and assist in the day-to-day delivery of the organization’s main accounting policies, procedures and contracts.
  • Process improvement
    • Regularly audit all current practices to assess their effectiveness and efficiency.
    • Revise current practices to ensure best in class service and performance as it pertains to revenue activities and reporting.
    • Ensure all internal policies and procedures are practical and realistic. Ensure best practices are documented and in full effect at Reading Partners.
    • Assist in process improvements to further streamline revenue tasks and shorten revenue close calendar.
  • Other duties as needed

 

How you’ll do it:

  • Relationship Development & Communication: You establish great working relationships with internal and external stakeholders, including staff, external constituents, as well as board members. You are able to open doors, make connections, tell a compelling story through the use of data, and create pathways to ensure financial sustainability in literacy education within a very competitive market. You are an effective communicator and a natural “connector”, and you have a track record of successfully establishing rapport quickly and maintaining relationships, even at a distance.

 

  • Strategic Leadership & Execution: You develop and design new strategies and approaches to meet goals and then lead implementation of those strategies. You bring a systems perspective to organizational challenges, with the ability to effectively move from vision to strategy to plan to execution while managing multiple work streams and demonstrating exceptional project management instincts. You are creative and are a thoughtful decision-maker. You are comfortable partnering with others to problem-solve, and you use clear and strategic processes in making decisions. In addition, you have professional experience both developing and executing strategy to optimize organizational processes and achieve ambitious goals.

 

  • People Management: You have a track record of leading teams to excellence. You demonstrate a genuine interest in coaching, inspiring, and developing staff toward the successful achievement goals. You are skilled at providing clear direction, guidance and goals, delegating effectively, and providing growth opportunities while supporting progress along the way. Support staff and enable them to build and maintain successful relationships with a wide array of colleagues at a distance.

 

About you!

You’ll be successful in this role if you:

  • Possess robust and relevant job experience in roles with increasing responsibility; nonprofit experience strongly desired
  • Have experience managing a team
  • Display strong analytical, problem solving and decision-making skills
  • Possess detailed working knowledge of GAAP
  • Demonstrate excellent verbal and written communication and interpersonal skills; able to successfully convey accounting concepts to non-accounting colleagues
  • Able to adapt to changing organizational needs and priorities and juggle multiple projects while meeting deadlines
  • Demonstrate strategic and analytical thinking abilities and strong problem-solving skills
  • Exhibit excellent professional judgment
  • Knowledge of financial planning software (e.g. Adaptive, Hyperion, Cognos) strongly preferred; familiarity with Salesforce a plus
  • Boast a deep belief in our mission
  • Root your work in our core values
  • Approach your work with pride and have fun while doing it
  • Actively seek professional and personal growth opportunities
  • Hold US Citizenship or Permanent Resident Status
  • Hold a bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, Economics or equivalent experience; CPA a plus

 

Bonus points if you:

  • Have experience with federal grant accounting, specifically multiple cost reimbursement grants.
  • Are an AmeriCorps, Peace Corps, or other national service alum/alumna
  • Have experience working in launch or growth phases of organizations

 

What Reading Partners offers:

Reading Partners offers the full package – great benefits, a great place to work and the opportunity to have a glowing and growing career.

  • Reading Partners offers a competitive salary commensurate with experience. This is a full time, exempt, salaried position.
  • They offer a rich suite of health, welfare, and lifestyle benefits, including medical, dental, vision, paid time off, commuter benefits, referral bonuses, 403(b) option, and more.
  • They offer an exciting and dynamic culture, and commit to investing in and supporting their amazing people to grow their careers with Reading Partners. As such, they provide ongoing professional development opportunities.

 

The other things you need to know:

  • Location:  This position is located at Reading Partners’ National Headquarters in Oakland, CA. No remote work options available.
  • Typical Physical & Mental Demands: Requires prolonged sitting with some bending, stooping and stretching, and eye-hand coordination and manual dexterity sufficient to operate a keyboard, telephone, photocopier, calculator and other office equipment.  Requires normal range of hearing and eyesight to communicate with volunteers and staff. Also requires flexibility to readily adapt to a changing environment.

 

What’s Next?

If you are interested in joining the Reading Partners team, kindly submit your resume, as well as a cover letter describing your interest in Reading Partners and how your past experience has prepared you for this role. Please include your salary needs.  Send both documents to Cindy Joyce at cindy@pillarsearch.com.

Reading Partners respects and honors the diversity in their workforce, and they are an Equal Opportunity Employer.

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Congratulations to Year Up Los Angeles and Brenda Dupre!

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Pillar's Search Success

Pillar Search is pleased to announce the placement of Brenda Dupré as Associate Director of Partner Relations with Year Up.

 

Year Up is an award-winning national 501(c)3 organization striving to close the Opportunity Divide by providing urban young adults ages 18-24 with the skills, experience, and support that will empower them to reach their potential through professional careers and higher education. Through a one-year intensive training program, these young adults complete a unique combination of rigorous, hands-on technical and professional skills training, college credit, and corporate internships.

 

As a member of the Year Up Los Angeles team, Brenda will manage existing partner relationships, facilitating day-to-day interactions between Year Up, interns and corporate partners to create mutually beneficial business relationships. As part of the Corporate Engagement team, Brenda will help to connect top corporations in need of talent with high-potential urban young adults, ensuring high levels of partner satisfaction. Brenda brings extensive sales, marketing, and client service experience to her role with Year Up.  Most recently, she was a Global Account Manager with the U.S. Postal Service.  Her prior professional experience includes Regional Director, Recruitment and Corporate Relations with Pepperdine University’s Graziadio School of Business and Management.  Earlier in her career, Brenda owned and operated Winning Combination, a boutique firm that consulted with Los Angeles-area nonprofit organizations.   Brenda completed her undergraduate studies at California State University at Long Beach, her graduate studies at West Coast University, and holds a certificate in Human Resources Management from California State University.  She is a long-time volunteer with the Taproot Foundation.

 

Congratulations Brenda!

 

Hire the best!  With personalized service and proven results, Pillar Search & HR Consulting provides retained executive search services and human resources consulting for exceptional non-profits and socially responsible for-profit firms. A woman-owned business, Pillar is based in Boston, MA, and works on the national level. To learn more about how Pillar can assist with your hiring and human resources needs, please contact Cindy Joyce at cindy@pillarsearch.com.

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Hiring! The Search for the Director of Advancement for The Landing School of Boat Building & Design

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Pillar's New Search

Pillar Search is pleased to announce the search for the first-ever Director of Advancement for The Landing School of Boat Building & Design in Arundel, Maine.  This is a truly unique and exciting role for an experienced Advancement professional with a passion for education and experience using innovative and varied fundraising techniques to build a culture of advancement that takes The Landing School to the next level.

 

This is a part-time role targeted at 12-20 hours per week initially, and the possibility to increase hours in the future. The Director of Advancement will have the flexibility to work remotely and visit the school 1-2 times per month.  

Overview:

“The Landing” is a short stretch of the Kennebunk River in Arundel, Maine where The Landing School is located. It was once an internationally famous shipbuilding area and the home of more than 20 shipbuilding firms dating back to the 1600’s. In December of 1978, the first class of 9 students at The Landing School launched a Chamberlain dory-skiff, reviving the boat building trade along The Landing.

 

Today, each of The Landing School’s ten-month-long programs culminates in a diploma for students who successfully complete their courses within the high standards set by the faculty. In 2009, the State of Maine Department of Education and The School’s accrediting agency, ACCSC, approved The Landing School as a degree-granting institution. A student who successfully completes two technical programs and 15 credit-hours of general education courses is eligible to receive an Associate’s degree. The Landing School has been recognized by ACCSC as a 2014 ACCSC School of Distinction / ACCSC School of Excellence.

 

Education from The Landing School reinforces and preserves traditional design and construction methods while advancing the art of boat building, design and maintenance through the integration of modern techniques and contemporary materials. The marine industry values this unique training and has lauded The Landing School internationally with a reputation for graduates of exceptional quality.

Brittany announcement The Landing School

 

The Landing School seeks students who are not “usual”, who are not satisfied with the status quo; they look for passionate students who imagine vividly and want to create cool things.  Their students have come from forty-one U.S. states and ten countries.  They are high school graduates, college graduates, second career seekers, veterans, and adult learners. 

 

Within the transformational environment of The Landing School students find strengths they had not imagined. The practical skills offered by our curriculum are designed to provide graduates not simply with a better job prospect but more importantly with a rewarding career in the marine industry as an innovative designer, boat-builder or systems technician. Graduates of The Landing School are able to work professionally on today’s vessels and imagine tomorrow’s, pushing the boundaries of the industry’s evolving technology while understanding and appreciating the rich maritime traditions of the past.

 

As an employer, The Landing School offers a supportive community of faculty, staff, and fellow students who all work together to regularly achieve the impossible.

 

For more information about The Landing School of Boat Building, please visit http://www.landingschool.edu.  

 

Location:

Like many of Maine’s coastal towns, Arundel (once part of neighboring Kennebunkport) first prospered as a shipbuilding center and fishing village, and later became a destination for summer residents. Today, Arundel is one of Southern Maine’s fastest growing communities. Its current population is approximately 4,200.  

The Opportunity:

The Director of Advancement will be the chief fundraiser, and as the first person in this role will create and implement an innovative and comprehensive fundraising program and culture of philanthropy throughout The Landing School. This will include broadening philanthropic funding by engaging students, parents, and alumni, and working with corporate donors and foundations, the community.

 

The Director of Advancement will report to the President of The Landing School. A key member of the executive team, this role will work closely with the board of trustees. Please note that this role will not directly manage staff.

 

Overview of the Ideal Candidate:  

The Director of Advancement will have a minimum of 10-15 years of experience in fundraising, including several years in senior leadership roles, and demonstrate the ability and vision to deliver results. Experience in multiple areas of fundraising is required, including annual fund, major giving, legacy gifts, grant writing, running capital campaigns, and creating a philosophy of lifelong giving in alumni.

 

The Director of Advancement will have the proven ability to advance a school or non-profit both internally and externally, and will be a skilled relationship building who is creative, outgoing, self-starter, motivated and engaging. The candidate must be comfortable working in a small organization and willing to wear many hats as needed.

 

A degree is required. Knowledge of the marine industry is strongly preferred.

 

The Landing School is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation or gender identity, national origin, disability status, or protected veteran status.

TLS 4

For Immediate Consideration:

This search is being managed by Pillar Search. To apply, please send your cover letter and resume, including salary requirements, to Cindy Joyce at cindy@pillarsearch.com.

 

With personalized service and proven results, Pillar is your partner in executive search and human resources consulting. With over 20 years of experience, Pillar provides national retained search services for exceptional non-profits and foundations and early-stage or rapid growth for-profit firms. All share the characteristic of desiring top talent who want an occupassion, not just an occupation.     In addition, Pillar offers human resources consulting services, which was born of clients requesting help on projects beyond executive search, and includes human resources audits, creating a handbook, assessing organizational design, training, team building, and employee communications.    A woman-owned business, Pillar is based in Boston, MA, and works on both a local and national level. To contact Pillar, please click here.

 

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Onboard or Onward: Ensuring the Success of Your New Executive Hire

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“About 40% of executives who change jobs or get promoted fail in the first 18 months.”

Fortune Magazine

Where does it all go wrong? Too often, the onboarding process is where things fall apart. I am not talking about “orientation”, which often is done day one and generally involves the basics of assigning a building pass, conducting a benefits overviews, meeting the team and reading a few policies. Onboarding is a longer process, and if done well (typically in partnership with Human Resources and managed by the new executive’s manager, or the Board Chair if they report to the Board of Directors) can almost guarantee fit. It is holistic and gradual. It is also very deliberate, and will require constant check-ins and open communication.  Here are five key activities that will help to ensure that your new executive will be successful in their new role:

Start to Onboard Before They are Actually ON BOARD!

The time between an offer being accepted and the executive starting is sensitive. They may be dealing with a counteroffer, having to say goodbye to much-loved colleagues, and are nervous about this new venture. Keep in touch. Reiterate your excitement to have them joining the team, and have a few people in the organization reach out. If there are organizational overviews, annual reports, strategic plans or other things that that they can read up on ahead of time, get those to them during this time so that they start to feel like part of the team.

Send an announcement out to the staff and the board a few days before their start date explaining their background and the job they are filling. This will help make them seem more familiar to the team when they come through the door, and as an added benefit they will not have to review their resume and background with absolutely everyone in their first week or so.

Relationship Before Task 

Ideally, new executives will meet with their team and people across the organization. One-on-one meetings are great, but remind those who will be meeting with the executive to get to know them before delving into the inner workings of their role or the issues they face. Building rapport with new colleagues and direct reports is critical in the early days.

Learn By Doing 

Too often, in an effort to get all the information to a new hire as soon as possible, they are introduced to processes way too soon. Guess what? They will not remember how to do an expense report or change their password or complete a sales report 30 to 60 days in when they actually need to do it if they are taught how to do it their first week. Have the right people meet with them at the start to review the process at a high level, and then have them set up a time to do it later when they can sit down with real data and learn from it real-time.

The Buddy System 

What we learned in grade school still applies: the buddy system works when the new kid starts. This should not be the executive’s manager, but a peer or high-performing direct report who has longevity and the personality to be an effective buddy. The buddy can manage the nicety of taking them to lunch on day one and being available to explain the intricacies of culture, relationship dynamics, and certain pitfalls to avoid, which are things that the executive may not be comfortable asking of higher-ups.

Check In Early & Often

I too often hear that executives join, get a ton of attention the first day or two, and then are largely left on their own. It does not feel welcoming, and it runs the risk of them going in a direction that is difficult to course-correct later on. Meet with them daily, even for 10-15 minutes, in the first few weeks. Move on to twice weekly, weekly….you get the point. Let them know where they are doing a great job. Let them know where they need to take a different approach. But LET THEM KNOW. Being clear on what is a success will lead to more success.

While by no means a complete onboarding process, following the steps above will help to ensure that your new executive hire is one of the 60% who will be a success in the first 18 months.

Cindy Joyce is an Executive Recruiter and the Founder of Pillar Search, an Executive Search and HR Consulting firm located in Boston that works with clients nationwide. She can be reached here.