Anyone who has worked with a recruitment team in business (or has any experience looking at ads for managerial/executive positions) would not touch that position with a 10-foot pole! It sets you up for a lose/lose situation in which you have no power but will receive all the blame.
In addition, having worked for a company that brought in a CEO from outside the industry, who had no experience in the new industry, I’ve seen how the lack of experience can decimate the quality of the product produced.
USEF continues to demonstrate how poor leadership that lacks ethics and transparency only benefits those at the very top and those with the biggest pockets. I am so glad I haven’t needed a membership for several years now, and it makes me keen to take advantage of what other organizations have to offer.
Who wouldn’t want to relocate to a small city for an (almost certainly) underpaid position where you’ll (at least) share in the blame if WEG goes poorly?
Completely agree with this. Their description involves a senior management type of skill set, with experience, if this was applied to a typical corporate employer. But clearly, for this position, the right person will also need a pretty deep understanding of the sport…
An appropriate candidate will be hard to find. Especially in the current labor market. People with proven upper level management/leadership skills like they describe are in high demand, and recruiting is very competitive. I was just on the phone with my sister last night, congratulating her on a new job. In the last month, she was recruited away from her present employer to take on a senior manager/director level position with a different company… and she was offered a 30% raise, plus better annual bonus, putting total compensation close to 160k per year. She lives in a small New England town, and the new employer will allow her to work remote as much as she wants, and no travel will be required. The skill set required for her new position is not dissimilar to some of the attributes listed with this position… totally different industry… but similar skill sets.
USEF isn’t offering relocation assistance, doesn’t sound flexible on working remotely, the position will need to travel, etc etc… plus all of their requirements. And then there is the question of upward mobility… because it doesn’t seem like there is much in the way of follow on opportunities from this position.
Maybe I’m clueless though, and this will be an easy position for them to fill.
My work background is thick with HERDING cats all over the place. I wouldn’t get the job but it would be funny. More so if you figure that technically USEF has never called me back to tell me that I didn’t get the job that they flew me out for and put me up in a hotel and took me out to meals as part of the interview for, in 2002!!! LOL
But see, you would be the type of person who is qualified. You should apply.
I’m guessing job description is written like it’s written because the “right” person could have any number of qualifications. The person needs to understand the managerial role and have natural leadership. The person needs to understand working with upper level athletes and all the that goes with that. The person also has to understand “real world” workplaces and employees. Plus they have to be smart enough to present themselves and the program well when forward-facing.
Someone who has run a huge operation with results and also can manage people. And do it all at the same time. And budget. Maybe a military general? Lol
I guess all eleven members of the task force needed to get their two cents in describing the qualifications of the new director. Time is of the essence and all that. I see that they have listed the downsides of the job but I can’t quite figure out what the upsides are.
Yes that is hilarious. We won’t tell YOU our range but please tell us what you expect. We only need somebody with a high school education or GED so give it a guess.
Valid points, just look at the job description one more time. Under Education requirements, a high school diploma is the bar to jump over for the Director of an international / Olympic level training and competition program for a supposed world power that has numerous administrative and executive functions in addition to producing podium finishes?? Really, what other Olympic discipline in this country sets a high school diploma as the education prerequisite? Or in any developed country with competitive sport programs? Perhaps a foreign candidate has been selected already for the position - and the job description needed to fit the candidate’s CV with regard to Education that matches US criteria?
I think the job description is insane for all of the reasons everyone has already mentioned… But the education requirements might be the only part that makes sense. If the candidate has all the qualifications and experience required to do the job, does it actually matter whether they have a BA in Creative Writing from 20 years ago? If they acquired some of the needed skills in college, great. If they acquired those same skills at the School of Hard Knocks, also great.
I agree that in the current American employment paradigm, this sort of role is usually posted with a Bachelor’s, or more likely Master’s, education requirement. This reads to me as prioritizing industry experience over formal education – and that’s probably the right balance to strike in an industry that does not particularly value higher education.
I can appreciate the hedging on the education part; you hate to exclude a good candidate who doesn’t have the correct degrees, and a lot of professional horsemen don’t.
But … that job description. I don’t see how a single person can even do all those things in a year, never mind the challenge of finding all those skills in one person. Where are they supposed to find the time? Looks to me like 3-4 full time jobs there and some of those people may need staff.
that goes with that. The person also has to understand “real world” workplaces and employees. Plus they have to be smart enough to present themselves and the program well when forward-facing.
