[SIPForum-discussion] Invitation: Do you want to become the SIP Forum Managing Director?

[Jay Batson]

Dear SIP Forum members -

The SIP Forum Board of Directors is seeking a new Managing Director  
to oversee its operational activities.  If, after you have reviewed  
the remainder of this email, you are interested in taking on this  
role, please RSVP to:
   m-director at sipforum.org
Please include your resume, your full contact information, a short  
paragraph about why you are interested in the MD role, and what you  
think you could achieve in this position.

------------ Background -------------
The Board of the SIP Forum is considering a significant change in the  
Managing Director (MD) role.  For the majority of the Forum's  
history, the role has been defined predominantly as a primarily  
volunteer role, with some small stipend to cover time spent on G&A  
functions, etc.  However, this meant that the Forum's MDs have had  
"other full time jobs," which tended to limit what the MD, and the  
Forum, could achieve.

The Board feels the SIP Forum can still achieve more industry impact  
than it has so far.  The Forum has plenty of needs that could be met  
if we had an MD that could devote somewhere between 50% - 100% of  
their time on Forum business.

But the reality is that the Forum will not achieve this somebody  
without paying for a person to do it.  And if we _don't_ achieve  
more, the SIP Forum's future relevance can be questioned.

Since we have a reasonable cash cushion, the Board feels that it's  
time to make the investment needed to get someone to perform this  
role.  Therefore, we're requesting inquiries from interested parties.

----------- Duties --------------
The Managing Director (MD) will work closely with the Board of  
Directors to establish annual operational, and financial goals, and  
then execute as required in order to achieve them.  The MD will  
report to the then-current Board Chair.  Expected job functions will  
include:
- Determining what needs the SIP products / services industries, and  
the end-user communities have that the Forum can address;
- Establishing, and executing on the marketing or technical programs  
& services that meet these needs;
- Creating and performing outbound electronic and print strategies to  
communicate the goals, and the progress towards them, including  
adding new content as required to the Forum's web site;
- Creating budgets, with membership revenue targets and spending  
plans, commensurate with the goals, and working to reach and stay  
within those budgets;
- Working with Working Group chairs to execute their various  
activities in a timely way;
- Working with the Forum's accounting and legal service providers to  
supply financial and legal reports for the Board at each Board  
meeting, and overseeing the required annual audit;
- Handling operational maintenance of the Forum's electronic  
infrastructure (website, servers, mailing lists, etc.);
- And other work as directed by the Board from time to time.

The ideal candidate is likely someone who has a SIP-related job at a  
technology supplier or large enterprise, or who is a professional  
consultant in the IP real time communications field.  An optimal  
skill set would likely come from a person who has both marketing and  
serious technical skills, and a good understanding of SIP, and the  
SIP market.  For example, someone who is or has been a SIP-related  
product manager at a company building SIP devices or services would  
be well qualified.  The Forum expects that the MD should plan on  
having between 50% and 100% of their work time devoted to Forum  
business.

---------- Compensation ------------
The Forum invites interested people to indicate their compensation  
requirements given the above duties.  The Board is prepared to  
entertain proposals that approximate an average salary level for U.S.- 
based personnel of the skill level referred to above.  The percentage  
of time -- between 50% and 100% -- that the person would spend  
depends (frankly) on the compensation level.  We would prefer  
somebody who we can afford, and pay for them to be full-time 100% SIP  
Forum.  If we cannot afford this, we'll examine proposals for less  
than full-time work at a higher rate.

The Forum does not currently offer health insurance, or other such  
benefits; the ideal candidate will have the ability to procure these  
independently.

----------- Locale -----------
There is no specific geographic requirement, or limitation on where  
the MD candidates can live.  However, as a practical matter, several  
things will likely be controlling:
- The Board has historically been made up primarily of U.S.-based  
members, so the Chairman is likely to be U.S.-based (after this  
coming election in November).  It is logistically more convenient for  
Board members to work with a U.S.-based MD.  Particularly since the  
Forum wants to achieve a significant amount by retaining this person,  
and so interactions need to be convenient, regular, and low-cost.
- The key service providers (accounting, legal) are located in New  
England.  While they could be changed, it does constitute disruption  
and cost to do so.  Given that the new MD will absorb a lot of the  
Forum's annual budget, such additional costs are not encouraged.

----------- Footnote -----------
Footnote:  Although I have been involved in the SIP Forum since its  
founding, and have been its Chair for the last 5+ years, and it's  
Managing Director for the last 3, my professional involvement with  
SIP is declining.  I will, therefore, not be running again as a SIP  
Forum Board member in this fall's election, and will -- as soon as we  
identify a replacement -- pass the baton to a new Managing Director.   
It has been my pleasure to serve the community in the past years, and  
will work to make sure that the only thing that happens in this  
transition is that we get more done - not less.

Cheers
-jb

----------
Jay Batson
Managing Director, Chairman
jay.batson at sipforum.org
+1-978-824-0111


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