The Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance (SIBA), a regional not-for-profit trade association, seeks an experienced and entrepreneurial-minded leader to serve as its next Executive Director. The right candidate will be passionate about books and bookstores, have a solid familiarity with the region and the book industry, and have the strategic and administrative acumen needed to help the organization thrive in the future.
SIBA is a not-for-profit trade association of independent booksellers and others who are an integral part of the booksellers’ success—authors, publishers, vendors and publicists. SIBA’s membership includes 158 core members who are independent, “brick and mortar” bookstores in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. The organization is governed by a five-member Board of Directors with each Director serving a three-year term. SIBA is deeply committed to upholding the principles of the Carver Policy Governance Model which makes a clear distinction between the policy-making role of the Board and the implementation role of the Executive Director. The staff, which is currently composed of two full-time positions and one contractual employee, operates virtually with each staff member working remotely. The annual operating budget is approximately $500,000. Wanda Jewell, the incumbent, is retiring after a thirty-year tenure as Executive Director.
Current programs are designed to provide skills, informational resources, and tools to enhance booksellers’ success and visibility. They include the annual Discovery Show and SIBA in the Springtime—high energy networking and educational events which draw hundreds of booksellers, authors, publishers, and vendors. Special awards, social media, and marketing tools are designed to increase sales and public awareness of indie bookstores. Also, SIBA’s Peer Review Trust acts as an archive of best practices for bookstores and offers peer review assessments for stores who feel they would benefit from some outside assistance. Priorities for SIBA’s next Executive Director are to continue strong governance practices, enhance strategic capabilities, promote organizational sustainability, build advocacy and partnerships, strengthen communication, improve programmatic and operational focus, seek opportunities to improve diversity and inclusion, and pursue ways technology can enhance SIBA’s overall efficiency and effectiveness.
Additional details about the position and qualifications sought are available https://sibaweb.com/701-executive-director-position-profile. Organizational information can be found on SIBA’s website: www.sibaweb.com. Inquiries about the position and the search process should be addressed to: EDjob@sibaweb.com.
SIBA is an equal opportunity employer and welcomes a diverse pool of candidates.