Section V. Executive Director

A. Duties1

  1. Administration
    1. Administers the Society’s affairs; manages the SAA staff; provides support to the officers, the Council, and component groups; and coordinates SAA interactions with outside organizations.
    2. Informs the officers, Executive Committee, and Council of the condition of the Society and all important factors influencing it.
    3. Plans, formulates and recommends to the Council policies and programs that will further the objectives of the Society.
    4. Executes contracts and commitments authorized by the Council or by established policies of the Society.
    5. Attends all meetings of the Council and of the Executive Committee as a nonvoting member, records the minutes of each body and distributes them in a timely way, and executes all decisions of the Council unless other provision is made by the Council.
    6. Presents an annual report on the activities of the Society at the Annual Meeting and records and distributes the minutes of the Annual Business Meeting.
    7. Directs and coordinates all approved programs, projects, and major activities of the staff and contractors.
    8. Recruits, hires, trains, evaluates, and motivates SAA staff; defines their working hours, salaries, and benefits, and duties; and establishes performance standards and  conducts performance reviews.
    9. Prior to the development of a new staff position(s), develops a position description and statement of its financial implications for the approval of the Council or, between Council meetings, the Executive Committee.
    10. Maintains and provides security for the Society’s records, information, and property.
    11. Maintains custody of and preserves the corporate seal of the Society, and affixes the seal.
  2. Member Relations
    1. Promotes whenever possible interest and active participation in the Society's activities and affairs on the part of its members.
    2. Directs the staff in the maintenance of member records and in billing for and collection of dues.
    3. Provides liaison and staff support to component group leaders.
    4. Conducts research, undertakes projects, prepares reports, and publishes the results on subjects of importance to the Society.
    5. Reports to SAA members the activities of elected officers, the Executive Committee, and the Council, and of members of the Society, through the communications media of the Society.
    6. Maintains personal contact with members to the extent possible.
    7. Upon written request of a member, provides a copy of any forms submitted to the IRS relating to SAA's status as a 501(c) organization.
  3. Finances
    1. With the treasurer, manages the Society’s finances.
    2. Develops and recommends an annual budget and, upon its approval by the Council, operates the Society's financial affairs within the budget.
    3. Develops and implements an organizational structure for the staff that will meet internal needs.  Recommendations on changes in staff compensation are submitted to the Executive Committee for its approval prior to submission of the annual budget to the Council.
    4. Ensures that all funds, physical assets, and other properties of the Society are appropriately safeguarded and administered.
    5. With the approval of the Council, seeks external funding to support appropriate projects of the Society, and administers and accounts for such funding to the Society and to the agency or body granting it.
  4. Professional Relations
    1. Establishes and maintains good relationships with allied professional organizations, public service organizations, industries, and public officials and bodies at local, state, and national levels.
    2. Monitors the activities of the federal, state, and local governments that are of interest to or affect archivists individually or the profession generally, and reports these activities to the Council and the membership.
    3. Coordinates the delivery to public officials and others of SAA testimony and position statements on issues of concern to the profession and SAA.
    4. When authorized by the Council, or by the Executive Committee when time will not allow for a full Council decision, represents SAA on matters of concern to the Society and the profession.
  5. General
    1. Plans and implements the Society’s Annual Meeting within budget parameters, working with and providing necessary support to the Program Committee and the Host Committee.
    2. Plans, promotes, and administers other meetings of the Society, the Council, the Executive Committee, or other Society bodies.
    3. Establishes, directs, and maintains revenue-generating programs on behalf of the Society.

B. SAA Foundation

The SAA Executive Director also serves as executive director of the SAA Foundation (unless the Foundation executive director position is filled by another individual).2

C. Review

The Executive Committee is required to conduct a performance review of the executive director annually according to procedures mutually agreed to by the Executive Committee and the executive director.3

 

Approved by the Council: June 1991
Revised: September 1994, May 2011, July 2013

1 The source for Section V.A. is the Bylaws of the Society of American Archivists, Bylaw 2, and directives from the Council.

2 The source for Section V.C.1 is the Bylaws of the Society of American Archivists Foundation, Bylaw V.

3 The source for section V.D.1 is the Bylaws of the Society of American Archivists, Bylaw 4.