Staffing Advisors is proud to have partnered with the National Science Teaching Association (NSTA) in the selection of its Chief Finance and Administration Officer, Bob Lay. NSTA is an $18MM professional membership association serving more than 35,000 members, including science teachers, science supervisors, administrators, scientists, business and industry representatives, and others involved in and committed to science education. NSTA operates with approximately 65 staff members. Read more about NSTA’s leadership here.
About the Search for NSTA’s Next CFAO
After a deep discovery process to identify the organization’s most critical business issues and strategic priorities, Staffing Advisors sought a strategic, results-oriented executive skilled in leading business process improvements. The new leader would be stepping into an organization during a period of revitalization, with a new strategic plan targeting sustainable business practices to build organizational capacity as a key goal, exciting developments in its professional learning and publications portfolios, record numbers at the annual conference, and an upward trajectory of financial growth with solid reserves. The new leader would play a critical role in furthering the transformation already underway, effectively managing change in administrative and financial functions.
The search was led by Staffing Advisors Vice President of Executive Search Aileen Hedden, with strategy consulting from Founder & President Bob Corlett and support from the entire Staffing Advisors team.
Working closely with the NSTA’s leadership, Staffing Advisors surfaced several key focus areas that would demonstrate success within the new leader’s first 1-2 years:
- Evaluate and update business office and customer service systems and processes, automate where possible, and improve the organization’s ability to make data-driven decisions by forecasting the impact of new initiatives and exploring new business models. Ensure staff get the work done on time and provide accurate and relevant data to safeguard financial stability and strengthen NSTA’s capacity to enhance state-of-the-art science learning.
- Evaluate, manage, and improve IT infrastructure, working closely with senior leadership to define the role of IT operations in organization-wide objectives to support NSTA’s strategic goals.
- With a data-driven approach, develop strategies and implementation plans to grow and retain membership, ensuring that NSTA programs and services align with members’ needs now and into the future. Redefine the value proposition of membership for all stakeholder groups.
- Provide financial leadership and management to ensure financial stability. Partner with members to guide the financial resources of the Association, set strategic priorities, identify issues for consideration by senior leadership, and ensure collaboration on issue identification, development, and prioritization.