About MAC’s Racial Equity Work

As the leading voice for the region’s business community, the Metro Atlanta Chamber has leveraged its influence and expertise to advocate for issues that touch race, ethnicity, age, gender identity, sexual orientation and socioeconomic status. In the 1960s, MAC advocated for the desegregation of public schools and a peaceful transition after the passage of the Civil Rights Act. Over the last two decades, MAC has fought for a new state flag that represents every citizen, helped shut down discriminatory legislation tied to religious freedom and adoption rights, and driven the passage of historic funding for public transit expansion.

In 2019, we took our commitment to inclusion to the next level with the launch of Project Plato, bringing together 100 multigenerational and multicultural leaders representing a cross-section of industries to shape our ongoing work. With Project Plato, we identified and began to activate around factors including access to capital, access to networks and access to knowledge that will drive inclusive innovation across the region’s ecosystem.

And then came 2020. Before diversity, equity and inclusion took over headlines this year, MAC was already committed to this important work. In January 2020, we formally named a head of diversity and inclusion and later hosted Pamela Newkirk, acclaimed author of Diversity, Inc., for an honest conversation about diversity in corporate America. In the summer of 2020, as the nation turned its attention to advancing social justice and racial equity, we expanded our efforts, including groundbreaking work on Georgia’s Hate Crimes and Second Chances legislation, development of MAC’s racial equity action plan, and targeted training, listening and learning to advance diversity, equity and inclusion among MAC’s internal team.

In 2021, we launched the ATL Action for Racial Equity, a new effort that will accelerate racial equity by leveraging the size and scale of our business community, and the power of collective impact. To date, more than 150 metro Atlanta-based companies ranging in size and industry, including Atlanta Hawks, Coca-Cola, Cox Enterprises, Delta Air Lines, Newell Brands, Prime Revenue and UPS, have joined the initiative

Looking ahead, we will continue to keep inclusion top of mind as we advance our work across our Grow, Advocate and Promote pillars. We will seek to proactively engage, understand and draw on perspectives across varied identities and differences – because in metro Atlanta, our differences are our strength.

We come together, we engage in tough conversations, we find solutions and we work together to make our community and the world better.

About the Role

The Metro Atlanta Chamber’s Senior Director, Racial Equity will be responsible for managing our new effort to address systemic racism, inequity and immobility head on. The ideal candidate will understand and believe in the power of Atlanta’s business community as a key ingredient in dismantling the ills of systemic racism. In addition, the ideal candidate brings deep experience in corporate diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), racial equity and/or community relations work.

Day to day, the Senior Director, Racial Equity will serve as a thought leader within the walls of MAC and in the community (locally and nationally) to lead the ongoing rollout of our racial equity work. Reporting to the head of DEI and working closely with the CEO and senior leadership team, the leader will serve as a strategist who can assess progress and advance our approach as we continue along our racial equity journey.

Ultimately, the leader in this role will be an advocate for elevating diversity, equity and inclusion as business imperatives and community imperatives, each a necessary tenant in maintaining metro Atlanta’s competitiveness in our global economy today and into the future.

Responsibilities Include
 

Program Management

• Leading the ongoing development and implementation of existing and new initiatives that tie back to MAC’s strategic focus on racial equity
• Partnership with senior leadership team and others to implement high-impact strategies and continuous improvement.
• Lead strategic engagement with MAC’s stakeholders to build a multi-year roadmap
• Refine processes to ensure efficiency and effectiveness as companies and stakeholders sign on to the effort
• Work to identify synergies and collaborative opportunities with colleagues whose work focuses on public health and economic recovery – areas that have links to systemic disparities

Measurement

• Partner with research team and consultants to define metrics to track progress, including an annual survey to ATL Action for Racial Equity partners
• Serve as a subject matter expert on DEI surveys, EEO-1 data and measurement best practices in the DEI and racial equity spaces
• Ensure a strong infrastructure and process exists for data collection and assessment year over year

Stakeholder Engagement

• Build and maintain relationships with community leaders and organizations focused on advancing racial equity in metro Atlanta
• Engage with MAC board members, ATL Action for Racial Equity steering committee and partners as a thought partner for leaders implementing racial equity strategies in their organizations
• Ensure internal process are developed to ensure proper mapping of stakeholders and tracking of suggested resources, best practices, and other feedback
• Take on public speaking opportunities to build community and advocate for collective impact in the racial equity space

Leadership

• Build a high performing team to support this strategic focus area at MAC.
• Work cross-functionally and lead through influence to achieve strong results
• Bring forward excellent relationship building skills, professionalism and diplomacy as keys to building coalitions and collective impact
• Encourage relevant, courageous and respectful dialogue that fosters awareness and appreciation of the economic and moral case for racial equity and inclusion, and empowers individuals to take action in their respective roles
• Serve as a model and culture carrier, embodying servant leadership and continuous improvement, and designing and operationalizing inclusive ways of achieving goals
   

Candidate Requirements
 

• 8+ years experience in corporate diversity, equity and inclusion or racial equity work
• Extensive leadership experience, serving as an organizational leader with a track record of excellent and inclusive leadership
• A self-starter with exceptional strategic thinking, analytical thinking and problem-solving skills
• A leader who exhibits professional maturity and flexibility to work effectively with stakeholders at all levels from a range of disciplines and backgrounds
• Proven success coaching and mentoring others, acknowledging and addressing traditional power dynamics, effectively working with teams so that they meet goals and grow professionally
• Ability to excel in a fast-paced, agile work environment where adaptability is required
• Experience or understanding of financial fluency within the non-profit sector
• Excellent project management skills with the ability to identify and recommend process improvements, system overhauls and solutions to improve efficiency and effectiveness
• Collaborative approach to executive leadership, and the ability to work effectively with cross functional teams to meet goals and drive growth, impact, and organizational performance
• People management experience and a track record of leading a high performing team
   

Working at the Metro Atlanta Chamber

The team at the Metro Atlanta Chamber strives every day to honor our seven organizational values. One way we do that is by recruiting the region’s – and dare we say, the world’s – top talent. Our colleagues represent a diverse group of professionals from across industry sectors, organizational types and geographic regions, all striving for excellence. They set MAC apart as a premier organization to work for and engage with, both across the region and beyond.

MAC’s multicultural and multigenerational team extends from metro Atlanta’s diversity and vitality. Most importantly, we celebrate our differences and welcome the wide-range of experiences that our colleagues bring to their roles every day. To build on those diverse backgrounds, we’re encouraged to participate in professional development activities and offered opportunities to work alongside our region’s top business leaders.

Walking into the MAC offices reveals a bright, modern space that’s bustling with innovation and ripe for collaboration. And don’t forget about the 360-degree views, Coca-Cola freestyle machine, wellness room, one-of-a-kind art and one of downtown Atlanta’s most photographed lobby art pieces: our giant, custom-built, wooden ATL. We’re proud of our tech-savvy workspace and think you’ll be impressed, too.

As part of MAC’s continued response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are committed to maintaining business continuity with a location-agnostic approach that requires a strong sense of creativity and thirst for innovation across MAC. Under our remote work policy, employees must take steps to ensure that they can be productive, including utilizing digital tools (email, Microsoft Teams, etc.) to perform their job responsibilities, meet performance expectations and other duties determined by their supervisors.

At MAC, we believe that metro Atlanta is the center of what’s new, now and next in business, entertainment, tech and much more. And we can’t wait to share our story on a global scale.

Our Values

Act as One

• We act and achieve results that are in the best interest of the organization.
• We are positive and supportive of the image of the organization & metro Atlanta.
• We demonstrate cooperation and trust with colleagues across the organization.
• We recognize the requirement and actively work to support other teams.  

Deliver with Passion

• We have a strong belief and zeal for our region, its citizens, our jobs and the organization.
• We convey energy and intensity at work with a capacity for keeping others enthusiastic and involved.
• We like to make the right things happen.

Operate with Integrity

• We deliver on promises to stakeholders, employees and team members.
• We provide timely, honest and fair feedback.
• We engage in productive, positive conversations.
• We do not pursue individual objectives to the detriment of the company goals.

Drive Innovation

• We create new ideas and opportunities.
• We encourage an entrepreneurial spirit that focuses on organizational growth.
• We are willing to take risks, share new ideas and consider new and untested approaches.
• We continually find ways to improve processes.

Be Respectful

• We are honest and direct as well as tactful and considerate.
• We leave things as good as or better than we found them.
• We consider perspectives outside of our own.
• We give attention to the things that are important to others.
• We recognize that everyone plays a critical role in the success of the organization.

Have Fun

• We look for both fun and humor in our daily work.
• We take our work seriously but not ourselves.
• We celebrate and embrace our diversity and each person’s individuality.
• We focus on and celebrate winning.

Be Inclusive

• We treasure diversity as the blending of different backgrounds, experiences, perspectives, and identities.
• We value open participation from individuals with different ideas and viewpoints.
• We foster an inclusive culture within our organization, with our partners, and members.