Vice President, Membership & Events (Chicago)

The Commercial Club of Chicago and Civic Committee Overview

The Commercial Club of Chicago works to shape Chicago’s future to make our region a better place for everyone to live, work, and do business. Since 1877 we have helped shape Chicago into one of the world’s greatest cities. The Commercial Club of Chicago is a membership organization of senior leaders in the region. Our members span the business, education, civic, cultural, and philanthropic sectors - unified by excitement for the future of Chicago. We believe cooperation and an open exchange of ideas are fundamental to success. Today, the Commercial Club continues to address economic and social issues of importance to the Chicago region.

In 1983, the Civic Committee was formed as an entity within the Commercial Club to identify key issues facing the State of Illinois and the greater Chicago region and providing leadership, high-quality research, long-term policy recommendations and programmatic actions for the benefit of the city and region.

Terms of Employment

This is a full-time position with benefits, reporting to the Executive Vice President of the Civic Committee and Commercial Club of Chicago. Initial employment will be on an introductory basis, with detailed evaluations and feedback for new employees at the 30-, 60-, and 90-day marks.

Position Summary

The Vice President, Membership & Events, is a senior executive responsible for providing strategic leadership for the Civic Committee and Commercial Club of Chicago’s membership community, with particular emphasis on serving as the driving force behind the Commercial Club’s engagement, programming, and events. Membership & Events is central to the organization’s mission and impact: members are invited to join and engage as partners in the organization’s work, contributing expertise, leadership, and collaboration to address shared civic and policy priorities.

As a member of the senior leadership team, the Vice President has the opportunity to bring the long-term vision for membership and events to life for both the Civic Committee and Commercial Club – shaping how it is translated into strategy, experiences, and results This leader will have meaningful latitude to define the path forward and leave a distinctive imprint on how members connect, engage, and contribute to the organizations’ work and ensuring that the member experience is meaningful, engaging, and aligned with organizational values and strategy. This role oversees the full membership lifecycle—from identification, cultivation, invitation and onboarding through engagement and long-term stewardship—while partnering closely with internal teams to deliver a cohesive, intentional, and high-touch member experience.

The Vice President is charged with overseeing implementation of the recommendations of the Membership Experience Working Group (MEWG), translating that roadmap into operating practice across both organizations.

This role is focused on relationship-building, stewardship, and strengthening a community of engaged members who actively participate in and support the organization’s work.

This role also provides oversight of membership systems, Salesforce integrity, reporting, forecasting, events budgeting and vendor partnerships, translating performance data into actionable insights. The Vice President builds, leads and develops membership and events staff while fostering a culture of collaboration, accountability, and member-centered results.

Essential Functions

Membership Vision & Strategy

• Establishes and stewards an organization-wide vision for membership and events aligned with mission, strategy, and the recommendations of the Membership Experience Working Group (MEWG).
• Serves as the primary point person driving Commercial Club engagement, programming, and activities, working under the direction of the EVP.
• Defines principles for identification, cultivation, invitation, onboarding, engagement, and stewardship focused on partnership and impact.
• Leads implementation of the MEWG roadmap and evolves the membership model to align with MEWG and Board of Directors recommendations.
• Staffs the Membership Committee and the Program Committee, in partnership with relevant senior leaders and committee chairs.
• Partners with the IT Services team to improve dashboards and reporting tools.
• Oversees all activities related to planning, implementation, and evaluation of membership initiatives and events to maximize results and impact
• Works with the Director of Communications on strategic member communications.
• Fosters and maintains strong relationships with Commercial Club and Civic Committee members and other key stakeholders with whom the organization works.

Membership Events

• Sets the overall events strategy as a core driver of member engagement, relationship-building, and organizational impact.
• Defines the purpose, audience, and desired outcomes for major membership events in partnership with senior leadership.
• Oversees a cohesive annual calendar of events aligned to membership priorities, Board engagement, and Civic Committee strategy and initiatives.
• Provides event support to the organization's policy teams as needed, ensuring policy-related convenings and events are executed to the same standard as membership events.
• Ensures events reflect organizational values, strategy, brand, and standards of excellence.
• Provides executive oversight of event budgets, vendors, and risk management, delegating operational execution to the Director, Membership & Events.

Primary Responsibilities

Senior-Level Member Engagement & Stewardship

• Develops and grows relationships with both member and non-member business and civic leaders.
• Serves as a senior relationship steward for select members.
• Represents the organization with professionalism and discretion.
• Keeps Membership programs fresh and exciting—provides new ideas and improves on current programs to both attract and retain members.
• Ensures a consistent, high-quality member experience from first contact through long-term engagement.
• Creates and oversees systems that foster a welcoming, inclusive, and relationship-driven culture at every membership touchpoint.
• Collaborates closely with colleagues across the organization to develop and facilitate the creation and delivery of membership value and drive awareness of membership benefits and impact.

Thoughtful Membership Growth (Invitation-Based)

• Leads a selective, values-aligned approach to identifying and inviting prospective member including the next generation of regional leaders
• Exercises sound judgment and discretion in all aspects of member identification, invitation, engagement, and stewardship, recognizing the reputational implications for the organization and its leadership.
• Collaborates with leadership and board members on invitation and membership engagement and retention strategies.
• Ensures growth strengthens membership diversity and cohesion.

Cross-Functional Leadership & Partnership

• Provides strategic oversight and direction to the Director, Membership & Events, who leads day-to-day execution and operations, and clarifies how other membership and events staff roles relate to and support that work.
• Directly manages and develops the Director, Membership & Events and other membership/events team members, setting clear expectations for how responsibilities are divided across the team.
• Collaborates with Development and Communications while maintaining functional clarity.
• Contributes membership and event insights to leadership and board discussions.

Organizational Leadership & Oversight

• Partners with the senior leadership team to align membership growth and event delivery with overall organization strategy, budget, and community impact goals.
• Monitors engagement trends and best practices.

Position Requirements

Education and Experience Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree required, advanced degree preferred.
• Minimum of ten (10) years of membership or stakeholder leadership experience.
• Proven experience directly managing and developing staff, including setting goals, conducting performance reviews, and building team capability.
• Proven ability to steward senior-level relationships with business, civic, public sector and community leaders.
• Strong cross-functional leadership and collaboration skills.
• Excellent judgment, discretion, and communication skills.
• Commitment to inclusive and values-driven leadership.
• Experience leading or overseeing CRM systems; Salesforce experience strongly preferred.

Working Environment

The position is in Chicago. Regular travel within the city is required. We offer opportunities for employees to work in a combination of in-person and remote work (“hybrid” option).

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement

The Club and its affiliated organizations are equal opportunity employers and do not unlawfully discriminate against employees or applicants for employment on the basis of any legally protected characteristic, whether actual or perceived, i]]> <