A well-written job description is your springboard to creating other types of communications with which to announce your open position. The email job announcement (a sample is provided below) is one type of communication that can be used to reach out to your network of peers for qualified candidates. A condensed version of the full job description, this email job announcement includes such details as your organization’s name, its mission, the key responsibilities of the role, and what you ideally seek in a candidate.

The below sample announcement was written by the Bridgespan Group’s Executive Search team and was sent to its network to help find qualified candidates for a past role it was retained to fill. It provides a general outline for the type of information to include in an email announcement to peers, colleagues, and other trusted sources you might tap during your candidate search.
 

Sample Email Job Announcement

Dear Colleagues' Name,

The Children's Investment Fund (CIFF) currently has an opening for an Executive Director of Investments (EDI), and I'd appreciate your input on candidates or sources for this key role. Below I've provided details about our organization and the position we wish to fill.

CIFF is a London-based foundation that seeks to address the problems of children living in poverty in developing nations. With an asset base of more than $1.7 billion, CIFF currently employs approximately 30 professionals in England, Africa, and India. CIFF is funded through a hedge fund and strives to couple business acumen and principles with development experience and best practices to transform the landscape for children.

The EDI will be part of CIFF’s executive leadership team, managing a staff of four investment managers and several analysts who build opportunities for transformational change for children. The EDI will identify and create large-scale, global funding opportunities to present to CIFF’s Board of Directors. These opportunities will require creativity to ensure the most effective delivery models, partners, and detailed assessments of associated risks. The Investment team collaborates with potential partners to ensure that funded initiatives have strong implementation, monitoring and evaluation plans, and a high probability of success. In addition, the new EDI will help to ensure a smooth transition of partner relationships to the CIFF Programme team once initiatives are approved.

The successful candidate will have the gravitas and credibility to present to CIFF’s board and engage with high-level officials throughout Europe, Asia, and Africa. The EDI will have at least 15 years post graduate experience working on a global scale and be willing to live in London. He/she should have excellent analytical and leadership skills and have proven success in creating complicated, multinational deals. This is an exceptional opportunity for an entrepreneurial, creative leader to affect change for children on a global scale.

Please let me know a good time and number to reach you. However, if more convenient, feel free to email me any suggestions for candidates and/or sources. Also, please feel free to share this job specification within your network.

Thank you for your consideration.

Your Name
Your Contact Information