A new report by the Boston College Center for Corporate Citizenship examines the corporate citizenship professionals who provide the necessary leadership for their companies at a time when only focusing on today's bottom line can blur the big picture of tomorrow's risks and opportunities.

Based on a survey of more than 600 professionals, "Profile of the Profession 2010: Corporate citizenship leaders for today and tomorrow" provides a snapshot of this profession, including the roles and responsibilities of its practitioners. The report offers a look at an emerging field of business management in which individuals come from diverse backgrounds and have a broad range of responsibilities from designing an overarching corporate citizenship strategy for the company to ensuring a responsible supply chain, to government relations, to managing volunteer programs.

In addition to facts and figures on their backgrounds, positions, salaries and duties, this report explores what motivates today's corporate citizenship professionals, what are the critical challenges they face and what it takes for them to succeed.

"This is a comprehensive look at the professionals who manage the corporate relationship with the community and set the wider strategies of the larger role companies play in society," said Peggy Connolly, managing director of the Center. "The survey reveals both the diversity of today's corporate citizenship leaders and what they have in common: versatility, relationship building skills, good business sense and competitive salaries."

Among the key findings of the survey is how central relationships are to succeeding in the profession. Building internal partnerships with other departments (86.3 percent), and building relationships with external stakeholders (84.2 percent), are most frequently cited by survey respondents as part their job responsibilities. The survey also finds leadership is essential to the job, as the top three skills cited by respondents as the most critical to success were the ability to influence, leading/motivating others, and network building.

A full copy of "Profile of the Profession 2010" is available to Boston College Center members on the Center website. Non-members may access the report's Key Findings on the website.

The Boston College Center for Corporate Citizenship is a membership-based research organization associated with the Carroll School of Management. It is committed to helping business leverage its social, economic and human assets to ensure both its success and a more just and sustainable world. As a leading resource on corporate citizenship, the Center works with global corporations to help them define, plan and operationalize their corporate citizenship. Through the power of research, management and leadership programs, and the insights of its 350 corporate members, the Center creates knowledge, value and demand for corporate citizenship. www.BCCorporateCitizenship.org

Boston College Center for Corporate Citizenship

Boston College Center for Corporate Citizenship

The Boston College Center for Corporate Citizenship connects professionals with research, insights on corporate social responsibility and management education opportunities. Founded by the Carroll School of Management, we help our member companies know more, do more and achieve more with their corporate citizenship programs. We engage over 400 member companies and more than 10,000 individuals annually to share knowledge and expertise about the practice of corporate citizenship through our executive education program, research, courses, and our annual conference. For more information on our courses, research and membership, visit ccc.bc.edu. Connect with Boston College Center for Corporate Citizenship: Linkedin, Twitter, Facebook & Google+.

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