The Washington Coast Sustainable Salmon Foundation(Foundation) is seeking an Executive Director. The Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation created to protect and maintain healthy salmonid habitats and populations, and to restore degraded habitats and diminished populations throughout the watersheds that flow directly to the Pacific Ocean from Cape Flattery in the north to Cape Disappointment in the south. In so doing, the Foundation seeks to help maintain vibrant and diverse local, natural resource-based communities.

The Foundation is the “sister” organization to the Washington Coast Sustainable Salmon Partnership (Partnership), a cooperative venture of the Lead Entity Groups for salmon recovery in Watershed Resource Inventory Areas (WRIA) 20 through 24, also known as the “Washington Coast Region,” established and organized for the purpose of facilitating collaborative decision-making in support of salmonid restoration and sustainability.

Staff, under the direction of the Executive Director, work for the Foundation and in support of the Partnership to pursue the goal of salmon sustainability in the Washington Coast Region through the implementation of the “Washington Coast Sustainable Salmon Plan.”

Position Description

Position Title:Executive Director

Work Location:Aberdeen, WA

Reports To:Board of Directors

Supervises:All Foundation and Partnership Staff

Status: Full-time

Compensation: $70,000 to $85,000 depending on qualifications

The Executive Director reports to the Board of Directors; provides leadership for both the Foundation and Partnership; controls the assets, business, and affairs of the Foundation and the Partnership; promotes both organizations to stakeholders and the public; identifies and obtains new sources of funding for programs and administration.

Responsibilities

Leadership and Management

• Ensure ongoing programmatic excellence, rigorous program evaluation, and consistent quality of finance and administration, fundraising, communications, and systems; recommend timelines and resources needed to achieve strategic goals

• Actively engage and energize Foundation and Partnership staff, board members, volunteers, partnering organizations, and funders

• Develop, maintain, and support a strong Foundation Board of Directors; serve as ex-officio to Board committees; seek and build board involvement with strategic direction for regional operations

• Lead, coach, develop, and retain high-performing staff; ensure effective systems to track progress, and regularly evaluate program components, so as to measure successes that can be effectively communicated to the boards, funders, and other stakeholders

• Represent and promote the Foundation and the Partnership in local, state, and federal forums, including policy and technical venues

• Provide leadership and support for the implementation of the “Washington Coast Sustainable Salmon Plan.”

• Promote cooperation, communication, and collaboration with stakeholder groups, including but not limited to tribes, city and county governments, state and federal agencies, NGOs and other interest groups, and the general public

• Foster effective working relationships between staff and the Coast Region Lead Entities

• Develop and execute effective communications strategies to advance public understanding and support for the goals of the Foundation

Qualifications

The Executive Director will be thoroughly committed to the Foundation’s and Partnership’s mission, and have proven leadership, coaching, and relationship management experience. Concrete demonstrable experience and other qualifications include:

• Advanced degree in natural resource-related field with at least 5 years of senior management experience (longer, relevant experience with Bachelor’s degree may suffice); track record of effectively leading a performance- and outcomes-based organization and staff; ability to point to specific examples of having developed operational strategies that have taken an organization to its next stage of growth

• Knowledge of the Washington Coast Region and the role and importance of salmon to local communities and economies

• Unwavering commitment to quality programs and data-driven program evaluation

• Excellence in organizational management with the ability to coach staff, manage and develop high-performing teams, set and achieve strategic objectives, and develop and manage a budget

• Past success working with a Board of Directors with the ability to cultivate existing board member relationships

• Strong outreach, public relations, and fundraising experience with the ability to engage a wide range of stakeholders and interest groups

• Action-oriented, entrepreneurial, adaptable, and innovative in approach to nonprofit business planning

• Ability to work effectively in collaboration with diverse groups of people; understanding of the complex issues of tribal sovereignty, treaty rights, and co-management of tribal resources preferred

• Passion, idealism, integrity, positive attitude, mission-driven, and self-directed

To Apply:Please send an electronic version of your cover letter, resume, and three professional references to Dana Dietz atdanajd@wcssp.orgby October 30, 2015