Description

POSITION OVERVIEW AND RESPONSIBILITIES

The Executive Director will provide organizational leadership by guiding strategy, supporting a talented and empowered staff team, nurturing strong board relations, stewarding donor and community relationships, and serving as the primary public face and voice of Columbia Land Trust across the Columbia River region and beyond.

The position calls for a leader who genuinely trusts the expertise of the people around them: someone who understands that the directors and staff at Columbia Land Trust have deep, hard-won knowledge, and who sees their own role as guiding and supporting that team rather than overriding it. Columbia Land Trust has built a culture of trust and low micromanagement that staff deeply value. The next Executive Director will honor and strengthen that culture.

The incoming leader will arrive with a clear vision for the organization, the ability to articulate it compellingly to diverse audiences, and the humility to let that vision be shaped by staff, community, and partners. They will be comfortable navigating a donor and constituent base that spans the full political spectrum, and will understand that conservation in this region requires building bridges across communities, not just within them.

The Executive Director will embrace a critical moment: the final phase of a significant capital campaign that will require someone who can step in as a trusted, relationship-anchored community leader and close it with confidence and creativity.

Strategic Leadership and Vision

• Collaborate with staff and the Board of Directors to develop, refine, and implement long-term strategic plans and annual work plans that reflect the organization’s mission and values
• Provide clear, visionary leadership while honoring the organization’s collaborative culture
• Translate strategic goals into achievable objectives in genuine partnership with staff, board, and community
• Bring a long-term orientation to steering Columbia Land Trust toward its next phase of organizational maturity
• Ensure that programs and activities are developed, executed, and evaluated to maximize mission impact
• Participate with the Land Trust Alliance, Washington Association of Land Trusts, Coalition of Oregon Land Trusts, and peer organizations on policy, accreditation, and issues of shared interest

Business Acumen 

• Captain a high-performing team by delegating effectively, developing internal leadership, and scaling organizational infrastructure to match growth.
• Lead with financial savvy, intelligence, and strategic foresight in managing a diversified revenue portfolio, including the ability to assess risk and develop contingency plans in response to shifting government funding landscapes and an evolving regulatory environment.
• Cultivate and steward relationships across a broad constituent ecosystem, including major donors, institutional funders, government partners, and community leaders spanning both urban and rural constituencies.
• Communicate with clarity and confidence as the public face of the organization, engaging diverse audiences ranging from major donors and external partners to board members and staff with equal credibility and presence.
• Strategically identify and pursue opportunities across sectors to expand the circle of Columbia Land Trust supporters without alienating potential allies, and build coalitions that advance organizational priorities in a complex and often politically charged operating environment.

Community Engagement and Partnerships

• Lead Columbia Land Trust’s staff and board to be ambassadors across the Columbia River region: connecting with landowners, community members, local and state officials, tribal partners, rural communities, and the broader public
• Sustain and deepen the organization’s partnerships with Indigenous tribal nations, including the Yakima Nation, Chinook Indian Nation, Cowlitz Indian Tribe, and other tribal partners across Oregon and Washington
• Ensure organizational culture and programming actively welcome volunteers and community participation
• Oversee outreach, communications, and events that build connections across a diverse and geographically expansive region
• Demonstrate deep awareness of the rural communities where much of this conservation work takes place, and lead with authenticity and cultural competency in those spaces

Fundraising Management

• Lead fundraising and development efforts with energy, warmth, and authenticity, sharing Columbia Land Trust’s story and building genuine relationships with donors across the political and demographic spectrum
• Steward and complete the organization’s active capital campaign, bringing demonstrated credibility and trust with donors, community members, partners, and landowners to the final phase of this major effort
• Work alongside the Board of Directors and development staff to implement fundraising strategies, including major gifts, campaign giving, planned giving, and grants
• Cultivate deep, long-term relationships with donors rooted in shared investment in the health and vitality of the Columbia River region
• Leverage strong existing connections in the Washington and Oregon philanthropic and conservation funding landscape, and actively build new ones

Board Relations 

• Collaborate and lead with the board in setting the strategic vision for the land trust
• Keep board members informed of Columbia Land Trust activities and provide organizational support to officers and committees
• Engage the board in strategic conversations in a way that honors a consensus-oriented culture while maintaining efficient and clear decision making
• Serve as liaison between board and staff, ensuring productive and trusting relationships across the organization

Organizational Growth and Management

• Ensure financial compliance, strong practices, and fiscal responsibility, including budgeting, annual audit, and tax filings
• Recruit, develop, and support staff, conducting evaluations, providing coaching, and fostering high morale and a sense of shared ownership
• Maintain administrative and communication systems that support efficient, mission-aligned operations
• Oversee compliance with all applicable legal, regulatory, and Land Trust Alliance standards and practices requirements, including accreditation

DESIRED EXPERIENCE AND COMPETENCIES

Columbia Land Trust seeks an inspiring, grounded leader who approaches conservation with deep respect for the science, the politics, and the people involved. The ideal candidate brings strategic vision and business acumen, strong ties to the Washington and Oregon communities and philanthropic landscape, or experience in a similar region, and a demonstrated commitment to working with, elevating, and genuinely learning from communities that have historically been marginalized in conservation spaces.

Executive Capacity

• Visionary and entrepreneurial thinker capable of organizational transformation and acceleration, moving fluidly between long-term vision and immediate operational detail without losing sight of either
• Comfortable operating in conditions of uncertainty, with the ability to make sound decisions with incomplete information and course-correct without losing momentum
• Track record of building productive relationships with government agencies, elected officials, and regulatory bodies at local, state, and federal levels
• Comfortable with the legal and compliance landscape relevant to land trusts, including conservation easements, accreditation standards, and transaction due diligence
• Experience in stewarding an organization through periods of transition in leadership, funding, or strategic direction while maintaining staff stability and donor confidence
• Proven ability to lead organizational change thoughtfully, balancing the urgency of growth with preserving institutional culture and staff trust
• Skilled at analyzing and making decisions based on complex financial and operational information and translating it into accessible narratives for audiences with varying levels of financial literacy

Mission Commitment and Depth

• A leader driven by mission rather than personal recognition, one who empowers others and celebrates team success
• Genuine, abiding commitment to land conservation and the mission of protecting vital lands, waters, and wildlife through science-based stewardship
• Understanding of the intersections of conservation, agriculture, forestry, tribal sovereignty, rural economies, and community wellbeing
• Appreciation for the political and economic complexity of land conservation: an understanding that land is power, that land ownership carries significant meaning, and that this context shapes everything about how and with whom this work happens
• Experience working with Indigenous communities in Oregon and Washington, ideally including ongoing relationships with specific tribal nations; tribal membership would be an extraordinary asset
• Comfortable and effective in rural communities, with an awareness of how to communicate and build trust in those settings
• Skilled at navigating a politically diverse donor and constituent base with honesty and respect

Organizational Leadership and Culture

• Deeply collaborative and lateral in their leadership orientation: someone who actively elevates the expertise of long-tenured, highly skilled staff and ensures that expertise guides organizational decisions
• Warm, personable, and genuinely curious about people, skilled at building connections with diverse constituencies from longtime supporters to people who have never heard of Columbia Land Trust
• Strong team-builder who nurtures a culture of trust, collaboration, kindness, and mutual respect
• Ability to arrive with openness and spend meaningful time listening and learning from staff before making major changes
• Deep commitment to working with leaders and communities from nondominant backgrounds: not just awareness of identity, but demonstrated self-directed learning and hands-on experience working alongside people from marginalized communities

Fundraising and Donor Partnership

• Comfortable and skilled in fundraising as an act of relationship-building and community investment, not transactional obligation
• Proven experience in development, including major gifts and capital campaign fundraising
• A storyteller who approaches donors with genuine gratitude and the ability to convey the ecological, cultural, and human stakes of conservation
• Strong existing connections in the Washington and Oregon philanthropic communities, particularly among conservation funders and individual major donors
• Experience with grant oversight and management, institutional funding, and diversified revenue strategies

COMPENSATION

This is a full-time, exempt, benefit-eligible position. The anticipated annual salary range is $195,000 – $215,000, commensurate with experience.

Columbia Land Trust offers comprehensive benefits, including:

• 100% Health care coverage for employee
• 100% Dental coverage for employee
• up to 5% 401K matching
• $50,000 Life Insurance policy
• 4-week vacation accrual at time of hire with graduated increases based on years of service

LOCATION AND REQUIREMENTS

The Executive Director will work in a hybrid arrangement based at Columbia Land Trust's offices in Vancouver, Washington, with regular travel throughout the Columbia River region. There are two satellite offices: Astoria, OR, and White Salmon, WA. The position requires consistent in-person presence to build and sustain strong relationships with staff, board members, landowners, community partners, tribal nations, and donors. Occasional evening and weekend availability will be required for events, community programs, and organizational activities.