Executive Director

ILLINOIS VALLEY WATERSHED COUNCIL

Position Announcement

Executive Director

Cave Junction, Oregon

Date Posted: 9/15/2026 Final date to receive applications: Open until filled

Are you a mission-driven leader with roots in natural resource stewardship, a talent for building relationships across diverse constituencies, and a deep respect for the connection between healthy communities and healthy watersheds? Do you find meaning in doing hard work in beautiful, remote places alongside people who care deeply about the land and water they share? If so, we’d love for you to be our next Executive Director.

The Illinois Valley Watershed Council (IVWC) is seeking an experienced, collaborative, and community-rooted leader to serve as its Executive Director — the organization’s primary engine of mission delivery, partnership cultivation, and organizational sustainability.

The Illinois Valley Watershed Council (IVWC) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit Oregon Plan watershed council serving the Illinois Valley — one of Oregon’s most geographically remote and economically distressed communities, and home to some of the most ecologically significant salmon habitat remaining in the Pacific Northwest. Founded in 1994 and operating as a fully autonomous organization since 2022, IVWC collaborates with its community to restore, enhance, and sustain the health of the Illinois Valley watershed through voluntary, science-based restoration, community engagement, technical assistance, monitoring, and partnership development.

IVWC operates under the direction of a volunteer Board of Directors comprised entirely of Illinois Valley community residents. The organization maintains long-standing, active partnership agreements with numerous local, state, and federal partners, and its work is guided by a Board-approved Strategic Plan. IVWC carries out its mission through a lean, grant-funded organizational model that directs restoration benefits and investment into the local and regional economy.

The Illinois River is recognized as a charter salmon stronghold by the North American Salmon Stronghold Partnership and supports entirely wild, naturally produced populations of native salmonids. IVWC has spent nearly three decades building the trust, relationships, and institutional knowledge needed to serve as the connective tissue between agency partners, private landowners, and the community — making restoration possible across a mosaic of public and private lands in one of the Pacific Northwest’s most important watersheds.

The Executive Director provides transparent, collaborative leadership in the planning and administration of all IVWC programs and operations, in accordance with the organization’s mission, values, and Strategic Plan. The ED is IVWC’s primary representative to funders, agency partners, community members, and the public, and serves as the principal driver of the organization’s restoration program, resource development, community engagement, and governance support functions.

This is a full-time, non-exempt position hired by and reporting to the IVWC Board of Directors. The Board Chair serves as the ED’s supervisor and primary point of contact. The position is funded through grants and donations, and the ED shares responsibility for developing and maintaining funding for the position.

• Board Engagement and Governance Support — advise, inform, and support effective Board governance; facilitate meetings; support director recruitment, orientation, and onboarding; assist with governance document development and maintenance
• Strategic Planning and Organizational Development — lead strategic planning, evaluate…