Executive Director

Career Opportunity

Balsam Mountain Trust seeks a relational, strategic, and mission-centered leader to serve as its next Executive Director. The ideal candidate will bring conservation and natural-resource fluency, strong relationship-based fundraising experience, excellent communication and storytelling skills, sound nonprofit management judgment, and the ability to build trust across a distinctive residential, philanthropic, educational, and conservation ecosystem.

To inspire people to be responsible stewards of the natural and cultural resources of the Southern Blue Ridge Mountains through education and conservation leadership.

The Executive Director reports to the Board of Directors and leads a small staff team responsible for conservation education, animal ambassador care, community programming, volunteer engagement, administration, development support, partnerships, and day-to-day operations.

Balsam Mountain Trust operates with an annual budget of approximately $500,000 and a staff of three core staff members, a part-time administrative/development coordinator, seasonal interns, and an Ameri Corps service member.

Compensation:
The salary range for this position is $90,000-$105,000, commensurate with experience and qualifications, plus flexible total compensation elements, including stipend, IRA contribution, and possible relocation support.

This is a highly visible, place-based leadership role located at Balsam Mountain Preserve in Western North Carolina. The Executive Director should expect a strong on-site presence at the Nature Center and throughout the Preserve, with regular external meetings across the region and appropriate flexibility for administrative work.

• Honor the Trust's conservation and education legacy while helping the organization clarify its next-stage priorities, focus, and operating model.
• Work with the Board to define realistic first-year and long-term priorities, including what should be advanced, paused, narrowed, or sequenced.
• Translate the Trust's mission into compelling strategies that connect land stewardship, resident engagement, community education, and public benefit.
• Use sound judgment to balance many worthy opportunities against available staff capacity, funding, and partner support.

• Lead a relationship-based development program that moves residents, donors, volunteers, and friends from awareness to meaningful investment.
• Cultivate, solicit, and steward major donors in partnership with the Board, Resource Development Committee, and volunteer leaders.
• Develop a clear and compelling case for support that explains what the Trust does, why it matters, how it is funded, and how donors can make a difference.
• Strengthen fundraising systems, donor stewardship practices, event strategy, gift tracking, grant opportunities, and long-term resource planning.

• Make the Trust's purpose, structure, funding model, and value to Balsam Mountain Preserve simple, memorable, and repeatable.
• Build intentional pathways for new and long-time residents to learn about the Trust, participate in programs, volunteer, and give.
• Serve as a visible, approachable ambassador through tours, hikes, talks, donor conversations, resident orientations, and community gatherings.
• Communicate with warmth, clarity, responsiveness, and follow-through across residents, donors, staff, volunteers, partners, and Balsam entities.

• Guide a balanced program strategy that supports resident-facing experiences, external education, land stewardship, conservation leadership, and community outreach.
• Assess the scope and sustainability of external programming with schools, libraries, youth, universities, conservation partners, and regional organizations.
• Ensure the Nature Center, animal ambassadors, trails, biodiversity, habitat work, and interpretive experiences reflect the Trust's mission and quality.
• Support staff and partners in translating science, ecology, and stewardship into accessible learning experiences that inspire action.

Lead, supervise, and support a small staff team with clear roles, priorities, accountability, communication norms, and realistic workloads.

• Manage financial resources responsibly, including budgeting, revenue planning, expense oversight, reporting, and resource allocation.
• Partner effectively with the Board of Directors, committees, volunteers, Club, Community Association, developer, NALT, and other entities that shape the broader Balsam ecosystem.

The ideal candidate will possess the following qualifications:

• Environmental, conservation, natural resources, outdoor education, ecology, land stewardship, or related mission fluency; deep…