Executive Director at Columbia Land Trust

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.

• 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

• 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.

• 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
• Demon…