Executive Director

Executive Director

Columbia Land Trust seeks a collaborative and strategic Executive Director to lead its mission of conserving and caring for the vital lands, waters, and wildlife of the Columbia River region through sound science and strong relationships.

Founded in 1990, the nonprofit Columbia Land Trust has been working in the greater Columbia River region to conserve signature landscapes and vital habitats. To date, Columbia Land Trust has conserved more than 64,000 acres across a service region that spans two states and follows the lower Columbia River for 230 miles, stretching from The Dalles to the Pacific Ocean through several diverse ecoregions.

Columbia Land Trust is dedicated to conserving and caring for the vital lands, waters, and wildlife of the Columbia River region through sound science and strong relationships. The organization builds and maintains strong relationships, sets ambitious long‑term goals, and works well with a broad range of partners while practicing thoughtful land management.

Columbia Land Trust is an accredited nonprofit based in Vancouver, Washington, and operating across Oregon and Washington. The organization is currently in the final stretch of a major capital campaign that reflects its ambitious approach to conservation in the region. The next Executive Director will help lead this phase with vision, trust, and genuine partnership.

The Executive Director will provide organizational leadership by guiding strategy, supporting a talented and empowered staff, 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 autonomy 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 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.
• Provide clear, visionary leadership while honoring the organization's collaborative culture.
• 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.
• Translate strategic goals into achievable objectives in genuine partnership with staff, board, and community.
• Ensure that programs and activities are developed, executed, and evaluated to maximize mission impact.
• 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…