Executive Director

The Executive Director is responsible for providing overall leadership for the North Coast Food Web (NCFW), with work falling primarily into five broad categories: financial management and fundraising, maintaining the organization’s public face and community partnerships, strategic planning and implementation, staff development and management, and organizational needs assessment and meeting. The ED needs to understand the historical and present-day workings of local food systems in rural communities, and the context of racialized capitalism that those systems operate within.

The ED’s work is carried out within the context of our commitment to equity and justice work, and is conducted in partnership with the Board of Directors. While the Board makes high level decisions for the organization (including developing and approving the Strategic Plan, annual budget, and guiding policy such as the Employee Handbook and reserves policies), the ED is responsible for carrying out the daily operations of the organization within the parameters of those decisions. One of the ED’s main roles is to act as a liaison between the Board and staff. The ED is responsible to the Board for the organization's consistent achievement of its mission and financial objectives, and has full discretionary power to implement the policies and directives of the Board to those ends.

Key Responsibilities:

Ensure the implementation of justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion (JEDI) practices and goals within the organization and its partners in the course of carrying out the following responsibilities:

Financial management and fundraising:

• Prepare the annual operating budget and cash flow projections in collaboration with the staff, and shepherd its passage through the Board process
• Manage the budget, including cash flow and oversight of financial operations
• Oversee work of the accountant and bookkeeper, and work with them to ensure financial best practices are being utilized
• Serve on the Finance Team
• Lead our fundraising efforts, including:
  1. Develop and execute annual and sustaining fund development plans in collaboration with Board and other staff, including outreach to private and public sources
  2. Lead major donors asks
  3. Develop a donor funnel, featuring multiple annual asks and multiple ways to give
  4. Lead organizing efforts for the annual Taste of the Food Web event, including sponsorship development
  5. Support grant writing through being a second reader for grants, and taking the lead on multi-org grants work

Strategic planning and organizational thought leadership:

• Work with the Board to develop, and then implement NCFW’s strategic plan to fulfill the organization’s mission and vision
• Provide frameworks to both staff and Board to align our work with our commitment to systems work, equity and justice

Staff leadership and development:

• Manage, coach and support Director-level staff, providing clear direction and leadership in alignment with our values, including, on-boarding and off-boarding, goal setting, performance reviews, project management, and work prioritization
• Hire and fire all staff
• Support the Deputy Director to manage, coach and support Manager and Assistant-level staff in alignment with our values, including, on-boarding and off-boarding, goal setting, performance reviews, project management, and work prioritization
• Supervise annual operating and business plans for all programming, aligning programming with strategic plan, mission and vision
• Support the Director of Impacts in providing program development support as needed and putting in place systems to evaluate and track programmatic excellence and benchmarks to share with the Board, funders, and the community
• Serve as the primary Human Resources officer for the organization, ensuring legal compliance and advocating for and implementing fair and progressive HR policies designed to support employee well-being and professional development
• Create an environment for Staff, Board and other community members that is welcoming, inspiring and celebratory of our mission

Public Face and Partnerships:

• Represent NCFW in the broader community, including individuals, businesses, the press, and other non-profits, serving as our primary ambassador at public events
• Manage inter-organizational partnerships, and encourage multiple points of connection between NCFW and our allied organizations
• Participate productively and cooperatively in networks with aligned food systems organizations

Organizational Needs Assessment and Meeting Needs

• Lead staff and Board processes as needed to assess organizational needs in key areas for short, medium and long term organizational development and then create actionable plans to meet those needs for:
• Facilities:
• Assess facilities needs for sustaining and developing programming
• Develop proposals for Board approval for needed changes
• Staffing:
  1. Regularly evaluate staffing needs and propose new or reconfigured positions to best support mission fulfillment
  2. Create functional organizational structure and support systems
  3. Create leadership development and advancement opportunities for staff
  4. Serve as point person to handle newly emergent needs when there is no current staff member available to handle it and work to find staff capacity to meet those new needs.

Other responsibilities:

• Support the Board President in their management and building of the Board of Directors and equipping them to represent our organization effectively in the community
• Provide the Board with context and support for major decisions, including planning Board agendas with the President
• Lead organization’s ongoing skill building and practices related to Justice and Equity
• Stay up-to-date on best practices and field developments for both the food systems world and nonprofit sector

Experience and Skills needed:

• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, and comfortable attending community meetings and presenting to stakeholders
• Demonstrated results of positive outcome with community building and public relations
• 5+ years of nonprofit leadership experience (professional or volunteer)
• 3+ years of nonprofit fundraising experience, which can include grant writing, donor development, annual planning, and event planning
• 2+ years of staff management with a solid understanding of best management practices
• Strongly self-directed and organized with the ability to: prioritize your own work and work of other staff members; create and carry out plans independently; meet goals and benchmarks
• Ability to work with and build relationships with diverse individuals including stakeholders and community partners
• Demonstrated track record of promoting justice and equity, and alignment with organizational values of Community, Responsiveness, Justice and Nourishment
• Experience managing budgets of at least $750K
• Experience and comfort with serving as the public face of an organization or initiative
• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent life experience

Ideal candidates will also have:

• Track record of actively supporting the professional and personal development of staff you have managed
• Experience working in local food systems, farming and agriculture, especially in community food systems in the Pacific Northwest
• Experience with navigating the complexities of organizations with growing budgets and staff
• Local community connections with Clatsop County (which may include food entrepreneurs, farmers, fisher, potential donors, and other aligned organizations)
• 3+ years of living, working and/or organizing in rural communities

We encourage all interested applicants to apply and present your ideas for the evolution of the NCFW.