Company description

Founded in 2011, North Coast Food Web’s (NCFW) mission is to cultivate a resilient and equitable food system by supporting producers and increasing access to local food. We are working toward a community that is home to a diverse and thriving group of farmers, fishers, ranchers, and food makers that can start and sustain their food businesses on the North Coast. The Food Web is a vibrant organization with 8 dedicated and skilled staff members. The last few years have been a strong growth period for us.

In pursuit of our mission and vision and with recognition of historical and present-day racism and inequity in our food system, NCFW is committed to justice, equity, diversity and inclusion. We are an Equal Opportunity Employer. Our employees and Board members are people with different strengths, experiences and backgrounds who are all passionate about creating positive change in our local community food system. We’re seeking candidates from all backgrounds and walks of life who are excited about helping build the future of our North Coast food system.

Job description

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, the ED is responsible for carrying out the daily operations of the organization within the parameters of those decisions. The ED is a liaison between the Board and staff, is responsible to the Board for the organization's consistent mission fulfillment and financial objectives, and has full discretionary power to implement the policies and directives of the Board.

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:
  Develop and execute annual and sustaining fund development plans in collaboration with Board and other staff, including outreach to private and public sources
  Lead major donors asks
  Develop a donor funnel, featuring multiple annual asks and multiple ways to give
  Lead organizing efforts for the annual Taste of the Food Web event, including sponsorship development
  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:
  Regularly evaluate staffing needs and propose new or reconfigured positions to best support mission fulfillment
  Create functional organizational structure and support systems
  Create leadership development and advancement opportunities for staff
  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

Compensation

this position is: salaried, $50,000 - $75,000

Application instructions

Deadline

no deadline