Are you a changemaker? Do you feel inspired by the thought of blazing new trails for community conservation on the north coast of Oregon? The Necanicum Watershed Council (NWC) is a small but mighty team of passionate conservation and community engagement volunteers, advocates and leaders, focused on uniting the ecological and economic sustainability of our 56,000 acre basin. We are looking for an Operations Director to co-shepherd our team through our newest chapter of growth and impact. If you are a visionary leader with a deep commitment to collaborative conservation and driving meaningful change to the conservation system that empowers disenfranchised communities to guide conservation priorities, we want you. 

About Us

The Necanicum Watershed Council is a community-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in Seaside, Oregon. The Council is composed of a diverse group of volunteers who collaborate to ensure the continued and amplified stewardship and monitoring of the 56,000 acre Necanicum Basin. The NWC promotes and leads projects which protect and enhance natural resources and ecosystem services through the cooperation and support of many partners including local agencies, schools, organizations, landowners, industries and business owners. In addition, the NWC is deeply committed to being a leader in the dismantling of inequities in the conservation space, as can be highlighted by our partnerships with the Chinook Indian Nation and Consejo Hispano, a local nonprofit providing community and services for the north coast’s Latinx population.

For close to thirty years the Necanicum Watershed Council has engaged with volunteers and stakeholders to conduct habitat restoration and conservation outreach work in the Seaside and Gearhart communities. We have a creative, committed and supportive Board of Directors made up of a variety of backgrounds from tribal conservation forestry to legal practice. With our recent growth in the last three years, the NWC is in the final stages of drafting and adopting a Strategic Action Plan as well as smaller guiding plans such as a Fundraising Plan, Annual Work Plan and Equity Action Plan. 

Who Are We Looking For?

You are a natural leader that is passionate about coastal riparian habitat restoration, natural resources stewardship, underserved community engagement in conservation and tribal leadership in conservation planning. You are committed to working in a cooperative manner with like-minded partners to ensure a more ecologically and economically sustainable future for the basin. You are also comfortable working in a co-director role with our Stewardship & Restoration Director, to ensure NWC is meeting the needs of our community. 

Our co-directors will place a premium on the continued fostering of partnerships that we have developed with the Chinook Indian Nation and Consejo Hispano, blazing the path for new ways to create leadership space for underserved communities in conservation. Our ideal candidate will be strategic in planning but creative in thought, mending the two for a meaningful and changemaking vision for the NWC. They will be a thoughtful listener and excellent communicator in their own individual way. In addition, the next Operations Director of the NWC will work tirelessly to direct and manage the organization’s operational, administrative, fundraising and partnerships interests. 

Most of all, you will have the courage to empower the NWC to continue blazing new paths for conservation that drive radical shifts towards indigenous leadership and BIPOC engagement, while maintaining critical relationships within the community, and will handle the complexities of local geopolitics with grace and care. 

You Are A/An:

• Experienced nonprofit, agency or business leader with a demonstrated proficiency in fundraising, natural resource management, grant writing, budgeting and financial management, administration and partnership development.
• Creative and individual leader with visionary guidance and versatile communication skills that can assist with tackling multi-layer stakeholder issues, working with diverse cultural and economic backgrounds and collaborative decision-making processes. 
• Individual adept in project and people management, comfortable driving solution-oriented conversations and more macro-scale planning, particularly as they pertain to organizational growth and community development.
• Fearless leader, willing to stand up for critical changes to the conservation system, step back when it is appropriate so that tribal and BIPOC partners can assume leadership roles, and continue working with community partners to establish these same practices across our conservation region. 

 

Who Is Also:

• Comfortable existing in often uncomfortable spaces, navigating rapidly changing organizational landscapes, funding opportunities and partnerships and a steadfast multi-tasker. 
• Confident working with very little direct guidance while also directing a diverse, multidisciplinary, multi-worldview team of experts and volunteers that foster a shared commitment to community and conservation. 
• Excited by the opportunity to engage with the Board of Directors and staff to create working plans and an ever-adapting vision for the organization’s next chapter of growth. 
• Deeply passionate about and dedicated to actionable, radical and changemaking programming in the Diversity, Equity, Justice and Inclusion space. 
• Bilingual in Spanish or Chinuk-Wawa (highly preferred but not required). 

 

What Is It That You Will Do?

The Operations Director will work in a co-director model with our Stewardship & Restoration Director to provide guidance and leadership to the organization, as a whole. The Operations Director will ensure that the NWC is effectively following the mission and vision of the NWC. You will be responsible for the day-to-day operations and administration of the NWC including but not limited to financial management and organizational budgeting, fundraising, community engagement and partnerships, volunteer recruitment and board development, event planning and implementation, and social media and website management.

 

• Board Engagement & Development 

 

• Strategic Planning and Navigation

 

• Administration

 

• Team Co-Management

 

• Grant Writing & Fundraising

 

• Budgeting and Financial Management

 

• Partnership Development and Community Outreach

 

• Continued Education and Training

 

Where Will You Work?

The NWC offices are located in downtown Seaside at 39 N. Holladay Dr., Seaside, Oregon 97138. It is expected that the Operations Director will work a hybrid schedule with roughly 2-3 days per week conducted at the office. However, there is flexibility in scheduling and it is important to note that the Executive Director is responsible for traveling throughout the basin, region and state for meetings and training. This position often requires working evenings and weekends for meetings and travel. 

Preferred Background:

• Bachelor's degree or higher in nonprofit management, natural resources, fish and wildlife, botany, habitat restoration or another closely related field;
• Experience leading a nonprofit organization, or being in a high-level nonprofit leadership position;
• Experience writing, securing and managing grants, with pre-developed relationships with funders, or the ability to effectively develop new relationships;
• Experience working closely with tribal, Latinx or other BIPOC or underserved communities;
• Comfort with working in uncomfortable situations, often leading radical changes that partner organizations need help understanding;
• Experience working effectively with agency representatives and processes
• Demonstrated experience with fundraising and organizational growth

What we can do for you:

• An expected starting salary of $80,000;
• NWC paid Medical, dental and vision coverage
• 10 paid federal holidays + 2 floating holidays
• PTO starting at 15 days per year and 12 sick days per year
• Flexible schedule (working between 35-40 hours most weeks)