Executive Director

At Groundwire we believe relationships are the building blocks for all social change and that technology is the "secret sauce" for supporting deeper relationships between organizations, activists, policy makers, and the overwhelming majority of us that care about building a sustainable society.

Groundwire (originally ONE/Northwest) was conceived in 1995 as an organization that would deliver the environmental movement from the technological dark ages. For the past 15 years, we have been doing just that - from the days of setting up local servers and email accounts to our focus today on state-of-the-art online communications and constituent relationship management systems.

Groundwire is an entrepreneurial nonprofit consulting group that builds websites, databases, and email and social media tools. We also provide the online communications strategy needed to help groups get the most out of these powerful tools.

Our staff is made up of people who are creative, knowledgeable and passionate about the work we do. We are capacity builders, collaborators, innovators, and pioneers in our field. And we have a lot of fun.

In 2009, the organization underwent an exciting transformation. We changed our name, our look and feel, and the way we position ourselves. Our "You are connected" tagline highlights our new focus on our role in building the connections that power the movement for a sustainable society. In 2009, we also expanded our service region beyond the northwest, so that we now serve organizations across the United States and Canada.

We are now looking for a new Executive Director to capitalize on these important changes and lead the organization into the next phase of its development. This is an unprecedented opportunity for the candidate with the right mix of tech-savvy, entrepreneurialism and passion for a sustainable world.

Our ideal candidate will have a mix of technology, business and mission-related experience. She or he will feel equally at ease leading our technical and consulting staff and working with individual donors and foundation officers to fund this important work. We are looking for someone with immense passion, who leads by example and can serve as an inspiration not just for staff but for our client organizations and the people who support them in their work.

If this sounds like you, keep reading...

Position Overview:

The Executive Director is the Chief Executive Officer, responsible for the vision, leadership, management, and direction of Groundwire. He or she will ensure that it achieves its mission of "delivering technology to engage people, organizations and communities in building a sustainable society."

The Executive Director oversees all program and business development, operations, planning, financial management, and fundraising needed to develop, promote, and execute Groundwire's programs and services and to sustain the organization.

The Executive Director is responsible for managing and developing the business model and mix of philanthropic and earned revenue streams that ensure the fiscal health of Groundwire, which has an annual operating budget of $1.7M.

The Executive Director is expected to create and maintain working relationships with a wide range of Groundwire clients, business partners, funders, grantees and individual donors.

The Executive Director reports to the Board of Directors and directly oversees a senior management team, made up of the Directors of Operations, Consulting Services, Client Strategy, and Development, together with 2 other senior staff.

Responsibilities:

Leadership:

Provides strategic leadership in collaboration with the Board of Directors to ensure Groundwire's financial viability, positive impact on client organizations, and fulfillment of its mission. Recruits, hires, develops, and supervises skilled managers and staff. Builds a collaborative team approach and encourages leadership development of staff.

Business Development:

Leads business development efforts to secure strategic funding and project work that furthers the mission. Works with the Board of Directors and senior management to develop an optimal business model, made up of an appropriate mix of philanthropic and earned revenue streams. Reviews and approves all major projects and funding proposals.

Relationship Building & Marketing:

Builds strong relationships with individuals and organizations in the nonprofit, philanthropic and for-profit sectors to enhance Groundwire's reputation and business. Represents Groundwire publicly through speaking and writing. Maintains ongoing relationships with the organization's most important clients and funders. Determines marketing directions and participates in marketing efforts.

Funding Development:

Develops and implements a fundraising plan in partnership with the Development Director. Cultivates strong relationships with individual donors and foundations to sustain Groundwire's operations.

Planning, Budgeting & Financial Management:

Oversees all budgeting and financial management functions in partnership with the Director of Operations. Leads the annual planning and budget decision-making and makes a final recommendation of the annual plan and budget to the Board of Directors. Responsibly implements the annual plan and monitors the budget. Leads the long-term strategic planning process and appropriately delegates the implementation.

Service Quality:

Ensures high quality of service and overall client satisfaction in partnership with the Director of Consulting Services.

Program Development & Impact Assessment:

Oversees all new program development to ensure alignment with mission and the organization's business model. Conducts appropriate level of program evaluation to measure positive social impact.

Technical Development:

Keeps abreast of new developments in technology to ensure that Groundwire continues to fill a vital function. Oversees technical staff in determining and implementing the most appropriate technical direction for Groundwire's programs and services.

Compliance & Administration:

Ensures compliance with applicable local, state and federal laws pertaining to nonprofit organizations. With authority from the Board of Directors, approves and signs major organizational documents, including leases, contracts, grants and employment related matters. Monitors and evaluates management of all legal matters.

Teamwork:

Develops strong working relationships with team members, the Board of Directors, clients, funders, and the environmental movement as a whole.

Qualifications:

Experience:

• Strong leadership experience in managing a highly skilled staff, using outcomes and metrics to ensure individual and organizational accountability.
• Business strategy/planning expertise, including experience developing strategic plans with measurable outcomes.
• P&L experience for product line or small business, ideally in a technology-based consulting service business, or a web or CRM applications development business.
• Proven success in nonprofit fundraising and a strong track record in cultivating new business opportunities.
• Strong project management skills, including the ability to assess and manage project risk.
• Success managing a multicultural staff in rapidly growing organization of at least 20-30 people.
• Experience building and managing a technology-based organization, including scanning the horizon for new, relevant technologies, incorporating them into programs and staying ahead of the technology curve.
• Public speaking, advocacy, and evangelizing a technology-based service and company.
• Success building an organization despite budget constraints, making most efficient use of available resources.
• Keen understanding of sustainability issues, social responsibility and entrepreneurship.
• Experience building strategic partnerships.
• Experience working on a board and/or with a board.

Knowledge:

• Knowledge about and comfort with current technology, preferably in the areas of web development, social networking, databases and database-driven websites, CRM, and e-mail marketing.
• Knowledge of the environmental nonprofit landscape and familiarity with the goals, values, and vision shared by Groundwire.
• Knowledge of nonprofit fundraising and organizational development.

Skills & Abilities:

• Proven leadership, coaching and team-building skills.
• Strong fundraising and deal-closing skills.
• Proven experience and ability in managing technical projects: analyzing situations, making sound decisions and implementing them effectively.
• Strong interpersonal skills with the ability to recruit, motivate, appropriately manage and retain diverse staff in a dynamic and fast-paced technical environment.
• Ability to work well with and inspire trust from diverse staff, customers, business partners, individual donors, funders, and the community at large.
• Ability to represent Groundwire effectively to others.
• Excellent communication skills, including listening, public speaking, and verbal and written communications.
• Strong business planning, budgeting, and fiscal management skills.
• The ability to demonstrate sensitivity to and appreciation for diverse viewpoints and different communication styles.

Education:

An undergraduate degree is required. An MBA or MPA, although not required, is highly desirable.

To Apply:

All interested and qualified candidates can submit a cover letter and resume on our website.