Description

POSITION OVERVIEW

The incoming Executive Director will take the helm of a thriving organization renowned for its rigorous, unbiased scientific research, deep regional partnerships, and collegial culture during an exciting period of organizational growth. Serving as SFEI’s visionary leader, public champion, and internal cornerstone, this individual will be responsible for stewarding the organization's growth, strengthening its financial resilience, and expanding SFEI’s reach to new audiences and communities while preserving the impact, identity, and culture that make the organization distinctive.

The Executive Director reports directly and serves as the chief liaison to SFEI’s joint board. They will also manage a talented team of seven director-level staff. The new Executive Director will diversify SFEI’s funding base to ensure long-term sustainability, strengthen the infrastructure and management practices needed to support a maturing organization, invest in staff well-being, and foster a transparent, collaborative environment that encourages partnership and innovation. This individual must be a clear, inspiring, and credible communicator across a broad spectrum of audiences, from scientific experts and regulatory partners to philanthropic funders, community and tribal groups, and the general public, with the ability to translate complex, cross-disciplinary work into narratives that inspire partnership, investment, and trust. Intellectual curiosity, a deep appreciation for scientific integrity, and decisive strategic leadership in the face of complexity are essential qualities in this leader. This is a rare opportunity to shape the next chapter of an organization with an extraordinary foundation, an urgent, meaningful mission, and the potential for even greater impact.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Strategic Vision and Leadership

• Lead the development and implementation of an updated strategic plan, engaging the board, staff, and partners in a participatory process that integrates program, financial, and operational goals as well as organizational culture priorities.
• Uphold and strengthen SFEI’s identity as a collaborative, rigorous science institute and protect its scientific independence and credibility.
• Strengthen the organization's ability to pivot strategically in response to climate change impacts, public policy shifts, and evolving funding landscapes.
• Identify and pursue opportunities for innovation and collaboration across program areas, applying systems-level thinking to the organization’s direction.
• Serve as the primary liaison to SFEI’s Board of Directors and joint ASC board, ensuring effective communication, governance support, and alignment on organizational priorities.

Fundraising and Financial Stewardship

• Ensure the financial health of SFEI operations and key programs by maintaining and expanding its existing government contracts and public grant relationships.
• Oversee financial management and scenario- based planning to ensure SFEI can adapt to funding changes.
• Innovate SFEI’s business model and diversify its revenue portfolio by establishing new philanthropic relationships to increase unrestricted funding to support emerging programs, organizational infrastructure, and long-term financial sustainability.
• Collaborate with the board and development staff to cultivate a culture of fundraising and philanthropic engagement.
• Maintain transparency and accountability in financial management and reporting.

Organizational Leadership and Team Culture

• Model and enhance SFEI’s established collaborative, consensus-driven, and inclusive workplace culture, maintaining high morale and shared mission.
• Oversee internal systems modernization to match SFEI’s scale, including HR, financial management, and operational infrastructure.
• Directly supervise and mentor seven key leadership staff, enabling effective leadership throughout the organization.
• Build clear pathways for leadership advancement and structures that support retention of top scientific and professional talent.

External Relations and Communications

• Serve as SFEI's primary spokesperson and ambassador, elevating its visibility through media, public speaking, and stakeholder convenings.
• Champion science communications that connect SFEI's research to the lives and well-being of Bay Area communities.

Partnership Building

• Maintain and grow SFEI’s long-standing relationships with key federal, state, and local regulatory and partner agencies.
• Cultivate new partnerships with universities, research institutions, water suppliers, nonprofits, community organizations, and the private sector to expand SFEI’s collaborative reach.
• Build and sustain relationships that deepen SFEI’s role as a community science resource.
• Represent SFEI in regional forums, policy discussions, and cross-sector initiatives, ensuring the organization’s science informs decision making at the highest levels.

Requirements

DESIRED EXPERIENCES AND COMPETENCIES

The ideal candidate understands how to lead, organize, and fund a complex, technically sophisticated scientific organization. They bring a collaborative, people-centered leadership style, exceptional interpersonal skills, and the credibility to inspire trust across staff, board, partners, and the public. They lead with transparency, empathy, and genuine investment in the people around them. They bring scientific curiosity and communicate with ease about environmental science, particularly in water, aquatic systems, estuaries, or coastal ecosystems.

Strategic Vision and Leadership

• Proven experience leading organizational strategy through significant growth or transition, setting direction, navigating uncertainty, and uniting diverse partners around a shared mission.
• Track record of developing or implementing strategic plans through participatory and inclusive processes that build board, staff, and partner buy-in.
• Decisive and adaptive under uncertainty, with strong consensus-building and transparent communication to a board and staff.
• Systems thinker who can identify and articulate an organization’s unique value within a broader nonprofit community, and make strategic choices accordingly.
• Experience working effectively and transparently with a governing board.

Fundraising and Financial Stewardship

• Financially sophisticated nonprofit manager with experience overseeing organizational budgets, managing large grant and contract portfolios, and leading proactive financial planning.
• Track record in managing and growing government contracts and public grants.
• Demonstrated success innovating the business model of a grant-dependent organization by diversifying revenue, including building new relationships with foundations, corporate partners, and individual donors, and making a compelling case for philanthropic investment in scientific work.
• Experience building a culture of philanthropic engagement across an organization and board without compromising mission delivery.

Organizational Leadership and Team Culture

• Experienced manager with a track record of leading organizations through growth while maintaining staff morale.
• Proven ability to modernize internal systems, including HR, financial management, and operational infrastructure.
• Skilled at supervising senior leaders, with a coaching approach that strengthens leadership, collaboration, and delegation throughout the organization.
• Demonstrated success in building clear pathways for advancement and implementing structures that support the mentorship and retention of scientific and professional talent.
• People-centered leader with a history of fostering inclusive, transparent, and equitable workplace cultures where a diverse staff feels a strong sense of shared mission.

External Relations and Communications

• Exceptional written and verbal communicator with the ability to translate complex science for diverse audiences ranging from technical experts to community members to policymakers to media.
• Organizational spokesperson experienced in public speaking, press engagement, and representing an institution in high-stakes settings.
• Ability to inspire alignment and action among partners, funders, and decision makers by articulating the urgency and relevance of scientific work clearly and accurately without sacrificing nuance.
• Experience connecting research to community concerns and engaging authentically with communities of color, tribes, and underrepresented groups, with sensitivity to the equity dimensions of environmental science.

Partnership Building

• Demonstrated ability to build and sustain strong collaborative relationships with environmental regulatory agencies, government partners, academic institutions, funders, peer organizations, the private sector, and community organizations.
• Skilled at representing an organization in regional and national forums and connecting staff-level partnerships to broader institutional strategy.
• Familiarity with the San Francisco Bay Area’s environmental regulatory and policy landscape, or equivalent familiarity with a comparable regional ecosystem.