Executive Director

Home on Whidbey has an exciting opportunity for an enthusiastic and motivated individual to lead and direct this growing community land trust organization on wonderful Whidbey Island.

It is the Executive Director’s responsibility to develop and strengthen stakeholder relationships including government, philanthropic, non-profit and business partners, and culturally specific communities. In addition, the Executive Director leads the organization in short and long-range development planning to ensure a strong homeownership pipeline for Home on Whidbey homebuyers.

Core Responsibilities:

Organizational Leadership

• Lead the Home On Whidbey team, (staff, board, advisory committees, members, and supporters) to achieve strategic goals and ensure the tools, systems, training, and support necessary to be efficient and effective.

• Balancing resources with organization goals, skillfully assessing homeownership program and project development pipeline impacts on both Home On Whidbey’s fiscal position and staff capacity. Manage these impacts to actively support, motivate the membership and board of directors. Ensure that job descriptions accurately reflect future staff roles and responsibilities. Assign and delegate work effectively to maximize organizational, strategic, and diversity, equity and inclusion processes.

• Collaborate with the board to set organizational goals, assess performance measures, and identify new opportunities for growth. In coordination with the Board President, ensure that each board member is provided with necessary information, including an updated board manual, and access to training and mentoring as needed to serve effectively.

• Ensure compliance to public and private funders in the course of program implementation as well as with all applicable state and federal regulations.

• Ability to work remotely and provide stakeholders with effective communication on all progress, challenges, conflicts, and successes for the organization

  Real Estate and Land Development

• Oversee all phases of housing development, from conceptual planning and design to financial feasibility and securing funding sources; from municipal approvals to entitlements to construction bidding/oversight, contracts and execution; from sales to ongoing project operations.

• The ability to coordinate multiple housing projects in various stages of development in partnership with lenders, government, community-based organizations and contractors.

• Effectively use outside expert consultants and contractors as necessary to carry out and ensure the highest quality of Home on Whidbey’s programs and practices.

• Maintain and create new relationships with local leaders, developers, non-profits, and community members to create a pipeline of potential new development projects.

• The ability to coordinate and pursue opportunities to bring additional homes intro trust, including through planned giving.

  Fundraising, Fiscal Management, and Grant Writing

• Oversight and administration of Home On Whidbey’s finances, investments and related operational systems, including the board approved annual operating budget and implementation of annual organizational budgets.

• Proactively cultivate, solicit, and steward prospective major donors through regular personal outreach, site visits, relationship-building, and direct participation in gift requests (“the ask”), ensuring a robust pipeline of individual, foundation, business, and public funders

• Lead key staff and board members in the continued refinement of a fundraising strategy and tracking financial accomplishments to ensure that large donor gifts, grant writing, membership, state and federal funding and special project campaigns cumulatively meet or exceed budgeted funding and long-term stewardship goals.

• Ensure long-term sustainability of homeownership programs and financial security of homes in trust.

  Community Relations, Membership, and Political Advocacy

• Continue to develop a deep understanding of social equity issues in housing development outcomes and advance Home On Whidbey’s reputation in the community as a leader in affordable housing, community development, and asset-building through permanently affordable homeownership. Cultivate and sustain Home On Whidbey’s strategic partnerships with neighborhood residents, associations, lenders, other non-profits, and local and state elected officials, etc.

• Cultivate and sustain Home On Whidbey’s strategic partnerships with neighborhood outreach to ensure positive media relationships, regular communications with the community at large, community organizations, public agencies, and member/donors.

• Serve as an effective spokesperson for the organization by engaging and implementing outreach to ensure positive media relationship, regular communications with the general public, community organizations, public agencies, and member/donors.

• Maintain and strengthen partnerships with other non-profits and government agencies to increase land and property resources to expand the portfolio of affordable homes.

• Participate and maintain affiliation in community, regional and national professional organizations, conferences and networks that enhance and advance the work of Home On Whidbey’s community land trust model.

• Solid understanding of building and communicating with the membership through direct contact, social media, website communication, including formal and informal communications.

• Possess a variety of proficiency with software programs and social media platforms to aid with communication, development, and outreach.

  Minimum Qualifications:

• Ability to lead and direct a nonprofit agency with strong social and programmatic commitments, including commitment to equity, inclusion, social and economic justice, and the limited equity model of property ownership.

• Established record of collaboration and building effective relationships with a board, staff, and stakeholders and overall non-profit management.

• Significant experience in housing development, community development, or planning as a program director, agency administrator, or in management or supervisory role to achieve collective and individual goals.

• Significant experience in financial oversight. budgeting. and reporting.

• Demonstrated fundraising experience with successful generation of new revenue through a variety of strategies including donor relations, individual giving, event planning, government funding, foundations, corporations, and planned giving.

• Experience working with culturally and economically diverse communities, including identifying and collaborating with community partners.

• Proficiency in/familiarity with customer relationship management, financial management, and project management platforms, as well as the Microsoft suite of programs, Mailchimp, Salesforce, and Squarespace.

• A bachelor's degree (or equivalent work experience) and several years of related work experience with at least three years in a project management or development role preferred.

• Ability to travel locally using one’s own vehicle, while carrying acceptable insurance and holding a valid driver’s license for occasional travel to conferences and meetings.

  Wish List Qualifications:

• Practical knowledge of planning and feasibility, securing funding sources, bidding and contract oversight, and ongoing project operations a plus.

• Passion for and understanding of the community land trust model and its foundational tenets.

• Established relationship building experience with funders from both public and private sectors.

• Knowledge of construction project management and/or development, with aptitude for managing entire complex and large-scale projects, including the project scope, team, and resources.

• Knowledge of affordable housing programs or real estate finance/development and of issues affecting low-to-moderate income households.

• Experience negotiating agreements and managing complex land and housing projects from start to finish, sometimes in political environments.

• Experience in the political environment, legislation, and the legislative process and knowledge of federal, state, and city housing policy and funding programs.

  Benefits: Vacation & Sick

  11 holidays (Federal holiday schedule) + 2 floating personal days per year.

  8 hours per month accrued vacation time in the first year (96 hours annually)

  8 hours per month accrued sick time (96 hours annually)

  Equal Opportunity Employment:

  Home On Whidbey values a diverse workplace and strongly encourages women, people of color, LGBT individuals, people with disabilities, members of ethnic minorities, foreign-born residents, and veterans to apply.

  Home On Whidbey is an equal opportunity employer. Applicants will not be discriminated against because of race, color, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, religion, national origin, citizenship status, disability, ancestry, marital status, veteran status, medical condition, or any protected category prohibited by local, state or federal laws.

  About Home on Whidbey Community Land Trust:

  Home On Whidbey, a community land trust is a non-profit organization that strengthens community by holding land in trust for permanently affordable homeownership and other community needs, and by offering financial and educational services to people of limited means.

  Home On Whidbey is a membership-based organization, which gives homeowners and donors voting rights on organizational decisions. This ensures that the community members served by Home On Whidbey are part of the decision making that drives our mission-based work.

  Statement of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion:

  Home on Whidbey, a community land trust is committed to growing a community EVERYONE can afford. We acknowledge that our role as stewards is informed by the history of this land.

  We recognize the barriers to homeownership faced by historically marginalized communities and the ways discrimination has contributed to generational poverty and injustice in the housing market.

  We honor the roots of the community land trust model in the Civil Rights Movement. With this in mind, we remain committed to social justice.

  We aim to expand our definition of community until it includes all people.

  We prioritize equity and justice in our staff, our board membership, and our policies and procedures.

Thank you for Applying!

When we receive your application, we will send a confirmation email and

subsequently we will do our best to keep all applicants apprised of our progress throughout the hiring process.