What are the responsibilities and job description for the Executive Director position at Great Old Broads for Wilderness?
Job Announcement: Executive Director
Posted: April 22, 2025
Application first review date: May 23, 2025 (position open until filled)
Location: This position can be based in any location in the U.S.
Compensation: $100,000-$120,000/yr
Benefits: Health insurance (medical, vision, and dental), paid time off, retirement plan
Desired start date: By August 1, 2025
How to apply:
- Please submit a cover letter (no more than 2 pages) and resume packaged as
- Submit via email to jobs@greatoldbroads.org. All emails - both application
Director - applicant last name” in the subject line.
- Incomplete applications will not be accepted.
ORGANIZATION OVERVIEW AND CONTEXT
Great Old Broads for Wilderness (Broads) is a grassroots nonprofit organization founded by
older women to protect and expand wild public lands. We do this by engaging in education,
advocacy, and stewardship. We take firm positions but do so in a positive, lively and respectful
spirit. The bulk of our advocacy work is done by a nationwide network of volunteer Broadbands,
topic-based National or Regional Advocacy Teams, and individual members. Our network of
partner organizations and our involvement in regional and national coalitions helps us leverage
our effective grassroots network.
Headquartered for many years in Durango, CO, the changing nature and needs of Broads’
work, grassroots network, and staffing have led to the organization becoming fully
geographically dispersed, with members, Broadbands, staff and Board members located across
the US. There are nearly 40 Broadbands (chapters) from coast to coast dedicated to
strategically addressing local and national public lands issues. Our organization is supported by
a dedicated and knowledgeable team of staff members and an all-volunteer Board of Directors.
As a nationwide, women-led organization, Broads enjoys a singular niche within the community
working to protect public lands and wilderness. Broads’ leadership by older women injects
much-needed skill, experience, and commitment to protect public lands. We bond through
shared values and nurture each other as we nurture the planet.
Broads welcome, respect, and commit to increasing the diversity of members, volunteers, staff,
board, and partners. We honor and value the traditional ecological knowledge of Indigenous
people and the expansion of co-stewardship of lands to bring Indigenous expertise to decision
making.
Broads’ organizational culture is a combination of education, advocacy, and stewardship—with
an emphasis on humor and fun while achieving our goals. We are driven by a love of place and
a desire to work as a community to protect wild nature. We also care about wild places for their
capacity to create a sense of awe, connection, and renewal.
Historically, Broads has taken a two-pronged approach to public lands advocacy. We collaborate
with land management agencies on stewardship and monitoring, but we also serve as effective
advocates holding agencies accountable for ecologically-sound management practices.
Our deep level of engagement and extensive history in public lands advocacy qualifies Broads
to pursue legal action when necessary to protect and defend wild places. We believe in
democracy and dialogue, and encourage a science-based approach to management of public
lands and waters and to problem-solving. Our work is driven by a moral urgency to protect the
Earth, and its myriad and intricate systems to sustain all forms of life in perpetuity.
The next Executive Director will face the challenge of leading a team of remote staff and a
network of grassroots leaders at a time when Broads’ work is more important than ever. Our
organization is growing in numbers and relevance, amid a political environment that threatens
the tools we use to be successful. The Executive Director will need to leverage opportunities to
maintain and grow partnerships with local, regional, and national groups to achieve the
organization’s goals, direct development of our next strategic plan, and inspire and build on
connections within our dedicated team of staff and volunteer leaders.
POSITION OVERVIEW
Great Old Broads for Wilderness (Broads) seeks an experienced leader who is passionately
committed to the welfare of public lands and waters, the protection of wild areas, and to effective
grassroots advocacy to protect and steward these places. We welcome applications from
candidates who have a deep understanding of grassroots advocacy, significant experience in
nonprofit management and financial health, and demonstrated success in a leadership role. We
seek an individual whose working relationships demonstrate personal maturity, strong ethical
standards, and a commitment to justice.
This is a salaried, exempt position that reports to the Chair of the Board of Directors.
RESPONSIBILITIES
Leadership, Strategy, and Values
- Build trusting and mutually beneficial relationships with Broads staff, volunteers and
- Recommend and implement development of more fully distributed leadership,
communication, advocacy, and fundraising throughout the organization.
- Maintain and strengthen information and feedback loops between staff, Board, volunteer
transparency, and efficiency.
- Bring big-picture thinking to the ongoing implementation, assessment and updating of
our strategic plan.
- Set strategic direction for and support advocacy programs and campaigns.
- Promote the role of volunteer leaders and staff as spokespersons for the organization.
organization, with funders and supporters, and in broader coalitions.
- Model a commitment to shared leadership within staff and throughout our organization,
stressing transparency, openness to others’ ideas, and mutual problem-solving and
accountability.
Fundraising, Budgeting, and Financial Management
- Ensure that the organization is fiscally sound and financially healthy.
- Serve as a visionary and inspiring voice to increase overall annual financial support.
donors.
- Lead the development of an actionable annual fundraising and foundation support plan
to ensure diverse, sustainable and values-aligned funding necessary to carry out the
organization’s program of work. This will include grant development, cultivating major
donors, and developing a commitment to and skills for fundraising throughout the
organization.
- Lead the annual budgeting process and financial reporting to ensure that financial
resources are utilized effectively and efficiently to advance the organization’s mission,
strategies, and priorities. This includes budget development, approval by the Board, and
timely monitoring and reporting throughout the year.
Staff and Volunteer Leader Management and Organizational Wellbeing
- Model and promote a values-driven, collaborative organizational culture where staff and
and well-being.
- Work with Broads’ staff to ensure strong, transparent, and equitable staff hiring, training
and development, supervision and evaluation, and ongoing communication.
- Directly supervise, support, and regularly convene a geographically disbursed,
- Support the development of collaborative grassroots advocacy teams within the
organization. Support individual Broadbands’ leadership of regional advocacy and of
national advocacy in topic areas in which they have deep expertise.
- Ensure development of and compliance with internal policies.
- Work with staff and the Board to set clear, realistic annual goals and objectives and to
ensure sufficient organizational resources to achieve outcomes.
- Recommend and implement changes to organizational structure and systems as needed
- Assess the strength and effectiveness of communications between all components of the
organization and communication with our key public groups. Recommend improvements
to strengthen internal ties and to coordinate our goals with external groups.
- Model and encourage a healthy work-life balance for self and staff and volunteer
leaders, including reasonable work plans and a sustainable workload.
Board and Governance
- Partner with the Board of Directors and Board committees to ensure strong governance,
- Partner with the Executive Committee to identify and recruit candidates for the Board
and the Council of Advisors.
- Bring policy recommendations to the Board and actively engage the Board in strategic
- Provide timely information to the Board and assist with planning and facilitating meetings
in a manner that encourages participation, discussion, questions, and decision-making.
QUALIFICATIONS
We seek candidates who value the power of grassroots community organizing, embrace our
mission and values, and bring substantial experience in key areas. A successful candidate
should have the following qualifications:
Required Qualifications
- Deep commitment to the protection and stewardship of public lands and the preservation
- Substantial successful experience leading a nonprofit organization, including; foundation
and individual donor fundraising, financial management, strategic direction, human
resources, communications, information systems, and administration.
- Demonstrated success in fundraising; including building strong relationships with
foundations, major donors, and experience with writing and/or supervising the
preparation of grants.
- Demonstrated ability to develop strong, open working relationships with staff, volunteer
leaders, and organizational allies. Ability to work through and resolve conflict, build trust,
and bring disparate people and groups together.
- Demonstrated dedication to advancing justice and equity within organizations.
- Experience working with and cultivating a deeply engaged Board, including supporting
leadership development and facilitating transparent, informed, shared decision-making.
- Strong oral and written communication skills, including the ability to clearly communicate
Desired Qualifications
- Experience leading, managing, and developing grassroots organizations.
- Experience with using a full suite of advocacy strategies and tactics, including litigation,
- Experience working with Indigenous communities.
- Knowledge of and relationships with other environmental organizations, coalitions, and
movements, particularly those engaged in efforts that complement our core mission.
- Knowledge of and relationships with key foundations supporting conservation work.
- Experience managing remote teams.
- Experience with public lands policy and agencies at local, state, national, and tribal
levels and familiarity with key laws governing protections for wild areas.
Salary : $100,000 - $120,000