Vice President, Food & Farms Opening at Ecotrust

Organizational Summary
Ecotrust's mission is to inspire fresh thinking that creates economic opportunity, social equity and environmental wellbeing. Our goal is to foster a natural model of development that creates more resilient communities, economies, and ecosystems here and around the world. Ecotrust's programs and approach are based on the premise that economic, ecological and social equity systems are mutually interdependent: the triple bottom line. Founded in 1991 and based in Portland, Oregon, Ecotrust works in several programmatic areas: Fisheries, Forests & Ecosystem Services, Indigenous Affairs Program, Food & Farms, Whole Watershed Restoration, Marine Planning, and Knowledge Systems.

Vice President, Food & Farms Opening
The Vice President is a member of Ecotrust’s senior leadership team and runs Ecotrust’s Food and Farms program, which is a regional and national leader in efforts to build resilient food systems that are environmentally sound, socially just, and economically viable. Our Food and Farms program is one of the organization’s major initiatives in fostering the wellbeing of people and place in our bioregion, and it inspires action nationally and internationally. The program is also our most tangible for the general public, and provides a gateway for broader engagement with Ecotrust.

The Vice President leads strategic and annual program planning, manages program and project staff, leads program fundraising, ensures the integration of program strategy and integration with other Ecotrust programs and initiatives.

Desired outcomes over the next three to five years include: Eaters and producers of food will collaborate with agencies, investors and others to effect the procurement, policy and practice changes necessary to transform the regional food system toward greater resilience. New farmers and food producers will be experimenting at scale with innovative business models, integrated production methods, and robust value chains. Our region will serve as a model for others around the country and the world for making food systems resilient in the face of climate change and development pressures.

Roles and Responsibilities:

• Actively participates in Ecotrust senior leadership team, attends weekly team meetings, helps identify, model and propagate best practices for success both within Ecotrust and across the food system, and helps set strategic direction for the organization as a whole;
• Expands and leverages our network of Farm to School leaders and the associated constituents for greater impact in changing institutional procurement practices;
• Expands and leverages online marketplace FoodHub to engage diverse food system stakeholders to visualize the needs and opportunities for investments, infrastructure, and next stage innovation to change the regional food system;
  Leads the development of an investment or venture approach for facilitating the transition of working lands and the succession of farms and ranches to a new generation of farmers;
• Works with members of the senior leadership team to coordinate and integrate the implementation of Ecotrust’s major initiatives;
• Proactively and deliberately cultivates networks of partners, influencers, and collaborators in industry, academia, civil society and government to achieve the goals of the program and the organization, and to scale our impact.
• Develops annual and strategic plans and budgets for the Food and Farms program and presents them to the board of directors;
• Cultivates donor and investor relationships; 
• Generates revenue necessary to balance annual expenses for food and farms program and contribute to overall financial health of the organization;
• Provides prudent financial management of limited organization resources;
• Provides effective leadership, mentorship and management of program staff.

Qualifications:

• Demonstrated commitment to Ecotrust’s mission and values;
• Proven leadership, networking and communication abilities in non-profit, for-profit or hybrid settings;
• Proven fundraiser, project and people manager;
• Five years plus professional experience in leadership roles in food and/or agriculture businesses or organizations;
• Proven collaborator, with strong track record of success
• Demonstrated ability to build and lead a team;
• Interest in long-term career with Ecotrust;
• Effective communicator with exceptional inter-personal skills and experience relating to other cultures;
• Creative, high energy, self starter, with initiative, and a tolerance for ambiguity;
• Willingness to travel approximately 20% of the time.

Salary: Competitive, based on experience.
 
Application Procedure:
Please send a cover letter, application, and résumé to Adam Lane via e-mail at jobs@ecotrust.org
no later than February 15th, 2013

Download an Ecotrust job application form here: Word version | PDF version

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Ecotrust is a casual, team-oriented workplace located in Portland's historic Pearl District.
Ecotrust is an equal-opportunity employer and seeks to promote diversity through its hiring decisions.