Chief Executive Officer (CEO)

Position Summary

Global Footprint Network seeks an entrepreneurial new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) with strong leadership qualities to propel the organization into its next phase of global impact. By expanding Global Footprint Network’s on-the-ground applications (via consulting and fee for service projects) and provocative thought leadership (via global communications campaigns), you will be joining the team at a pivotal moment of strategic redirection. Sharing our passion for the ecological overshoot concept, our next CEO will be a holistic systems thinker who can link overshoot to prevailing sustainability conversations and enjoys challenging the status quo.

In this role you will work closely with the Board of Directors, President/Founder, and Management Team to drive strategy, outreach, and impact. As CEO, you will be expected to coach and mentor personnel at every level (management, employees, and contractors) to support individual well-being and ensure optimal organizational effectiveness.

Location: Role will be primarily remote, with regular travel to our hub offices (Oakland, California; Geneva, Switzerland; and Chiusi, Italy) and various events throughout the year. Preference will be given to candidates based in Europe.

Salary Range: €100,000 – €115,000 EUR (approximately $105,000-$120,000 USD)

Key Responsibilities

Strategy and Leadership

• Provide overarching leadership to ensure fulfillment of the organization's mission, vision, and strategic goals; maintain alignment across US and European offices
• Lead strategic planning and monitor implementation; communicate the organization’s direction in a way that connects ongoing and future work back to strategic objectives
• Empower and hold staff accountable for achieving organizational goals, including by leading the development/implementation of work plans, performance dashboards, etc.
• Promote cohesion and proactive communication among a largely remote, multicultural, multilingual team that lives and works across multiple time zones
• Oversee the Management Team; support coordination between the organization’s key program areas: Research, Communications, Applications, and Operations

Fundraising and Project Development

• Devise and lead resource development to ensure the organization’s financial health
• Lead the development of a cohesive suite of consulting services/fee for service projects
• Leverage existing and develop new relationships to expand paid collaborations
• Advise team leaders on fundraising opportunities, including foundation outreach, grant management/execution, project development, and individual giving initiatives

Finances and Internal Operations

• Ensure compliant, effective, and efficient operations, including assuming ultimate responsibility for the financial affairs and managerial conduct of the organization
• Prepare and ensure execution within the organization’s annual budget
• Oversee human resource management, including capacity planning and fair and competitive compensation
• Drive the development of internal processes that produce standardized work products; hold staff accountable for use of systems and presentation of consistent deliverables

Board of Directors

• Serve as primary liaison to the Board of Directors, organizing meetings/retreats and preparing and presenting relevant updates, impact metrics, and financial reports
• With Board and its Chairperson, devise and implement organizational strategy, fundraising, and Board recruitment/management initiatives

Professional Qualifications

Minimum

• Strong communicator who can engage deeply on the organization’s mission and vision
• 8+ years’ experience in strategy, sustainability, green economy, or other relevant field; knowledge of key trends in sustainability, climate science, environmental metrics, etc.
• Proven track record of successful fundraising and/or project development activities
• Experience managing a team, including providing performance feedback and fostering team members’ well-being, engagement, and professional development

Preferred

• 5+ years’ experience in senior leadership positions
• Fluency in English required; preference for working knowledge of other language(s)
• Advanced degree in sustainability, ecology, environmental science, sociology, geography, environmental economics, engineering, or other relevant field
• Experience developing comprehensive fee for service/consulting services program
• International experience, particularly related to media and communications campaigns, operations, and/or fundraising/project development

Characteristics

• Demonstrated commitment to sustainability and wellbeing for all
• Psychologically astute with a curious-first approach to disagreement
• Strategic, entrepreneurial, adaptive, and a growth mindset
• High cultural and emotional intelligence, particularly across different working styles
• Sense of humor and willingness to find joy in the work and interactions with colleagues

About Global Footprint Network

Global Footprint Network is an international non-profit organization that that promotes a sustainable economy by advancing the Ecological Footprint, a tool that makes human demand on nature measurable. The Ecological Footprint has become one of the most widely used policy metrics in the world, the only tool that comprehensively measures human demand on the planet against what the planet can supply. It is increasingly being applied by governments and investors to guide decision making in an ecologically constrained world.

To Apply: Send a resume and cover letter to Marissa Belau, Director of Operations, at jobs@footprintnetwork.org with the subject line "Chief Executive Officer Application." Please include a link to your LinkedIn profile, how/where you heard about the position, and describe why ending overshoot is important to you. Application deadline is May 31, 2022.

Candidates will be asked to complete several interviews with our Management Team, Board members, and staff. We hope to have the position filled by Earth Overshoot Day 2022.