Executive Director

Position Description:

High-Functioning Organization

The Executive Director(ED)will ensure strong governance, financial sustainability, and overall operational excellence. They will support and strengthen systems, structures, and leadership practices that enable ISEEN to operate effectively, ethically, and with long-term resilience. Working in close partnership with the Board, the ED will build a high-performing, values-aligned team culture grounded in equity, trust, clarity, accountability, and continuous learning.

Brand Identity & Positioning

The Executive Director will support ISEEN’s brand identity, ensuring it clearly communicates the organization’s mission, values, and unique role within the experiential education ecosystem. The ED will steward consistent messaging across programs, partnerships, and communications, and serve as a visible ambassador and thought leader for ISEEN in the field. The Executive Director will champion bold, creative, and innovative marketing practices that elevate ISEEN’s storytelling, strengthen brand coherence, and position the organization for growth.

Program Quality & Excellence

The Executive Director will provide strategic oversight to ensure ISEEN’s programs remain mission-aligned, impactful, and responsive to the evolving needs of schools. They will guide program vision,content creation, evaluation, and continuous improvement using data, participant feedback, and field knowledge. The ED will ensure programs reflect best practices in experiential education.

Membership Growth

The Executive Director will partner closely with the Board and staff to strengthen and expand ISEEN’s membership community. They will support and advance strategies that increase engagement, retention, and reach, ensuring a compelling and differentiated value proposition for both current and prospective members. The ED will align membership growth with ISEEN’s mission, financial sustainability, and long-term network health.

Culture of Experimentation & Innovation

The Executive Director will champion a mindset of curiosity, learning, and responsible risk-taking across ISEEN. They will cultivate an environment where staff and partners are supported in piloting programs, experimenting, and adapting to emerging needs in the educational landscape. The ED will model adaptive leadership and use feedback data to innovate within all ISEEN initiatives.

Ideal Candidate Qualities

ISEEN is seeking an Executive Director who can skillfully balance the realities of leading a small, high-impact organization whileholding both the strategic and the day-to-day with clarity, care, and effectiveness. The ideal leader is equally comfortable setting long-term vision and strengthening systems as they are rolling up their sleeves, building relationships, and supporting staff and members. They bring a relational, adaptive leadership style that prioritizes trust, equity, and accountability while navigating growth, change, and being with creativity and resilient with resources. The Executive Director (ED) reports to the Board of Directors and oversees ISEEN staff.

ISEEN is looking for an Executive Director that demonstrates the ability to:

• Balance strategic vision with operational execution in a small organizational context
• Build and support strong systems thinking, with experience strengthening governance, financial sustainability, and organizational infrastructure
• Foster a collaborative and people-centered leadership approach that builds trust, clarity, and accountability across staff, Board, and partners
• Deepen relational capacity, with a proven ability to build, steward, and sustain relationships within a membership-based organization
• Serve as both a behind-the-scenes operator and a visible external ambassador and thought leader
• Display strong communication and storytelling skills that advance brand coherence, credibility, and impact
• Commit to program quality, continuous improvement, and mission alignment informed by data and feedback
• Cultivate engaged, values-aligned communities and support long-term membership growth and retention

The starting salary is $70,000-$90,000 USD, as well as a competitive total compensation package that includes health and retirement benefits.

Location: Remote with standard work hours that should be in US/North American time zone with the understanding that some meetings may fall outside of a typical 9am-5pm workday.Frequent travel will be required for institutes, board meetings, site visits, consulting, etc. Travel costs are covered by the organization.