Executive Director

About NWCDC & The Opportunity

The Northwest Cooperative Development Center (NWCDC) is a 501c3 nonprofit dedicated to strengthening cooperative enterprises and advancing a resilient, inclusive cooperative economy throughout the Pacific Northwest. NWCDC provides cooperative development services, technical assistance, education & training, and ecosystem-building support that centers shared ownership, democratic governance, and community benefit.

Over the past several years, NWCDC has experienced meaningful growth, expanding its programs, strengthening its team, and increasing its impact across the region. With a solid organizational foundation in place, NWCDC is entering its next phase of growth, focused on deepening its impact, strengthening internal systems, and expanding its leadership within the cooperative ecosystem.

As part of this evolution, NWCDC is conducting an open search for its next Executive Director. This search reflects NWCDC’s commitment to transparency and equitable opportunity, and it’s open to both internal and external candidates.

The Executive Director (ED) serves as NWCDC’s chief executive and is responsible for advancing the organization’s mission, strategy, and long-term sustainability. This role requires a highly capable organizational leader who can build strong systems, ensure accountability, and translate visions into clear, measurable outcomes, while working in collaboration with the staff and the Board of Directors.

While prior experience working in cooperatives is not required, a demonstrated commitment to cooperative values—such as democracy, equity, shared ownership, mutual accountability, and community benefit—is essential. The ED is expected to model, champion, and operationalize these values across all aspects of leadership and management.

Key Responsibilities

Mission, Strategy & Organizational Performance

• Lead execution of Board-approved strategy and organizational goals
• Align programs, operations, and partnerships with NWCDC’s mission and cooperative purpose
• Establish and track measurable performance outcomes
• Use data, evaluation, and learning to inform strategic decision-making
• Monitor trends in cooperative development and community wealth-building
• Ensure NWCDC’s work consistently strengthens cooperative enterprises and the broader cooperative ecosystem

Leadership, Team Management, & Organizational Culture

• Supervise, coach, and support the staff and the Leadership Team
• Establish clear expectations, priorities, and accountability systems rooted in cooperative values
• Conduct regular performance evaluations and feedback cycles
• Oversee hiring and organizational policies aligned with cooperative and equity-centered practices
• Foster collaboration while maintaining clear decision-making authority
• Address internal conflicts and personnel issues through fair, consistent, and documented processes
• Strengthen systems for communication and foster a culture grounded in cooperative values, professional growth, transparency, equity, inclusion, mutual accountability

Financial Leadership & Sustainability

• Lead budgeting, forecasting, and long-term financial planning
• Ensure strong financial systems, reporting, and internal controls across the organization
• Lead efforts to grow and diversify funding streams and fee-for-service revenues
• Ensure compliance with grants, contracts, and regulatory requirements
• Ongoing assessment of internal and external risks

Board Partnership & External Leadership

• Serve as primary liaison to the Board of Directors
• Provide clear reporting on organizational performance, opportunities, and risk
• Represent NWCDC with funders, partners, policymakers, and cooperative networks
• Act as a visible champion for cooperative values at regional and national levels

Required Qualifications

• Minimum 5 years of leadership experience, including 2–3 years in a senior leadership role (e.g. leading a team of at least 5 to 10 workers, ideally 15 to 30)
• Proven ability to lead organizations through growth, change, or increasing complexity
• Proven ability to grow and diversity funding streams and fee-for-service revenues
• Proven ability to create effective systems and metrics to guide work, track progress and improve outcomes over time
• Proven ability to make sound decisions under uncertainty, and to follow through with accountability
• Extensive experience with budgeting and organizational financial oversight
• This is a remote-first position based in the Pacific Northwest. Candidates should reside in or be willing to relocate to Washington, Oregon, or Idaho with the ability to travel regularly throughout the region for meetings, partnerships, and events. Our office is in Olympia, WA.

Essential Commitment

• Commitment to cooperative values, equity, inclusion, and community benefit
• Commitment to integrate cooperative values into leadership practices, systems, and external relationships
• Commitment to continually learn about cooperative models and support the cooperative economy and ecosystem through NWCDC’s work

Preferred Experiences

• Experience in cooperative development, governance and business models
• Experience in community or economic development, or mission-driven organizations
• Experience in contract management, CDFI management, land stewardship
• Experience in public policy, legislative advocacy and government relations
• Experience with participatory or democratic organizational models

What Success Looks Like

Within the first 12–18 months, the Executive Director will have:

• Strengthened alignment between strategy, operations, and cooperative values
• Improved systems of accountability and performance across the organization
• Improved financial sustainability and planning capacity
• Built a strong, trust-based partnership with the Board
• Elevated NWCDC’s visibility and leadership within the cooperative ecosystem

• Full health & dental Insurance (half cost for dependants)
• 3% retirement contribution regardless of employee match
• 10 paid floating holidays, 10 paid vacation days annually
• The Executive Director will participate in an annual performance review with the Board of Directors. This review will assess organizational impact, leadership effectiveness, staff development, and progress toward revenue growth and long-term sustainability. Compensation and benefits will be reviewed as part of this process.