Executive Director

Overview

San Juan Community Home Trust is a nonprofit community land trust based in Friday Harbor, Washington, dedicated to creating and preserving permanently affordable housing for low- and moderate-income residents of San Juan Island. The organization acquires land, develops and builds homes, and then sells or rents them below market value while retaining land ownership to ensure lasting affordability, allowing residents to build stability and homebuyers to build equity within a supportive, community-focused model. Its work supports community stability and diversity by enabling essential workers, families, and individuals to live and remain on the island through innovative homeownership and stewardship practices. Since its founding in 2001, the Home Trust has developed several permanently affordable neighborhoods and continues expanding with new projects, including up to 40 affordable rental homes, designed to meet the island’s ongoing housing needs.

The Home Trust is the only permanent affordable housing organization on San Juan Island with four Real Estate projects currently under development totaling approximately $43 million in total project costs. The organization has a yearly operating budget of approximately $1M. The organization has a three-person professional staff and a contract project manager and is supported by contributions, grants and project development fees.

About the Position

The San Juan Community Home Trust is seeking a mission-driven, community-oriented Executive Director to lead the organization. This is a great opportunity to serve as the public face of a trusted local organization working to preserve and expand permanently affordable housing on San Juan Island.

The ED will provide strategic, operational, and external leadership for the Home Trust, working closely with the Board of Directors, staff, donors, and public partners. The ED represents the Home Trust publicly, stewards relationships with partners and supporters, ensures strong internal operations, and advances the organization’s mission of permanently affordable housing.

The ED leads a small, growing, dedicated team and engages deeply with community members, homeowners, government partners, donors, and volunteers. This role is both hands-on and strategic, balancing development oversight, fundraising, team leadership, and community engagement in a small, high-impact organization.

Key Priorities

The new leader will initially spend time listening and learning, understanding the organization’s internal dynamics and community needs, and building relationships and trust with the staff, board and partners, as they better understand the organization’s strengths, challenges, and opportunities. Building upon these foundational relationships, the new ED will need to address the following key priorities in their first 12 months:

• Build and deepen relationships with town and county staff and elected officials, public agencies, major donors, homeowners, and community partners, serving as a trusted bridge-builder in a complex political environment.
• Strengthen and diversify fundraising and resource development, including donor cultivation, grant strategy, and a long-term case for support.
• Advance current real estate development initiatives, ensuring momentum continues and key milestones are achieved.
• Partner with the Board on strategic planning, clarifying long-term goals, priorities, and the organization’s business model for growth and sustainability.
• Strengthen operational structure and internal systems to support a small team, strengthen decision-making, and build sustainable organizational practices.

Essential Qualifications, Skills and Attributes

Education and Experience

• A minimum of 3-5 years of senior level experience and success, preferably in a nonprofit or similarly complex, community-serving organization
• Proven affordable housing and community land trust experience: Strong understanding of affordable housing development and/or land trust models, with a demonstrated ability to navigate complex projects and community needs.
• A bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience required, preferably in public, nonprofit management or business administration or management, or a related field,

Skills and Attributes

• Excellent Relationship-builder: A visible leader, an active community participant who can build trust quickly and represent the Home Trust with credibility across donors, partners, homeowners, and local government.
• Fundraising and donor cultivation: Demonstrated success developing fundraising strategies, cultivating major donors, and confidently asking for support to advance mission-critical work.
• Proven business acumen and people leadership: A steady, organized manager who can lead a small team with clarity, create structure and accountability, and support high performance in a collaborative culture.
• Strong listener with high emotional intelligence: Approachable, grounded, and able to build confidence through thoughtful listening, humility, and calm leadership under pressure.
• Skilled communicator and public speaker: A clear, compelling storyteller who can tailor messaging to different audiences and advocate effectively for the Home Trust’s mission.
• Adaptable: Capable of responding effectively to changing conditions and competing priorities.
• Demonstrated financial acumen, with the ability to interpret budgets and financial reports, and support responsible decision-making and long-term sustainability.
• Experienced in working effectively with a Board of Directors comprising varying areas of expertise and experience.
• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple priorities and projects simultaneously.

Location and Community Fit

This is an on-island leadership role based on San Juan Island. Candidates should be excited about living and working in a small, beautiful, full-service island with a highly connected community. The island is reached via ferry or airplane with the ferry being about an hour ride from the mainland. The island is characterized by its many cultural institutions, picturesque land and water scape, and growing tourism economy. The Executive Director will be visible and engaged across the island and will play a central role in shaping the Home Trust’s relationships and reputation.

Compensation

$115,000 - $135,000 depending on experience.

Benefits include:

• Paid Time Off, including vacation, sick, and personal days
• 13 Paid Holidays
• Retirement Plan with an employer match
• Monthly health care stipend
• Gym membership
• Ongoing learning through trainings and conference opportunities to encourage professional growth and continued development

Application Process

San Juan Community Home Trust has retained Glick Davis & Associates, LLC to facilitate this search on their behalf. To apply, interested candidates should e-mail their cover letter and resume as a single pdf file to: HomeTrust@glickdavis.com 

The position is open until filled.

Inclusiveness:

San Juan Community Home Trust is an equal-opportunity employer and seeks to recruit people of diverse backgrounds and support the retention and advancement of diverse persons within the organization. We believe that having a board, staff, and volunteer corps with diverse personal and professional backgrounds enhances our ability to meet our mission. 

San Juan Community Home Trust is committed to providing an inclusive workplace that includes people of diverse backgrounds and fully utilizes their talents to achieve its mission. We are committed to fostering and supporting a workplace culture inclusive of people regardless of their race, ethnicity, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, marital status, age, physical abilities, political affiliation, religious beliefs, or any other non-merit fact, so that all employees feel included, equal, valued and supported. 

• Paid Time Off, including vacation, sick, and personal days
• 13 Paid Holidays
• Retirement Plan with an employer match
• Monthly health care stipend
• Gym membership
• Ongoing learning through trainings and conference opportunities to encourage professional growth and continued development