ABOUT CHILDREN'S NATURE INSTITUTE: The mission of The Children's Nature Institute (CNI) is to educate children, families and communities through interactive experiences with nature and to inspire respect, responsibility and a connection to the natural environment. CNI's 3-part Nature Discovery Program (NDP) has been offered at no cost to Los Angeles' most disadvantaged schools for over 20 years. The program provides direct educational experiences to students during their most critical, school-age developmental years: PreK to 3rd grade. With 3 environmental educators and 2 traveling classrooms, CNI works with more 100 schools, early education centers and social service agencies to serve over 13,000 children, teachers, and caregivers annually. Since 1985, CNI has reached over 400,000 children, their parents and teachers throughout the greater Los Angeles area. RESPONSIBILITIES: The Executive Director reports directly to the Chair of the Board of Directors and works closely with the Board of Directors in all aspects of the organization's management, fundraising, volunteer management, marketing, finance, program, and organizational development. Core areas of focus include the following: Development In collaboration with the Board of Directors and Director of Development, lead hands-on development and fundraising efforts for CNI. In collaboration with the nominating committee, create, cultivate and grow relationships with new and prospective Board members. Develop partnerships and/or contractual relationships with various community partners while clearly articulating mission and goals of agency. Create and lead partnerships with high-level corporate, nonprofit, and governmental health organizations to promote the mission of CNI and drive fundraising initiatives. Plan strategies for program service revenue partnerships with corporate sponsors. Ensure organization's financial stability and sustainability by maintaining healthy cash flow and adequate reserves. Grow fundraising as needed to facilitate the hiring of new staff and expansion. Create and oversee a strategic grant-writing program to be carried out by the Development Director. In collaboration with the Development Director, create a fundraising plan to attract new individual donors and encourage existing donors to increase their support. Participate in fundraising activities as appropriate. Strategic Planning Refine the focus of CNI's mission to articulate value to target audiences and shape strategies for the next level of growth and impact. Develop and drive the strategy of CNI within the broad context of the local landscape, taking a leadership role in driving a collaborative process with the Board of Directors and staff that would result in the development of strategic plans and 12-month operational plan and budget. Develop, quantify and measure key communication metrics and participate in the analysis of actual result comparatives to plan, identifying business trends to track progress against short and long term objectives. Organizational leadership Manages all day-to-day operations of CNI including administrative, programmatic, development, human resource, financial and planning functions. Supervise, review, and promote the strategic vision to grow the agency. Identify, assess and inform the Board of Directors of internal and external issues that affect the organization. Oversight of annual audit and 990 tax return. Act as a professional advisor to the Board of Directors on all aspects of CNI's activities. Foster effective teamwork with the Board of Directors and between the Board of Directors and the staff. Conduct official correspondence on behalf of the Board of Directors as appropriate and jointly when appropriate. Participate in CNI's financial planning, forecasting, and analytical activities; ensure alignment of financial plan with vision and strategy. Direct and implement appropriate financial and legal compliance, reporting and auditing activities to ensure the financial integrity and viability of the organization. Programming Oversee daily operations and, working with management staff, streamline procedures and policies. Solidify service delivery within current service area and expand agency services to greater Los Angeles County.