Job Description

Are you the next Executive Director for the Rich Earth Institute?

Rich Earth Institute, Inc. is a research and demonstration non-profit founded in 2012 and located in Brattleboro, Vermont. We are known as an innovative environmental organization focusing on solutions at the intersection of sanitation and agriculture to ensure clean water for our communities and our planet. The impact of our work extends nationally and internationally through partnerships with academic institutions, industry leaders, and allies in the field of ecological sanitation.

Rich Earth launched the first and largest community-scale nutrient recycling initiative in the United States. Nutrient recycling harnesses nutrients in human urine as an untapped, locally derived, and abundant source of fertilizer. We operate the country’s first permit to produce sanitized Class A fertilizer from nutrients in human urine. With this demonstration project, Rich Earth is simultaneously reducing nutrient pollution, conserving water, supporting local agriculture, and preventing carbon emissions from synthetic fertilizer production and distribution.

Our Vision: A world with clean water and fertile soil achieved by reclaiming the nutrients from our bodies as elements in a life-sustaining cycle.

Our Mission: To engage in research, education and technological innovation to advance the use of human waste as a resource.

We are searching for a capable leader who will help us continue to bring our cutting-edge research and development into the wider world. The Executive Director co-directs all activities with our Co-Founder and Research Director. Together, they are responsible for the organization’s consistent achievement of its mission. As Rich Earth embarks on the next level of its growth, the Executive Director will guide the organization towards developing new forms of sanitation infrastructure and new ways of thinking about waste management.

A strong candidate will have demonstrated experience as a leader in…

• Program Development and Administration
• Staff Leadership and Management
• Communication and Coalition-building
• Budget and Financial Oversight
• Fundraising and Organizational Development

The Executive Director plays a vital role in guiding the organization forward, both in daily activities and in long-range strategy and alliance-building. Some specific responsibilities include…

• Ensure that the organization has a long-range strategy that achieves its mission, and toward which it makes consistent and timely progress.
• Provide leadership in developing so the organization is able to continue to develop technology and sources of revenue to reach more end-users.
• Lead the Rich Earth Institute team (along with the Research Director), ensuring these talented and dedicated individuals have the guidance, support, and resources they need.
• Ensure that the board is kept fully informed on the condition of the organization and all important factors influencing it.
• Represent the Institute’s work to a wide range of stakeholders including but not limited to working relationships with community groups, collaborators, research partners, and regulatory agencies.
• Maintain and expand a national/international network of colleagues and collaborators.
• Work with the Finance Director and the Finance Committee of the board in preparing a budget; see that the organization operates within budget guidelines.
• Supervise all fundraising activities related to grants, donors, and appeals.

Minimum Experience and Qualifications

• MA in leadership, management (or BA with commensurate experience); OR
• MS in a related technical field (or BS with commensurate experience)
• Excellent communication skills (verbal, interpersonal, written)
• Demonstrated leadership experience – able to lead and support a diverse, talented team
• Accessible, organized, efficient administrative and management experience
• Solid budgetary planning and oversight abilities
• Grant management and oversight

The current salary and benefits for the Executive Director are:

• 30 hours/week
• Flexible schedule (must spend some amount of time each week onsite, in Brattleboro)
• 90 hours of paid time off
• Seven paid holidays

Rich Earth Institute is a growing organization and we anticipate that both the salary and benefits will increase with this growth.

At Rich Earth Institute we recognize that diversity brings different perspectives and skills, making stronger teams that are more creative and rewarding. As such, we encourage people from all backgrounds to apply. Resumes are accepted until the position is filled.

How to Apply

Job Categories: Environmental. Job Types: Full-Time. Job Tags: advocacy, Clean Water, Community, education, environmental justice, farming, farms, fertilizer, gardening, grassroots, infrastructure, nutrient, nutrient recycling, rivers, sanitation, sustainability, sustainable agriculture, wastewater, and watershed. Salaries: 20,000 - 40,000.

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