President and CEO

About Bloedel Reserve

Initially a country retreat known as Collinswood, the estate that is now part of Bloedel Reserve was purchased by Prentice and Virgina Bloedel in 1951. In their retirement, the Bloedels doubled the acreage of the estate and utilized the help of noted landscape architects and designers to create the framework of the gardens present in the Reserve today. The Reserve was first opened to the public in 1988 with limited annual attendance. In 2009, the decision was made to open the Reserve more broadly to the public. Currently, Reserve encompasses 140 acres and 23 distinct landscapes and sees ~78,000 annual visitors. The Reserve’s mission is to enrich people’s lives through a premier public garden of natural land and designed Pacific Northwest landscapes. Bloedel is led by a dedicated staff of 45 full-time employees, 19 members of the Board of Trustees, and over 300 volunteers. The Reserve has an annual operating budget of $4.2 million and endowments totaling $25 million.

The Opportunity

Over the past decade, Bloedel Reserve has dramatically increased its capacity and made a number of additions and improvements to gardens, buildings, and programs. Today, the organization finds itself at another exciting inflection point, as it searches for a new leader. The Board of Trustees seeks a dynamic President & CEO to lead all aspects of the Reserve, with a focus on long-term goals, sustainability, growth, and philanthropy.

The President and CEO will provide guidance and oversight to ensure the successful implementation of the current strategic plan, working closely with the Reserve’s various constituencies.  The ideal candidate will bring a passion for the vision and mission of the Reserve, and an ability to translate that passion into organizational strategy, institutional and team leadership, and a dynamic approach to fundraising and ambassadorship.

Key Responsibilities Include:

Fundraising, External Relations, & Ambassadorship

• As the Reserve’s primary fundraiser, the CEO works closely with the Board and the Development and Communications staff to raise funds.
• In support of the Reserve’s strategic objectives, raises multiple forms of unrestricted and restricted giving (major, annual, capital, planned, etc.) from individuals, foundations, corporations and government sources.
• Participates actively in philanthropic relations with major donors to secure their support for ongoing mission pursuits, campaigns, and selected initiatives.
• Serves as the primary advocate and champion for the Reserve as a beautiful, restorative, environmentally sustainable place of horticultural excellence that is relevant and accessible to the broadest possible audience.
• Serves as the face and voice of the Reserve to external parties, working actively to elevate its profile, promote and publicize its programming and expand appreciation for its mission.
• Develops a visible position as a valued member of the greater Bainbridge Island community and broader communities locally, regionally, nationally and globally, with the ability to engage with people from a wide array of backgrounds, including funders, business leaders, city employees and elected officials.
• Attends conferences, gives talks and represents the Reserve externally to further the mission.
• Accelerates the adoption of a 21st century engagement model that allows for broader audience engagement and new relationships/partnerships.
• Explores new avenues of expansion, influence and visibility (regionally, nationally and internationally.

Strategic Leadership

• Leads the development and implementation of the Reserve’s overall strategy. Works closely with the Board and staff to create and implement the Reserve’s strategic plan, annual goals and objectives, which are supported by a sustainable business model.
• Effectively communicates the goals of the strategic plan both internally and externally so all stakeholders understand their role and responsibility in making the plan a reality.
• Strengthens and sustains the Reserve’s investment in landscapes, infrastructure, health and beauty of the gardens and its living collections to ensure long term viability of the gardens, forest and buildings.
• Evolves the organizational structure, systems and technology as needed to allow for greater efficiency, increased communication and a higher level of integration across departments and stakeholders.

Management, Operational & Financial Leadership

• Leads and manages a strong and capable employee leadership team, staff and volunteer corps so that they are inspired to do exceptional work. Conducts interactions with staff and volunteers in an accessible and positive manner.
• Builds upon and continues to realize the Reserve’s IDEA (Inclusion Diversity Equity and Accessibility) initiative. Ensures structures, policies and efforts are in place to encourage and support the IDEA initiative.
• Sets high standards for professionalism, work product and collegiality and holds people responsible for maintaining them.
• Supports the Board of Trustees in the recruitment and development of a strong and engaged Board membership.
• Executes all Board policies and decisions.
• Works with the Board and its committees; serves as a liaison between the Board and staff and guides Board development.
• Communicates effectively with the Board, staff, Senior Advisory Council and other key stakeholders about the Reserve’s performance.
• Effectively manages change as the Reserve’s needs and dynamics of the external environment change.
• Oversees activities pertaining to annual budget preparation, expense and revenue management, and endowment management, in addition to all business strategy.
• Provides proactive, creative, and effective leadership related to earned revenue, ensuring optimal financial performance of all revenue-generating activities of the Reserve, while reflecting the organization’s mission and high standards.

Candidate Profile

A Passion for Bloedel Reserve’s Mission
Fully embracing the mission, the President and CEO will be a bold thinker, knowledgeable about or affinitive toward horticulture and conservation. The ideal candidate will bring a sincere passion for arboreta and public gardens and a commitment to expanding the influence of the Reserve in the Pacific Northwest and beyond. The ability to embrace and operate in line with the Reserve’s guiding principles—horticulture & design, inspiration & creativity, stewardship & conservation, nature & wellbeing—is critical. The President and CEO continually innovates with the goal of helping the Reserve broaden its reach and deepen its impact. The President and CEO leads with sincerity and empathy, honesty and credibility and the highest levels of personal and professional integrity and ethics. The President and CEO will bring an appreciation for the importance of diversity, equity, accessibility and inclusion in all areas of the Reserve’s work and convey the importance of those values with authenticity, sincerity and passion.

A Visionary & Strategic Leader
The President and CEO is a visionary, innovative and strategic leader able to develop and articulate a vision in alignment with the mission for the ongoing advancement of a complex institution. This executive brings proven success leveraging the talents of a high-performing staff and Board to lead strategic planning and guide implementation and evaluation efforts. This leader actively and strategically seeks out partnerships and builds coalitions to advance the mission of the institution and its strategic priorities. The President and CEO must recognize the uniqueness of the Reserve’s position as a pillar of leadership in the local community, the Pacific Northwest region and within its national and global sphere of influence.

A Dynamic Ambassador & Fundraiser
As Bloedel’s primary ambassador, the President and CEO is an influential leader, capable of understanding and communicating the value of plants, gardens and nature across a wide range of audiences including donors, community members, volunteers, corporate partners, academia, legislators, philanthropists and beyond. The ideal candidate possesses exceptional interpersonal and communication skills with the ability to build and sustain strong support across a wide range of constituents. The CEO enjoys fundraising and brings a track record of success in this area that includes the acquisition of major gifts and grants from foundations, corporations, individuals, and the public sector at the local, state, regional or national level. The ideal candidate will inspire trust and confidence and excel at developing strategies to amplify the Reserve’s brand and visibility both in the Pacific Northwest region and beyond.

Institutional Leadership & Business Acumen
The President and CEO is an executive with strong staff, operational and financial management experience and the ability to set clear priorities, delegate and guide investment in people and systems. The ideal candidate has a proven track record of successful planning and oversight of complex organizations and will ensure fiduciary responsibility, transparent financial management practices and accountability. A natural leader, the President and CEO has the ability to inspire staff, Board, volunteers, partners and donors to work together to achieve new heights for the Reserve.
The ideal candidate must have a willingness to learn and gain a deeper understanding of the needs of the Reserve. The candidate also brings demonstrated success building a culture of collaboration and support, motivating and inspiring others to achieve impact through creativity, fostering teamwork and leveraging individual strengths to meet organizational goals. The President and CEO possesses the proven track record and ability to leverage the talents of a dynamic staff and provide a productive work environment with professional growth opportunities that result in team cohesion and camaraderie.

Compensation & Benefits

Salary is competitive and commensurate with experience. The salary range for this role is $185,000 to $200,000 with a comprehensive benefits package. Relocation assistance will be provided to the successful candidate.