About the position
Penn State Outreach is seeking an experienced and visionary Executive Director to lead our Shaver's Creek Environmental Center, a robust University and community resource located within Penn State's 7,000-acre Stone Valley Forest in the heart of central Pennsylvania. The ideal candidate will possess exceptional leadership skills to inspire our team, engage our community, foster discovery, and encourage a culture of innovation and sustainable practices in keeping with the center's mission. The Executive Director ensures the success of educational programming through strategic planning, staff management, financial stability, engaged scholarship, and strong partnerships. Reporting to the Vice President for Outreach, the executive director will be tasked with maintaining high-impact, best-practice programs that meet community needs while upholding safety, sustainability, and excellence in experiential education. Through hands-on leadership, the executive director is responsible for curating the space and leading a team of professionals who create and support immersive experiences that foster human connection and promote caring and lasting relationships with the natural world. This role involves stewarding partnerships both internally and externally. Internally, the executive director must maintain and enhance connections with Penn State's academic colleges to leverage Shaver's Creek's expertise and unique resources, effectively extending classroom learning. Externally, the executive director collaborates with various groups through strategic alignment of programming to enhance connections to local, regional, and national audiences.
Responsibilities
- Lead a dynamic team of 25 dedicated individuals who manage and support Penn State students, emerging professionals, and passionate volunteers.
- Communicate and engage regularly with the staff and thoughtfully consider organizational needs in decision-making processes.
- Manage complex budgets to ensure fiscal viability, the development of funding resources, and resource acquisition for the sustainability of the site, programs and staff.
- Provide oversight for the maintenance of buildings, grounds, and satellite locations, and related budgeting and capital spending, compliance, procurement, project and construction management.
- Direct the facility and operations efforts through long-term and annual planning with staff and neighboring constituents (Stone Valley Recreation Area and Stone Valley Forest).
- Engage in development efforts and work closely with Penn State Outreach fundraisers to cultivate new donors, steward current donors, and provide oversight of the center's membership and major gifts programs, and endowment spending.
- Collaborate with the Vice President for Outreach and the Outreach Leadership Team on development initiatives, educational partnerships, and stakeholder engagement.
- Stay informed of trends in the field of experiential and environmental education, and relevant policies and regulations both internal to Penn State and external to the University.
- Represent Penn State Outreach and Shaver's Creek at conferences, community events, and for media inquiries.
Requirements
- A degree in environmental or experiential education, natural resources, education, or a related field.
- Experience in organizational management, program creation and evaluation, experiential, environmental, or outdoor education.
- Supervisory experience, including proven experience in staff leadership, training, and supervision.
- Evidence of successful fundraising, grant writing, and project management.
- Expertise in public speaking, networking, and community engagement.
- Ability to work flexible hours and be on-call for emergencies.
- Passion and commitment to the mission of connecting people to the outdoors.
Nice-to-haves
- Extensive knowledge of environmental science, outdoor recreation, natural history, and interpretive skills.
- Prior experience working in higher education.
- Strong organizational and time-management skills with a detail-oriented approach.
- Highly collaborative mindset to support internal teams and external partners.
- Flexibility, resourcefulness, positivity, and mature judgment, especially in stressful or challenging conditions.
- Experience with student engagement/student success.
Benefits
- Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage.
- Robust retirement plans.
- Substantial paid time off including holidays, vacation, and sick time.
- Generous 75% tuition discount available to employees as well as eligible spouses and children.
