Job Description

Chief Marketing Officer National Forest Foundation Flexible/Remote (Washington, DC preferred) Salary Range: $230,000$250,000 commensurate with experience + generous benefits

The National Forest Foundation (NFF) is seeking a bold, strategic, and creative Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) to elevate the organizations brand, voice, and influence on behalf of our National Forests and Grasslands. As the official nonprofit partner of the U.S. Forest Service, NFF is entering a dynamic new chapter of growth and national visibility.

Reporting to the President & CEO and serving on the Executive Leadership Team, the CMO will lead a growing nine-person team and oversee all aspects of brand, marketing, communications, and creative strategy. This is a high-impact, hands-on leadership role for a mission-driven executive who excels at unifying vision, building teams, and turning storytelling into strategic growth.

Key priorities include:

• Developing and executing a cohesive, enterprise-wide marketing and communications strategy
• Expanding brand awareness and national visibility
• Driving measurable audience engagement and donor connection
• Partnering cross-functionally to ensure integrated messaging and impact
• Leading with agility in moments of urgency, including wildfire and crisis response

This is a compelling opportunity for an experienced marketing leader passionate about public lands, conservation, and building connection through mission-driven storytelling.

To learn more and apply, visit:

Priority deadline: August 31, 2025

We recognize that candidates come with a wide range of lived and professional experiences. While no single candidate will have every qualification listed, were looking for someone who brings many of the following:

You are a strategic and creative marketing professional with experience building meaningful brands. You know how to blend storytelling and data to deepen audience connection, and youve led national or large-scale campaigns that increased visibility, trust, and engagement.

You understand how to craft and execute omni-channel campaigns across paid, earned, shared, and owned media. You bring particular fluency in digital, content strategy, and creative direction, and you have led successful marketing efforts that supported both programmatic and fundraising goals.

You lead with humility and clarity. You support high-performing, collaborative teams and create a sense of psychological safety. You know how to coach and grow emerging leaders while also managing up and across with transparency and accountability. You are not afraid to make difficult decisions when needed, and you approach them with fairness, discernment and a clear sense of purpose.

You are an effective collaborator who thrives in dynamic environments. You know how to build trust across teams, navigate competing priorities, and align messaging and strategy across departments. You bring systems thinking, strong communication skills, and a natural ability to connect the dots between functions, people, and goals.

You are passionate about public lands and the people who care for them. You bring a deep respect for connecting communities, industries, and agencies to increase effectiveness in support of National Forests and Grasslands. You are thoughtful about how to communicate across geographies, experiences, and points of view. You adapt fast and find a way forward when the path isnt obvious. You listen deeply, collaborate and consider the we over me to shape impactful solutions, while keeping NFF grounded to serve future generations. Your leadership and storytelling reflect integrity, authenticity, and a strong alignment with NFFs mission and values.

The ideal candidate brings a blend of strategic leadership, hands-on execution, and emotional intelligencewell-suited to a high-impact, high-growth moment. NFF welcomes candidates who offer many of the following:

• A deep appreciation for public lands and a passion for NFFs missionwith the ability to translate that passion into brand advocacy and audience connection. Direct experience in conservation or the environmental sector is not required; transferable experience from aligned sectors is welcomed.
• 15+ years of progressive experience in marketing, communications, and brand leadership roles, including experience managing teams and cross-functional initiatives. Prior experience in an executive or enterprise-wide leadership capacity is preferred, but not required.
• A successful track record of elevating brand visibility and audience engagement, with experience designing national-level campaigns, scaling reach through digital and traditional channels, and deepening public connection through compelling storytelling.
• Experience building and leading collaborative, high-performing teams, with at least 7-10 years of people management experience. This includes supporting early-career professionals, establishing strong systems and processes, and fostering a culture of trust, collaboration, and accountability. Experience managing distributed teams across geographies is strongly preferred.
• Demonstrated success operating cross-functionally, aligning marketing efforts with fundraising, program delivery, partnerships, and organizational strategy.
• Experience engaging and presenting to Boards and executive stakeholders, using clear data, insights, and KPIs to guide strategic conversations and build support.
• Comfort navigating complexity, including managing integrated marketing functions (content, creative, digital, earned media, brand) and working across distributed or matrixed teams.
• A bachelors degree in marketing, communications, public relations, or a related fieldor equivalent experience. An advanced degree is a plus, but not required.

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