The North Pacific Fishery Management Council is seeking motivated candidates to serve as Executive Director. Interested individuals must apply by COB October 31, 2025.

The Council seeks a strong leader for its staff, with excellent administrative and organizational skills and wide knowledge of natural resource conservation and management matters. The Council is established under the authority of the Magnuson–Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA) to develop and recommend management measures for marine fisheries within 3-200 miles off the coast of Alaska. For more information on the purpose, background, and activity of the North Pacific Council, see www.npfmc.org.

The position is stationed in Anchorage, Alaska. The salary range mirrors the federal GS-15 scale and is currently $165 – $195K annually, with the State of Alaska Retirement Plan, as well as annual leave, sick leave, and health insurance benefits, and an employee-paid 403(b) deferred compensation plan. North Pacific Council staff are not Federal or state employees, although the Federal salary schedule is used and many of the operating policies and procedures mirror those of a typical Federal or state natural resource agency. The Council is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation that receives only Federal funding, with annual budgets of approximately $5 million.

Duties and Responsibilities

The Executive Director is the chief executive officer of the Council and serves at the pleasure of the Council. Key position duties include the following.

• Organizing and managing for up to five Council meetings per year in the open and transparent fashion required by the MSA, in a manner to enable fully informed policy-level decision-making on important marine fishery conservation and management issues.
• Coordinating the provision of the necessary analyses and other technical information necessary for Council decision-making.
• Managing the fiscal affairs of the Council, including development and administration of operating budgets; internal financial controls; grant applications and reporting; contracting; and financial audits.
• Supervision and review of professional and administrative staff (approximately 14 persons) to support Council processes and decision-making.
• Representing the Council in a variety of forums, including conferences and international fisheries delegations where relevant.
• Tracking and responding to proposed or enacted federal and state legislation, upon request, pertaining to the Council and its fisheries management mission.
• Communicating effectively with the Council and public, and coordinating activities and planning with the National Marine Fisheries Service and other agencies and institutions.

A complete Position Description is appended to this recruitment announcement.

Minimum Qualifications

• A Master’s degree or higher majoring in a field related to natural resource management; relevant biological sciences, socio-economic sciences, or earth sciences; or public policy.
• Ten years of relevant professional experience in natural resource management or related field, with at least 5 years of experience at or near the level of duties and responsibility described in the position description, including supervisory experience.

Preferred Qualifications

• Knowledge of, and applied experience with, fisheries and fisheries management in the North Pacific region.

Competency Criteria

The Council seeks an individual who thrives when faced with the challenges inherent to this position, and who has the ability to lead staff to execute analyses and projects successfully and within reasonable time constraints. Necessary competencies include the following.

Leadership – This includes 1) leadership as appropriate at Council meetings and when interacting with cooperating agencies to maintain the Council’s reputation as a preeminent regional marine fishery management governance body, and 2) leadership of Council staff to sustain a culture of consistently achieving high quality work while meeting deadlines, to maintain high morale among Council staff, and to facilitate a working environment where individual staff members take pride in their work and in Council accomplishments.

Communication – Effective written and verbal communication skills at conveying highly complex scientific, policy, and legal concepts to a wide variety of audiences in a manner that bridges gaps between technical experts and non-technical participants in the Council process.

Collaboration and Coordination – An ability to establish positive working relationships with government agencies, fishery constituent representatives, active fishery participants, members of non-governmental environmental organizations, academics, Tribal entities, and others in a natural resource conservation and management context.

Executive Decision-Making – An ability to make organizational and administrative decisions on a daily basis such that planned activities are achieved consistent with established deadlines, and an ability to develop sound long-range operational and strategic plans.

Position Description – Executive Director

Updated 9/15/2025

Overview of the Position Duties

The North Pacific Fishery Management Council develops fishery management plans and regulations for the federal fisheries (EEZ) in U.S. waters off Alaska. Key management partners include the National Marine Fisheries Service; the State of Alaska; the U.S. Coast Guard; the U.S. State Department; the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission; the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; and the International Pacific Halibut Commission. The Executive Director is the chief executive officer of the North Pacific Council and serves at the pleasure of the Council, per the provisions of the Council’s SOPPs. 

Key position duties include the following.

• Organizing and managing for up to five Council meetings per year in the open and transparent fashion required by the MSA, in a manner to enable fully informed policy level decision-making on important marine fishery conservation and management issues, including coordinating the provision of the necessary analyses and other technical information necessary for Council decision-making.
• Managing the fiscal affairs of the Council, including development and administration of operating budgets; internal financial controls; Grant reporting requirements; contracting; and biennial financial audits.
• Supervision and review of professional and administrative staff (approximately 14 persons) to support Council processes and decision-making.
• Representing the North Pacific Council in a variety of forums outside Council meetings, including conferences and international fisheries delegations where relevant.
• Tracking and responding to proposed or enacted federal and state legislation pertaining to the Council and its fisheries management mission.
• Communicating effectively with the Council and public, and coordinating activities and planning with NMFS, other agencies and institutions.

Detailed Description

The purpose of this position is to serve as the chief executive officer implementing the plans, decisions, instructions, and will of the Council, including all associated fishery management, fiscal, and administrative responsibilities and obligations of the Council. The purpose of this position is accomplished by executing the principal duties and responsibilities as detailed below.

Manage for up to five productive Council meetings per year

• Provide notice to the public of all relevant aspects of the meeting in the Federal Register and via other contemporary vehicles.
• Provide for all necessary information and neutral analysis for Council members to make fully informed decisions on scientific, policy, and administrative fishery management issues via proper coordination between Council staff; representatives of Federal, state, and other agencies; Council advisory bodies; and the public.
• Provide publicly accessible briefing materials well in advance of the beginning of the meeting that contain information needed for orderly and productive discussion of items on the Council meeting agenda.
• Provide an Executive Director report at each meeting that provides timely information and updates on important issues not directly related to the Council meeting agenda items.
• Prepare various letters on behalf of the Council as appropriate.
• Provide for a suitable and publicly accessible location for each Council meeting.
• Prepare draft meeting agendas, and assist in the planning of agenda items for future Council meetings.
• Provide for live streaming of the Council meeting and opportunities for remote testimony to the extent practicable, distribute decision-making results, and prepare and submit the administrative record of the meeting.
• Properly transmit Council decisions to NMFS in a manner compliant with MSA and other applicable law and work cooperatively with them to accomplish a timely Secretarial review process, as well as any implementation necessities.
• Increase accessibility of the Council to the public through technology, changes in process or procedures.
• Hear and investigate harassment complaints occurring at the meeting, or grievances about Council advisory group members in the course of their duties

Manage the fiscal affairs of the Council

• Prepare a comprehensive grant application every four years that documents proposed Council priorities to be pursued, including detailed financial information, for each year during the grant period.
• Prepare an appropriate extension of the grant with information related to financial balances and performance obligations remaining within the grant, when applicable.
• Arrange for biennial audits of Council fiscal records in accordance with the industry standard for generally accepted accounting practices and the terms and conditions of the Council grant and cooperative agreement; report to the Council audit results and prepare response, as appropriate.
• Monitor and manage spending of annual budgets, employee payroll and benefits, contracts, and liaison funding, and adjust budgets and spending accordingly in response to changes in funding.
• Review and approve all Council expenditures.
• Negotiate contracts that commit major amounts of Council funding, such as office space lease, information technology support, hotel venues for Council meetings, and analytical assistance; and oversee the contractual commitments for necessities of lesser magnitude such as telephone/internet services, and financial audit services.
• Provide regular updates/reports to the Executive/Finance Committee on the status of Council finances and financial planning.

Supervise and oversee the supervision of Council staff

• Manage Council staff workload to be accomplishable at a high level of quality consistent with achieving established deadlines.
• Maintain frequent and consistent communication procedures and protocols where Council staff obtain all relevant information enabling them to execute their duties at a high level of quality.
• Review or oversee the supervisorial review of the informational and analytical documents provided to the Council for decision-making, materials presented in Council meetings or other forums, draft letters that are released under the Executive Director or Council Chair signature.
• Recognize outstanding Council staff performance in a way that promotes strong, positive team morale, high productivity, and superior effort from all members of the staff team.
• Manage for optimal staff knowledge and capabilities via appropriate training opportunities.
• Conduct employee performance evaluations for each Council staff on a biennial basis (or when appropriate).
• Hire, remove, promote, demote, discipline and execute personnel actions consistent with applicable law, the Council SOPPs, the Council Personnel Rules, and the will of the Council.
• Hear and resolve employee complaints or group staff grievances.
• Maintain personnel files and accomplish or oversee normal Human Resources administrative obligations.

Represent the Council

• Attend and participate at Council Coordination Committee interim and annual meetings and various sub-committees and workgroups.
• Attend and participate at special meetings with Federal, state, other agencies, and institutions (e.g., NPRB) when requested and as appropriate.
• Respond to inquiries from Federal Congressional members or bodies.
• Respond to inquiries from the Government Accountability Office.
• Represent the Council at international fishery management forums, including meetings of the International Pacific Halibut Commission and others as appropriate.

Respond to Legislation

• Provide staff support to the Legislative Committee, including developing meeting agendas and materials, and preparing minutes and reports of the meetings.
• Provide recommendations on Council responses to proposed measures.
• Prepare letters in response to requests by congressional members or staff.
• Participate at Council Coordination Committee Legislative Workgroup meetings and assist in the development of consensus positions as appropriate.
• Testify at Congressional hearings, or prepare written testimony for the Chair or their designee, as necessary to represent the Council positions on potential impacts of proposed legislation, specifically regarding the Council’s ability to fulfill the objectives and activities specified in its NOAA Grant, including the Council’s ability to meet its conservation and management goals under the MSA or on technical aspects of the legislation

Communication and Coordination

• Communicate effectively with the Council and its leadership.
• Communicate effectively with the public.
• Coordinate activities and planning with NMFS, other agencies and institutions.
• Communicate with the press as appropriate.

Other Duties as Assigned

• Perform other duties as assigned by the Council.
• Get smarter through continued education, technology, improvement and development as Executive Director.
• Provide suggestions to Executive Committee on future modification of responsibilities.