About Stelo
Stelo is a nonprofit private operating foundation that supports the production of creative projects and fosters community engagement between artists, cultural institutions, and the public. Stelo operates across two campuses: Park Block, our downtown Portland location, and Camp Colton, an 85-acre forest retreat in rural Oregon. Established in 2012, the organization was founded with the intention of creating a largely self-sustaining vehicle for supporting creativity, healing, and ecological stewardship. While our corpus covers overhead costs, we need to build more robust program support. We're looking for a leader who can help us grow our capacity, starting with more consistent, well-funded residency programs and expanded workshop offerings. We're also looking to develop our ecological and wellness programming, deepen partnerships, and lead our team toward the work we're most excited about.
Portland, OR
United States
Application Instructions
- By October 19th, 2026 (priority deadline) please send a cover letter and chronological resume to careers@steloarts.org with ‘Stelo Arts Executive Director’ in the subject line
- If possible, please combine the cover letter and chronological resume in one document that is named using this format: your last name, your first name, Stelo Arts application materials
- In your cover letter, please provide the following information, no more than one paragraph each:
- Tell us about your experience leading and empowering teams with direct and indirect supervisory roles. Include the number of staff you've managed.
- Tell us about your experience translating a founder's or artistic director's vision into organizational strategy and day-to-day operations.
- Tell us about your experience with grant-funded programming and/or corporate sponsorship. Include the dollar amount of funds you've raised or awarded/handled annually and the average grant size.
- An email acknowledgement will be sent to all applicants
- All inquiries will be handled confidentially.
Location: This is an onsite position split across Stelo's downtown Park Block location and the Camp Colton campus; frequent travel between the two sites is a core part of this role
Status: Full-Time, Exempt
Reports To: Founding Artistic Director/Board of Directors/Camp Colton Co-Owners
Compensation: $100,000–$115,000, commensurate with experience
Benefits: Medical and vision benefits, generous PTO, and additional perks as outlined in the employee handbook, provided during onboarding.
Position Summary
This is a newly created senior leadership role, and the Executive Director will help lead Stelo through this transition, building out a leadership layer that hasn't existed before. Sitting on an executive team alongside Camp Colton leadership, and partnering closely with the Founder/Artistic Director and Camp Co-Owners, the Executive Director leads programs, partnerships, and fundraising across Stelo's two campuses; directly manages a core team of program staff; and, over time, grows into Stelo's primary public-facing role with funders and partners. This is a highly collaborative role for someone who moves comfortably between big-picture strategy and hands-on execution, and who leads with direct, solutions-oriented communication that uses feedback to strengthen relationships and systems.
Key Responsibilities
Programs & Residencies
- Oversee and manage the teams that run Stelo's full range of programs: residencies, exhibitions, public programs, community gatherings, partnerships, and more
- Partner with the Founder and Camp Co-Owners to shape new Camp Colton residency concepts, then lead turning them into real programs
- Support program staff to grow workshop programming at both sites, with a focus on Camp Colton
- Deepen Stelo's partnership with Colton High School, including hosting classes for on-site projects
- Build and maintain an annual program calendar and lead staff in implementing it efficiently
Team & Organizational Leadership
- Directly manage, supervise, and mentor a core team of program staff, including day-to-day people leadership such as performance conversations and conflict resolution
- Design systems and structures that bring clarity to roles and expectations across the team
- Partner with the Business Manager, Camp Colton Director/General Manager, and the Treasurer/Finance Committee to keep the organization accountable to budget
Fundraising & External Partnerships
- Lead and execute fundraising strategy in partnership with the Founder/Artistic Director and board, initially focused on capacity building and successfully securing program grants and sponsorships
- Cultivate and steward funders, partners, and donors aligned with Stelo's mission
- Support fundraising and partner relationships for Camp Colton facility and ecological restoration projects
Qualifications
- Senior nonprofit leadership experience, including translating a founder's or artistic leader's vision into organizational strategy and day-to-day operations
- Experience serving on a senior management or leadership team
- Experience leading teams across multiple sites, with both direct and indirect supervisory responsibility, and a track record of mentoring staff
- Experience leading an organization or team through a period of transition or a newly created leadership structure
- Fundraising experience, ideally including grant-funded or program-based fundraising
- Experience building partnerships with artists, community organizations, or other mission-aligned partners
- Practical experience building and executing a program or season calendar with a staff team
Bonus:
- Experience with artist residencies or similarly relationship-intensive program models
- Experience managing budgets, including personnel budgets
Requirements
- Positive, creative, problem-solving personality
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills; a direct, solutions-oriented communicator who uses feedback to strengthen relationships and systems
- Proficiency in Google Suite (Gmail, Google Calendar, Drive, Docs, Sheets, Forms, etc.)
- Openness to working with people of all ages, abilities, and backgrounds
- Ability to work some evenings and weekends
Stelo Arts is an equal access/equal opportunity institution that embraces diversity as one of its highest priorities. We are interested in assembling a team with a wide range of lived experiences and encourage QTBIPOC and disabled individuals to apply.