Work with a Mission: The Great Lakes Protection Fund is not a typical endowment. We are a pioneering, permanently endowed, non-profit corporation, launched to protect and restore the Great Lakes ecosystem. With a $160 million endowment, we have funded over 300 innovative project teams and distributed millions in discretionary funds to empower Great Lakes states. Our work drives tangible environmental change, influencing policies, launching market-based solutions, and safeguarding the world’s largest freshwater resource. Join our team of seven dedicated professionals to help shape the future of the Great Lakes.
Position Overview
The Role: We’re seeking a strategic leader who excels in finance, administration, and operational oversight to join our senior leadership team in our Evanston office. Reporting to the Executive Director, you’ll be the Fund’s operational backbone—aligning investment, finance, and administrative functions with our impact-focused mission. This role is a unique blend of strategic foresight and hands-on action, ideal for someone who thrives in a collaborative, mission-oriented environment.
The Particulars:
- Align Financial Strategy with Impact: Manage a $160+ million endowment, overseeing risk, return, and performance while ensuring alignment with our environmental mission. Oversee budgeting, forecasting, financial reporting, accounting, and audits. You’ll work closely with our Board’s Finance Committee and investment advisors, balancing fiscal responsibility with our ambitious goals.
- Seek Organizational Excellence: Beyond finance, you’ll oversee HR, compliance, IT, risk management, and more—ensuring we have resilient, efficient systems that empower our team to do their best work. You’ll make sure the bills are paid, keep us compliant, and support the doing of our mission.
- Inspire and Mentor: Lead our operations team, from accounting contractors, investment advisors, to executive support; fostering a culture of collaboration, innovation, and continuous improvement. You’ll be a servant leader, dedicated to growing our team’s capabilities.
About You: You’re a special combination of strategist and operator. With a decade or more of finance and investment experience, ideally with a CPA or CFA credential, you bring expertise in endowment management, GAAP (especially in the non-profit sector), operations management, and financial reporting. You have a proven track record of making sound financial recommendations to senior leaders and are excited to work closely with our Executive Director and Board.
You also bring something unique: a passion for making a difference. You’re not looking for just a finance role—you want to apply your skills to a mission that matters. You’re curious, adaptable, and thrive in a small team setting where you can see the impact of your work every day. Experience in environmental or mission-driven organizations is a plus, and a background in public accounting or small-business operations would also be an asset. We encourage applicants of all races, genders, and backgrounds. If you see yourself succeeding in this role, please apply.
Why the Great Lakes Protection Fund?
This is an opportunity to work with an organization at the forefront of environmental innovation. Over the past 35 years, we have doubled our endowment and pioneered solutions that reduce critical threats to the Great Lakes, created new markets for environmental quality, and improved ecosystem health. Help us chart a sustainable future for one of the world’s most vital natural resources. We are a small team based in Evanston, Illinois. Compensation is market competitive, based on your qualifications, and includes a generous benefit package.
How To Apply
Ready to Join a Team That’s Changing the World?
If you’re an accomplished, impact-driven finance leader ready to bring your skills to an organization that makes a difference, we want to hear from you! Please send your resume and a cover letter describing your interest to [email protected].
