The Mountaineers is a community of passionate outdoor enthusiasts who welcome all people to share deep connections to the outdoors.  We are currently seeking a seasoned and talented Director of Development who can lead us as we build on our successful foundation in development, deepening our funding strategies in areas such as major gifts and planned giving, and solidifying a culture of philanthropy to advance our ambitious goals. Our next Director of Development will be a visionary and strategic leader who will play a major role in shaping the direction and success of The Mountaineers’ fundraising efforts.

The Mountaineers Mission and Values:

For 111 years, The Mountaineers has been a passionate group of bold explorers welcoming people from all walks of life into a community that shares our love of the outdoors. We’re adventurers driven by imagination, challenge, and the spirit of discovery.  We seek to be innovators in outdoor education, educators of a new generation, and fierce advocates for the stewardship and conservation of wild places. Our dedicated staff, members and volunteers are deeply committed to successfully accomplishing our mission.

The Mountaineers Core Values represent what is most important about our organization and reflect our day to day work culture. We each personally care about the mission, set big goals for ourselves, and support each other as learners and leaders as we pursue our goals.  As on any good climb, we are most successful when everyone pitches in, and when confident and motivated leadership includes humility, volunteerism, and care for one and another. 

Adventure – We are bold explorers - driven by imagination, outdoor challenge, and the spirit of discovery.

Advocacy – We protect the outdoor experience - wild places depend on our powerful voice for conservation and responsible access.

Community – We provide opportunities for all - a diverse and inclusive outdoors inspires unity, respect and passion for the places we love.

Education – We share knowledge – empowering others to safely and responsibly pursue outdoor activities.

Volunteerism – We foster connections – developing leaders who continue our legacy of outdoor education, integrity and action.

Delivering on our Mission

The Mountaineers has more than 12,500 members with branches from Olympia to Bellingham. Each year 2,000 volunteers deliver 2,700 outdoor courses and activities accounting for more than 20,000 adult outdoor experiences. We serve more than 1,700 youth with nearly 8,000 youth experiences. More than half our youth participants are from underserved communities.  

Our Mountaineers Books division is widely regarded as being one of the top independent publishers in the world of outdoor-related books. We publish 30-35 new books each year, and have more than 700 titles in our catalog.

The Mountaineers is also a fierce defender of our wild places. Last year we played a leadership role in conservation advocacy campaigns ranging from protection of the Methow Valley and the Mountains to Sound Greenway to the land and waters of the Arctic.

We have a full-time staff of more than 40 employees located in three sites, and a total annual operating budget of more than $7 million. For further information about The Mountaineers organization and our staff, programs and activities, please visit us at www.mountaineers.org.

The Role of the Development Director

The Mountaineers Director of Development is responsible for overseeing all aspects of the development program, which currently raises approximately 1.2 million of a budget of over 7 million.  Raised revenues support both the programming and publishing efforts of The Mountaineers. The Development Director will report to the Chief Executive Officer and will supervise three staff:  the Donor Relations Manager, the Donor Events Manager, and the Corporate and Foundations Relations Manager.  He or she will work closely with the Board of Directors (currently 22 people) and the Advisory Council, and will act as staff lead for the board’s Development Committee. The position of Development Director is based at our Seattle Program Center in Magnusson Park, but regularly works from our Publishing office on Harbor Island, near West Seattle. We use a Salesforce data base.

The Mountaineers is a well-established organization with a long history and a great reputation, but we became a 501-c3 only in 2011, so our development program is still quite new relative to the rest of our programming. Strong leadership will be required to create strategies to generate new funding prospects, cultivate deeper relationships with individual donors and other funding partners, and maximize fundraising success.  Major gifts and planned giving have been identified as areas with much potential for growth; enhancing our government, corporate, and foundation development strategies will also be important keys to our success.

The Mountaineers is currently undertaking a comprehensive strategic planning process, Vision 2022.  We have been gathering feedback from our members at town hall meetings this summer, and we will spend the fall clarifying what impact we most desire to make and the road map for getting there.  We expect the strategic plan will be completed by the end of 2017. Concurrent with this process, we are beginning to explore the possibility of a capital-type major donor campaign to catalyze support for launching our new strategic goals.  The Director of Development will play a key role in the formation and execution of these plans, and will provide critical leadership as we advance our organizational culture of philanthropy to ensure our long-term success.   

Ideal Candidate Characteristics

The Director of Development must be genuinely committed to the mission of The Mountaineers and share our Core Values. He or she must be eager to be a leader on a collaborative team, and excited to take risks and stretch the development program in new directions. The successful candidate will be both a big-picture visionary and will know how to successfully execute plans and get things done in a timely way.

This position requires significant previous development experience, ideally as a Development Director. The ideal candidate will have demonstrated skill, experience and a track record of success in the following:

• Planning for and delivering on all the elements of a diversified development program: major donor cultivation and stewardship, planned giving, annual funds, corporate partnerships, grants, special events, and capital campaigns
• Working closely with board members and experienced philanthropists, including making asks
• Leading a team of development professionals, providing guidance and direction as well as mentoring and career development
• An existing network of contacts in the region is a plus

Compensation and Benefits

This is a full-time exempt position reporting to the CEO. It requires the ability to travel regionally, to transport oneself as needed, and occasionally to attend meetings or events on evenings or weekends.

The salary range is $75,000 to $90,000, depending on experience. The Mountaineers offers a generous benefits plan including medical, dental, and vision insurance, 401k, and holiday, vacation, commuter benefit, and sick leave.

Flexible hours may be negotiated, we offer free parking, and you may bring your dog to work on Mondays and Fridays. Employees are given free membership to The Mountaineers, course benefits offered through The Mountaineers, and a complimentary copy of each new title from Mountaineers Books.

The Mountaineers is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer.

How to Apply

TO APPLY:  https://cloversearchworks.recruiterbox.com/jobs/fk0f6jz

Online applications only, please no email or paper submissions. You will be asked to upload a resume and a cover letter. In your cover letter, please describe, as specifically as you can, how your qualifications, experience, and interests are a fit with the goals and requirements of this position as described in this announcement.

Applications will be accepted through September 18, 2017. All applications will be acknowledged via an email receipt and will be held confidentially within the hiring committee. Consideration will be given to applications as soon as they are received; we encourage early applications. Interviewing will begin in mid-September.

The search for this position is being facilitated by Clover Search Works, a search firm that provides a full range of search services to nonprofit organizations in the Pacific Northwest and beyond. Clover Search Works is honored to work with The Mountaineers and is working hard to recruit a Development Director that can provide leadership to realize its important mission.

Questions regarding this opportunity are welcomed and can be directed to Emily Anthony of Clover Search Works (www.cloversearchworks.com).

Email: [email protected] Phone: 206.355.9132