Director of Communications & Engagement

Who We Are

The Mountaineers is a community of outdoor recreationists and conservationists founded in 1906 to explore the peaks and waterways of the Pacific Northwest. Today, we have more than 16,000 active members and seven branches across Western Washington, where we deliver most of our outdoor education programming. Thanks to the work of generations of volunteers and our internationally-recognized publishing division, we continue to enjoy an outstanding reputation in the fields of outdoor education, recreation, and public lands conservation and advocacy.

Our dedicated volunteers and staff get people outside to experience the power of the natural world. We advocate for access to and protection of recreational lands so that future generations can enjoy these places as well. Our core value of community reflects our belief that a diverse and inclusive outdoors inspires unity, respect, and passion for the places we love. Our 60 staff members support our diverse impact areas, including adult education, volunteer development, youth programs, Mountaineers Books, and conservation & advocacy education. Together, Mountaineers staff partner closely with volunteers to achieve our mission to enrich lives by helping people explore, conserve, learn about, and enjoy the lands and waters of the Pacific Northwest and beyond.

Visit mountaineers.org to learn more.

Position Overview

The Mountaineers is seeking a community-oriented and data-driven Director of Communications & Engagement. The ideal candidate for this role will bring exceptional skills, experience, and leadership to provide proactive, outcomes-based communications that educate and inform members, volunteers, donors, and the public about the programs and services of The Mountaineers. You will play a leading role on our Community Engagement team, guiding our strategic communication and impact storytelling in support of achieving the organization’s philanthropic and earned revenue objectives including but not limited to membership, annual giving, events, youth and adult programs, conservation & advocacy, and publishing.

Reporting to the Director of Community Engagement, a successful candidate for the Director of Communications & Engagement role will have the ability to see the big picture and the details all at once, demonstrating understanding of both brand and business strategy. You will have the opportunity to shape, create, and lead the organization’s story development and communications initiatives. You will be one of The Mountaineers key brand stewards, communicating our mission in a clear, concise, and compelling way. We’re looking for someone with the energy and excitement to take on communications, creative, and collateral development with the skillset to empower staff and volunteers through impact messaging and personal storytelling.

The Director of Communications & Engagement understands the language of customer database and marketing analytics and serves as our go-to expert to leverage our CRM (Salesforce) and email marketing platform (Marketing Cloud). You will also help us transform our communications model by designing and implementing a customer segmentation program to expand our impact with our donors, volunteers, members, and potential brand enthusiasts. Our dream candidate is an experienced leader who understands the importance of making a brand promise and utilizing various communications channels as a means of conveying our reasons to believe.

Objectives and Key Results

• Communicate The Mountaineers’ mission and vision through clear, compelling messaging that ensures consistency across all platforms.
• Lead the Marketing Cloud upgrade and transition by executing a phased implementation plan with milestones, staff training, and ongoing support for adoption.
• Optimize photo management by assessing current use of SmugMug, researching alternatives, and developing a user-friendly system for volunteer bloggers and staff.
• Strengthen communication strategy with audience segmentation to deliver targeted messaging and guide staff on optimal channel use.
• Refresh and maintain branding by updating creative assets and refining the style guide for clear, practical guidance on language and visuals.
• Implement a content review process to regularly update website content and ensure alignment with organizational goals.
• Lead the Equity & Inclusion Staff Caucus to support The Mountaineers’ DEI commitments and organizational objectives.

You will love this job if you:

• Are inspired by the mission, vision, and core values of The Mountaineers and committed to making outdoor recreation more accessible and sustainable.
• Are energized by interacting with and communicating to a wide range of community members including staff, members, volunteers, and donors.
• Are motivated to streamline communications to ensure the right audiences are receiving the right messages at the right time.
• Are a confident writer and effective storyteller in both written and verbal communications.
• Have a fierce eye for creative design, copy editing, and proofreading.
• You are activated to engage a volunteer community to scale your work.
• Can strike a balance between consistent content standards while also empowering diversity of style and voice in written content.
• You are an experienced and collaborative people manager who can provide leadership to a dynamic-communications-duo and a high-volume member engagement team.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Communications, Brand, and Voice Development (45%)

• Develop and implement a plan to strategically advance The Mountaineers brand identity, broaden awareness of its programs, priorities, and impact, and increase the visibility of its mission, vision, and values across membership and the larger PNW community.
• Drive the organizational voice, tone, and style in alignment with our core values and evolving brand guides.
• Responsible for org-level messaging, including ghostwriting CEO updates, remembrance blogs, impact report, and other key communications pieces for the staff, Board, and volunteer leadership.
• Write or support the writing of select speeches, video scripts, magazine articles, online content, and other external and internal communications.
• Develop effective strategies for reaching diverse communities in the Pacific Northwest and beyond. Ensure values of diversity, equity, access, and inclusion are reflected in all aspects of The Mountaineers brand expression.
• Oversee development of creative collateral engaging both volunteer and paid designers to ensure brand adherence across departments.
• Serve as the main point of contact for org-level media and oversee publicity/earned media efforts when necessary or opportunistically.

Communications Leadership, Strategy and Implementation (40%)

• Develop and implement proactive communication strategies to keep both internal and external audiences informed, ensuring transparency, alignment, and engagement with The Mountaineers’ mission and initiatives.
• Manage strategic communications projects, leveraging our various communication channels (email, website, blogs, social, magazine, basecamp, etc.) to share impact campaigns across multiple community segments.
• Oversee the development, implementation, and measurement of all communications including processes, strategic outreach, branding, digital communications, website content, social media, CRM content, and photo curation.
• Build frameworks that bring consistency and increase participation as part of a decentralized content pipeline.
• Informed by customer personas and needs across programs, set vision for a comprehensive content strategy to effectively segment and reach diverse audiences.
• Evaluate effectiveness of marketing campaigns, outreach practices, and engagement strategies and implement specific recommendations to improve performance.
• Establish data driven systems for promotions and outreach supporting event sales, course registrations, membership and fundraising drives, etc.
• Ensure compliance with data security best practices and effectively communicate privacy policies to staff and members.

Administration and Staff Management (15%)

• Oversee the $1M Membership and Communications budgets building a roadmap to increase revenue and engagement in partnership with staff who oversee the work.
• Directly manage the Communications Manager and Associate Director of Member Engagement, both of whom are also people managers.
• Support Communications and Member Services Teams in the escalation of issues.
• Lead the Equity & Inclusion Staff Caucus to shape a values-driven culture and communications while ensuring a cohesive approach to equity-driven storytelling and staff engagement.
• Other related duties as assigned.

Requirements

• 5-7 years progressively responsible experience in fields of marketing, communications, branding, design, community engagement, and/or fundraising.
• Relevant experience managing people and budgets.
• Experience writing powerful stories and composing narratives in plain, humble, and conversational tone.
• Excellent written and public speaking skills.
• Knowledge of communications principles, tools, and strategies.
• Demonstrated aptitude for data driven decision making and analytics.
• Proficiency with CRM databases and email marketing tools. The Mountaineers uses Salesforce and Marketing Cloud among other platforms.
• Skills in setting and following through priorities, influencing staff, persuading co-workers and others.
• Ability to work both independently and collaboratively in a fast-paced environment.
• Detail-oriented with strong organizational and project management skills.
• Proficiency with word processing, presentation, spreadsheet, database, email, virtual meeting, and calendaring applications.
• Cultural humility and demonstrated ability to work with people of all races, ages, genders, abilities, and economic backgrounds.
• High ethical standards and a commitment to the confidentiality of records.
• Ability to pass a national criminal background and sex offender check (applicants will be disqualified from consideration for any felony conviction involving a minor, a sexual offense, or violence).

Desired Qualifications

While we do not anticipate that candidates will have the full slate of qualifications listed below, these are the qualifications that will make someone successful in the position. Candidates should see this role as an opportunity for personal and professional growth, and have a desire to learn and grow in areas below where they currently lack experience.

• At least five years of experience as a people manager and budget manager.
• Degree or certifications in communications, journalism, marketing communication, and/or related experience.
• Experience in large-scale 501(c)(3) membership-based organization.
• Skills in resolving conflict, making decisions, collaborating, and negotiating.
• Demonstrated experience working with local media outlets, broadcast news, and independent media.
• Experience working with volunteer Boards, committees, and/or Advisory Councils.
• Outdoor experience and passion for outdoor activities and conservation are a plus.

Cultivating an inclusive staff is central to The Mountaineers focus on advancing equity in alignment with our core values. We’re interested in hearing from people who can work with colleagues of varied professional and lived experience. We encourage you to apply even if your background is not a 100% match with the position. We are looking for someone with relevant skills and experience, not a checklist that exactly matches the job description.

We are also committed to building a culture where all people feel emotionally and physically safe. In support of this commitment, all prospective employees must agree to abide by The Mountaineers Code of Ethics and our Child Protection Policies. We do not tolerate discrimination, sexual misconduct, harassment, micro-aggressions, retaliation, assault, or any form of child abuse.

Work Environment

This role is based in Seattle, WA, at The Mountaineers Program Center in Magnuson Park. Supporting a people-centric outdoor community, this position should prepare to have a regular presence in our Seattle Program Center Monday-Friday 9am-5pm, with opportunities to flex time in the office with a partial remote work schedule (up to 40%). The Mountaineers will provide a laptop computer for remote access. For remote work, our employees are expected to have a suitable remote work environment, including broadband internet access, to accomplish their job duties.

Physical Demands

• Ability to work evening and weekend hours, as necessary for Board meetings and events.
• Ability to sit at a computer and use a laptop or other computer 3-4 hours at a time.
• Must have regular and reliable transportation for local travel and willing to travel when necessary. Occasional local travel expected for meetings and volunteer working groups.
• On events days (to support setup through tear down):
  • Ability to be active and mobile for 4 or more hours continuously.
  • Ability to work greater than a 10-hour day.

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Benefits include medical, dental, vision, life, and long-term disability insurance, and paid sick, vacation, volunteer, and holiday time. 401(k) retirement plan available after three months.

PTO benefit package for current staff and new hires as of Jan 1, 2024 include:

• 15 paid days vacation in first year, with additional accrual based on tenure
• 4 paid volunteer days with one year of service
• 12 paid holidays
• Paid sick leave according to Seattle's Paid Sick and Safe Time Ordinance

Additional benefits include:

• Flexible working environment, with up to 40% remote work for most employees
• Mountaineers Family membership, including member access to our three mountain lodges
• Opportunities to advance your outdoor skills with $1,000 toward Mountaineers courses each year
• Two free tickets to many Mountaineers events
• Free copy of each newly published Mountaineers Books title
• Access to outdoor industry discounts (prodeals)
• Four on-site climbing and bouldering walls
• Bring your dog to work days Monday and Friday
• Free parking for your bike or car, and an office located right on a bus line, with alternative transportation reimbursement (up to $100 per month for full time employees)
• In-office shower for midday run, climbing session, or morning commute