Executive Director

Do you want to encourage students to lead healthy lifestyles through cycling in Washington State?

The Washington Student Cycling League (“WSCL”) is a Washington nonprofit corporation and 501(c)(3) seeking an Executive Director to lead Washington State’s mountain bike league for middle school and high school students and implement the WSCL’s mission, “to promote youth development, confidence, leadership, health and public stewardship through cycling and outdoor activity to create a lifelong passion for cycling.” WSCL is ten years old and serves nearly 1,000 students on 55 teams with the support of more than 450 volunteer coaches.

Who is the Washington Student Cycling League?

WSCL is part of a nationwide effort to provide mountain biking as a team sport for students. Washington and Colorado were the first states outside of California to join the National Interscholastic Cycling Association (“NICA”), the first formal organization for high school aged students to engage in competitive mountain biking. The league was founded in 2010 and the first season was launched in 2011 with 80 students, 59 coaches, and 15 teams. In 2013, the WSCL recognized the demand and need to serve middle school aged students and decided to break away from NICA in order to do so. For two years, the WSCL operated in partnership with Evergreen Mountain Bike Alliance and grew the program to serve middle school and high school students. Then in 2015, the WSCL became an independent 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Over the past ten years, the WSCL grew significantly, with the 2019 season engaging 998 students, 457 coaches, and 55 teams.

The current programming of the WSCL is focused on a spring mountain biking league. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the WSCL offered virtual competitions and a modified spring league. The Board of Directors plans to work with the Executive Director to continue a strategic planning process to expand the WSCL’s offerings to include, among other things, year round programming.

Organizational Goals:

• Grow and diversify league participation, reaching underserved populations and regions of the state;

• Continue to gather customer feedback and re-evaluate programs and goals of the WSCL to meet demands and evaluate adherence to the WSCL’s mission and vision;

• Diversify and increase revenues for the WSCL to keep up with growth; and

• Provide a supportive and professional environment to retain staff, coaches, volunteers and Board members.

Where are we today?

• A full-time paid staff of two, including the Executive Director, who will have the ability to hire either one full-time staff or two part-time staff immediately;

• A dedicated and active Board of Directors of seven members;

• A team of amazing coaches who are passionate about the mission;

• Dozens of volunteers assist the WSCL with races, practices, and other behind the scenes support for coaches, staff and the Board;

• A league of nearly 1,000 students who are anxiously awaiting more programming after a year off. These students are smart, adventurous and demonstrate great leadership skills.

• A highly effective training program for coaches;

• A set of marketing tools and strategies through e-news, social media, and the WSCL website; and

• Many technological tools for staff to manage the program.

The WSCL has experienced rapid but manageable growth during the past five years and the Board is confident that this rate of growth can be sustained for the next five years and beyond. The WSCL’s achievements in expanding its programs are a culmination of effective leadership, skilled and motivated staff, and an informed, engaged, and motivated community. A successful Executive Director will maintain WSCL’s reputation as a national leader in creating high quality, mountain biking opportunities for students as well as implement programs to expand participation. As part of a lean non-profit organization, this position’s duties are broad, requiring a very diverse set of skills that are subject to change as WSCL grows and evolves.

Summary of Position:

Overview of Responsibilities:

Staff

• Supervise staff and track performance of programs;

• Provide tools and foster the environment necessary for staff to succeed in achieving program objectives including coaching, mentoring, and training opportunities; and

• Create and maintain a collaborative team environment for all staff.

Relationships & Partnerships

• Maintain strong relationships with existing land managers where practices and races are held;

• Expand those relationships into new regions as the WSCL grows;

• Continue to build positive and supportive relationships with recreation nonprofit partners, corporations that support the league, state and local governments, students, coaches, volunteers, and the Board; and

• Represent WSCL at community events and stakeholder meetings.

Program Management

• Plan, develop, and implement student cycling programs including promotion, registration, training, securing venues, races, and more;

• Manage staff, contractors and volunteers to support this work; and

• Track the schedule and budget and monitor performance metrics.

Administration

• Provide monthly updates to the Board;

• Participate in some Board committees;

• Manage the corporate records; and

• Ensure annual filings with state and local agencies for taxes, licensing, and organization registration.

Fund Development

• Collaborate with the Board on implementing a fundraising plan including individual donations, corporate sponsorships, and grants; and

• Manage existing and identify potential new earned revenue streams, which today includes student, team and coach registrations.

Financial

• Work with staff to track and process expenses and monitor revenues;

• Create comprehensive annual budget that maximizes program success and ensures financial health;

• Monitor financial performance and adjust operations as required; and

• Work with the Treasurer and the Finance Committee to provide the Board with timely financial updates.

Other

• Undertake other duties as may be necessary for organizational success.

Reports to:

The WSCL Board of Directors, which is comprised of up to 12 members at large. The current Board of Directors has seven members and is stable and active. They have a solid understanding of league operations and goals. The Board has five standing committees to support the organization’s work including: Governance, Finance, Programs, Development, and Digital Assets.

Primary Relationships:

This position is the public face of WSCL and has primary responsibility for representing the organization to those within the mountain biking community and beyond.

Qualifications:

1. College degree and minimum 10 years relevant administrative and management experience

2. Nonprofit and executive-level experience highly desirable

3. Exceptional interpersonal skills with proven ability to inspire and motivate others

4. Outstanding written and verbal communication skills

5. High level of organizational skills and attention to detail

6. Ability to make sound and defensible decisions with available, often imperfect, information

7. Must be able to thrive under time pressure and balance competing objectives

8. Demonstrated expertise developing operating budgets and managing to budget

9. Mountain biking experience. A high skill level is not required but a demonstrated interest in mountain biking and a passion for WSCL’s mission is absolutely mandatory

10. Prefer experience in fundraising, marketing, event production, education program development and implementation, staff management

Hours: Full-time and requiring attendance at events including evenings and weekends

Location: Virtual in Washington State

Compensation: Salary commensurate with qualifications

To Apply:

Reference this job title and send cover letter, resume and at least three references to:

Julie Gold
President, Board of Directors
recruiting@washingtonleague.org
https://washingtonleague.org

Position open until filled; applications received by April 23 will receive priority review.