Tom Vogl
As organizations grow and evolve, it’s common to redesign roles and org structures to better support the communities they serve. With the development of our new strategic plan, Adventure With Purpose, we feel that now is the right time to realign our staff organizational structure.
As a nonprofit organization, the overarching goal of these changes is to better fulfill our mission and support our community. Change almost always carries some level of stress and anxiety, and I want to emphasize that this realignment is not about cutting costs or staff. The realignment is a net investment in our current areas of need so that we can make a bigger impact in the future.
Specifically, this realignment will better support our community by investing in under-resourced areas and laying the groundwork for bigger mission impact moving forward. We defined five key objectives for these changes:
- Build a stronger foundation of support for our community, mission, and vision.
- Increase focus on the needs of members and volunteers.
- Improve our staff culture and workflow between departments by more clearly aligning staff resources and structure with impact areas..
- Provide greater support for a culture of philanthropy and improve our ability to hit our five-year fundraising goals.
- Better resource for a successful implementation of our strategic plan.
Process & Key Objectives
This time last year, a number of staff and volunteer groups began to think about how best to structure our staff teams as we rolled out our updated strategic plan. As we built the 2024 budget and went into goal setting discussions, we received even more feedback that we should consider resource changes. We added new positions to our 2024 budget and some were filled, while others were held open as we considered how to structure their responsibilities. While we already had strong indication of the need for realignment, the timing became more critical as we’ve said goodbye to a few key members of our team, including the sudden and tragic loss of long-time volunteer and staffer Jeff Bowman. Creating a plan for how we fill the big shoes Jeff left behind has been something that we’ve wanted to do in a very thoughtful way.
As we’ve been thinking about these open roles, and the biggest opportunities that the realignment will help us to address, we are hopeful this realignment can more adequately address some specific unmet or under-resourced needs - like human resources, volunteer and member support, and information technology.
Key Alignment Changes
In order to prioritize staff and volunteer support in Information Technology (IT), Human Resources (HR), operations, and development, we are utilizing current and open headcount and upcoming transitions that are already in the budget. This means that for our current fiscal year, the changes are within the approved budget, while laying the foundation for how the organization can evolve in the next 2-3 years.
While functionally helping us to better serve our community, the changes primarily impact the day-to-day work of staff to bring better focus to job roles and responsibilities. We’ve redesigned roles that had too many unrelated duties, moving responsibilities into work areas that make more sense.
For example, we’ve removed some operational administrative tasks from leadership development so that we can better support the development and growth in our volunteer community. Things like managing our permits and vehicles is moving from the Leadership Development Team to the Operations Team. The Operations Team will be adding capacity in order to take on this work, as well as to provide more support for our outdoor center leaders to lead projects supporting our new strategic plan. We are also moving event management from the operational team in order to add more focus and capacity.
Based on feedback from committee leaders, staff and members, our Finance & Administration Team will be shifting as well to address unmet and under-resourced needs, including support for the chairs and treasurers of our committees and branches. To support these leaders and provide more reporting and data analysis support across our organization, we will be hiring a new IT & Data Specialist. We will also be hiring a full time Technology Experience Manager to oversee the health and growth of our website and accompanying technology stack.
We have additional need for Human Resources support, including providing more Equity & Inclusion resources for staff, which will be added as a part-time contractor. These new and refocused roles will better help us support our leaders and will ensure the health and longevity of our staff.
To more holistically focus on engaging members of our community, we will be combining the existing Development and Membership & Communications teams into a reimagined Community Engagement team. These two teams have worked closely together for years, and combining them will allow for more intentional engagement across all members of our community. We believe this will lead to stronger collaboration, storytelling, and stronger culture of belonging for all.
We are also centralizing most of our public facing events within the Community Engagement team. While a number of staff and volunteers will still run their own events, programs such as BeWild, Banff Mountain Film Festival, the Annual Gala, Evening of Advocacy, Gear Grabs, org-wide celebrations, and other outward-facing events will be managed by the same team. With organizational event expertise living in one place, we’ll be better positioned to respond to the changing landscape and the desires of our community to connect through events.
And lastly, we’ll be simplifying the leadership structure in order to sharpen strategic focus. As CEO, I currently have seven direct reports, which will be reduced to five. By providing more focus to our teams, mine included, we’ll be elevating our ability to grow our mission impact.
Open Staff Positions
As stated above, we’ve had a number of intentionally unfilled positions in the budget and have said goodbye to a few staff in recent months. Having these open positions is what allowed us to make this organizational realignment, and now that we have clarity around the new focus areas and job descriptions, we’re hiring for a number of positions.
We’re excited about the new energy and direction for our community, and we encourage you to apply for and share these positions with your networks.
Associate Manager of Volunteer Development
The Associate Manager of Volunteer Development supports The Mountaineers volunteer base of 3,000+ volunteer leaders, instructors, committee members, and branch council members. Reporting to the Associate Director of Leadership, this position is responsible for the execution of our org-wide leadership development program and volunteer recognition programs, as well as related monthly and annual communications, for both adult and youth programs. Working closely with a mix of staff, key volunteers, and external partners, the Associate Manager of Volunteer Development collaborates to provide high-quality, impactful programming for Mountaineers volunteers. Learn more and apply.
Information technology & data specialist
We are seeking a skilled and dedicated IT & Data Specialist to provide comprehensive support for our organization's technology infrastructure and data management needs. The IT & Data Specialist will play a critical role in ensuring the smooth operation of our IT systems, providing first-level support for staff computer-related issues and managing IT consultants and software licenses. They will also support our efforts to deepen our ability to support data analysis and reporting for staff and volunteers, including utilizing data from Acumatica and Salesforce to help us make strategic, data-informed decisions. Learn more and apply.
Member Services Associate
The Member Services Representative is responsible for providing excellent customer service to Mountaineers volunteers, members, and guests by assisting with website navigation, membership questions, and program-related inquiries via phone and through our online response system. You’ll also process bookstore sales, assist with membership data updates, and complete other projects as assigned in a member-centric, dynamic work environment. Learn more and apply.
Operations Manager
Our next Operations Manager will serve a critical role in our organizational risk management and program & outdoor center operations. This is a new position, reporting to the Associate Director of Operations, created to meet the growing need for deeper support of The Mountaineers volunteer base of 3,000+ volunteer leaders, instructors, committee members, branch council members, and board members. The position will be responsible for operational support of both volunteer- and staff-led programs and will work closely with the Associate Director of Operations to develop strong operational systems that support quality programming and operational risk management. Learn more and apply.
Technology Experience manager
We are seeking a talented and dedicated Technology Experience Manager to oversee the digital experience of our members, volunteers, and broader community across our Mountaineers-owned platforms and Mountaineers-adjacent platforms. The Technology Experience Manager will primarily serve as the product manager for our main website, mountaineers.org, and its supporting infrastructure. This role requires a blend of technical expertise, project management skills, and a keen understanding of user experience to ensure the seamless operation and continual improvement of our digital platforms. Learn more and apply.
For seasonal opportunities currently available, please visit our employment page.
Upcoming Staff Positions
Looking ahead, our new Community Engagement team will be posting for the following roles. Check our employment page in April for position details and learn how to apply.
COMMUNITY EVENTS COORDINATOR
The Community Events Coordinator will play a pivotal role in organizing and executing a wide range of events designed to inspire and engage our community. As part of our Community Engagement team, you will work closely with our partners and internal staff teams to plan, promote, and coordinate events that align with our mission. This role requires exceptional organization and communication and a passion for creating engaging, mission-driven events.
DEVELOPMENT OFFICER (INDIVIDUAL GIVING)
As a Development Officer specializing in individual giving at The Mountaineers, you will build and sustain a robust mid-level and major gifts program securing philanthropic support to advance our mission. You’ll have the chance to develop and implement strategies to build and advance relationships, with an emphasis on deepening donor engagement. This role requires a strong understanding of “moves management” and will be charged with developing supporting CRM infrastructure. It will also require an ability to inspire donors at all levels, through excellent written and verbal communication articulating the organization's mission and funding priorities effectively.
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These sound like positive changes moving forward. Excited to meet the new staff members who take on these roles!
Tom and others have clearly put much thought into this restructuring. We are fortunate to have him as CEO. I'm looking forward to learn who fills the open positions.
