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 14,000 members and seven branches in 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 and protection of recreational lands so that future generations can enjoy these places too. Our core value of community reflects the belief that a diverse and inclusive outdoors inspires unity, respect, and passion for the places we love. Our 55 staff, divided between our program centers and our nonprofit publishing division, Mountaineers Books, and 3,000+ volunteers work together 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.

About Our Conservation and Advocacy Program

The Mountaineers strategic plan – Vision 2022 – set a bold goal of deepening The Mountaineers capabilities and impact as a fierce advocate for wild places. It builds on our legacy of playing an active and effective role in public lands conservation. In recent years, we’ve doubled down on that focus: enhancing our role at the nexus of conservation and recreation – both by educating and engaging our community of outdoor enthusiasts and through strong partnerships with other outdoors organizations.

Our conservation engagement model, which incorporates education, stewardship, and advocacy – and is supported by extensive policy expertise – makes The Mountaineers unique in our approach to conservation by inspiring and engaging the outdoor community to take action. Additionally, our strong expertise in outdoor education and getting people outdoors means our members are deeply connected to our community, our mission, and the landscapes where we recreate.

This connection results in a strong and respected voice on conservation issues. Our conservation and advocacy programs educate and engage people on responsible recreation and public lands management through online resources and published works. We continue to round out our approach through hands-on, volunteer-run stewardship activities, and deep policy work that is done on behalf of our members and the greater outdoor community. Additionally, we provide direct opportunities for outdoor enthusiasts to take action on these conservation issues specifically related to The Mountaineers mission.

The Position: Conservation and Advocacy Director

Our next Conservation and Advocacy Director will be a visionary and strategic leader who will shape the direction and success of The Mountaineers conservation efforts. This person will lead our conservation and advocacy programming, including driving partnerships, executing advocacy campaigns and communications, and supporting fundraising efforts that result in long-term outcomes to protect public lands and human-powered experiences on these landscapes.

The Conservation and Advocacy Director should be genuinely committed to the mission of The Mountaineers, share our core values, and have a personal passion for human-powered recreation. They should be eager to be a leader on a collaborative team and excited to take risks and stretch the conservation and advocacy 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 policy and/or advocacy experience, as well as nonprofit leadership.

Primary responsibilities of the Conservation and Advocacy Director include:

• Build and maintain the principal organizational relationships with legislative offices, land managers, partner organizations, and outdoor industry companies for collaborative and successful public land protections and management outcomes.
•  Effectively shape and influence conservation and recreation legislation and land management decisions, including tracking and interpreting policies and proposed actions and providing testimony for relevant comment periods and hearings.
• Develop and implement conservation policy and planning campaigns that bring together legislative strategy, advocacy, communications, and engagement of our outdoor community to achieve The Mountaineers conservation and advocacy goals.
• Oversee implementation of all conservation communications, translating complex policy issues into clear outreach and engagement.
• As a member of the senior leadership team, share in guiding strategic planning, communications, equity and inclusion work, organizational budgeting, donor stewardship and fundraising, and board work.
• Lead two board-level committees: Carbon Footprint Reduction Committee and the (newly formed) Conservation and Advocacy Committee.

The Conservation and Advocacy Director will build upon this successful program by expanding our work in three main areas:

• Increasing organizational leadership and member engagement in public lands planning processes and legislation, especially in Washington State lands issues.
• Accelerate our focus and impact in addressing the climate crisis to find effective ways for The Mountaineers to do more in educating and advocating for solutions.
• Become a stronger voice for threatened Western North America landscapes from the Pacific Northwest and beyond, such as those highlighted in our Braided River conservation titles and places like Bears Ears National Monument.

The Conservation and Advocacy Director will hire and manage our newly-created Advocacy and Engagement Manager position.

Desired Qualifications and Characteristics

• Relevant education and/or experience in the fields of policy, public land management and planning, and advocacy and engagement.
• Desire to work independently at an executive level with minimal day-to-day supervision. Strong executive presence and track record of building effective professional relationships with internal and external stakeholders and peers.
• A passion for the outdoors and conservation, and knowledge of current public lands conservation and recreation issues.
• Cultural competency and demonstrated ability to work with people of all races, ages, genders, abilities and economic backgrounds.
• Experience creating and implementing successful plans for advocacy and policy development.
• Experience working with volunteer committees, boards, or task forces.
• Ability to affect positive growth and a desire to work in a mid-sized nonprofit setting.
• Administrative experience in budgeting, resource development, marketing, and staff supervision.
• Comfort with technology and learning new applications.
• Ability to pass a national criminal background and sex offender check.

As an organization that values equity and inclusion, we highly encourage people of color, women, LGBTQ individuals, and veterans to apply.

More details here: https://www.idealist.org/en/nonprofit-job/d1d8182284114c51a5db5ffd924f872c-conservation-and-advocacy-director-the-mountaineers-seattle