Senior Director of Advancement Job Opportunity - The Mountaineers

The Mountaineers, a vibrant community of outdoor recreationists and conservationists, seeks an experienced, strategic fundraising leader to serve as its next Senior Director of Advancement. For nearly 120 years, we've been a passionate community of bold explorers, welcoming people from all walks of life and growing to more than 17,000 active members across Western Washington. We're adventurers driven by imagination, challenge, and the spirit of discovery, seeking to be innovators in outdoor education, educators of a new generation, and fierce advocates for the stewardship and conservation of public lands and the natural world. Our dedicated staff, members, and volunteers are deeply committed to successfully accomplishing our mission through diverse programs supported by a $2M annual philanthropic initiative. We now seek a skilled development leader to lead our team and advance our outdoor education and conservation impact.

The ideal candidate will bring exceptional fundraising expertise, strategic communication skills, and proven team leadership experience to manage the development, communications, and membership teams. Reporting to the CEO, you will serve as a key organizational leader and brand steward, cultivating major donor relationships, and leading a team of 12, including 4 direct reports. This is an exciting opportunity for a mission-driven leader to make a transformative impact on outdoor accessibility and conservation! As the Sr. Director of Advancement at The Mountaineers, you would be joining an organization and a community that at its core finds joy and passion in getting people outside to experience and protect the mountains, forests, and waters that define our region.

This is a full-time salaried position requiring a willingness to work some evenings and weekends and occasional travel throughout the state of Washington. The expected salary range is between $125K-$150K, depending on qualifications and experience. 

Applying by August 8 is strongly encouraged to ensure timely consideration.Interviewing is anticipated in August.

Organizational Overview

Mission

Our mission is to enrich lives by helping people explore, conserve, learn about, and enjoy the lands and waters of the Pacific Northwest and beyond.

Vision 

Adventure with Purpose. We envision a world where our adventures extend beyond the reach of our own personal enjoyment and where all people can confidently enjoy and are inspired to protect the natural world.

Core Values

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

• 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. 

• 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. 

How We Work

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 17,000 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, The Mountaineers is committed to advocating for outdoor education, recreation, and public lands conservation. 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 60 staff members support our diverse impact areas, including:

• Adult Education - Comprehensive outdoor skills courses and programs

• Volunteer Development - Building and supporting our community of dedicated volunteers  

• Youth Programs - Inspiring the next generation of outdoor enthusiasts and conservationists

• Mountaineers Books - Our internationally-recognized publishing division

• Conservation & Advocacy Education - Protecting and preserving the lands and waters we love

Together, The Mountaineers is creating a community where outdoor recreation, education, and conservation intersect to build lasting connections between people and the natural world.

Commitment to Equity 

Our core value of community reflects our belief that a diverse and inclusive outdoors inspires unity, respect, and passion for the places we love. Cultivating an inclusive staff is central to The Mountaineers’ focus on advancing equity and belonging in alignment with our core values. We are committed to building a culture where all people feel emotionally and physically safe and can achieve a sense of belonging in the outdoors. We believe that everyone deserves access to experience the transformative power of the natural world.

Opportunities and Essential Duties of Position

The Mountaineers is seeking a community-oriented and mission-driven Senior Director of Advancement. In this multifaceted role, you will bring together development, membership, and communications functions that work hand-in-hand to advance and grow The Mountaineers around our shared mission.This role offers the opportunity to provide strategic leadership for our $2M annual philanthropic program while building the capability to grow philanthropy to $3M over the next 4-5 years.

As Sr. Director of Advancement, you will guide our strategic communication and impact storytelling on behalf of our more than 17,000 members. You will be a key member of the leadership team, working closely with the CEO, other senior staff leaders, and volunteers such as The Mountaineers board of directors to achieve organization-wide goals while serving as one of The Mountaineers' key brand stewards and community advocates.

We expect the new Sr. Director will focus their time on these key areas:

Strategic Fundraising Leadership: Lead the fundraising team to successfully generate $2M+ annually in philanthropic revenue while cultivating a portfolio of approximately 60 major donors and developing emerging capabilities in planned giving, grants, events, and corporate sponsorships.

Team Leadership: Build and implement operating and financial plans for development, membership, and communications while serving as leader for a diverse team of professionals, providing guidance, direction, mentoring, and career development. The Sr. Director will oversee a staff of 12, with 4 direct reports, 2 of whom manage additional team members.

Organizational Leadership: Actively participate as a member of the five-member leadership team, helping to guide org-wide strategies, policies, and plans that support a highly-functioning and engaged staff team.

Membership Program Oversight: Oversee strategic direction and operations of The Mountaineers' membership program, working to enhance member engagement, retention, and growth across our seven branches.

Communications and Brand Stewardship: Support the communications team in strategically  communicating The Mountaineers' mission and impact through clear, compelling messaging that engages members, volunteers, and donors to support our community.

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.

• Love working with donors and have a strong track record of building effective fundraising and engagement programs that inspire a community to support an organization’s mission.

• Are energized by interacting with and communicating to a wide range of community members including staff, members, volunteers, and donors.

• Are a confident impact storyteller in both written and verbal communications. 

• Are motivated to engage board members and a volunteer community to amplify and scale your team’s work.

• Are an experienced and collaborative leader and people manager who is able to provide direction to a large team, guiding their priorities and resources to meet and exceed goals.

As a senior position in this organization, we hope to see candidates who have previously led a development team and been responsible for overseeing at least $1M in annual fundraising revenue, as well as personally managing a donor portfolio and making direct asks. The ideal candidate will have experience supervising and supporting direct reports, and participating in setting strategy at the organizational level. While we understand that there are many paths to developing skills and building expertise, we would expect the successful candidate to have significant experience as a leader in nonprofit development, communications, and/or membership, with a proven track record of building programs that engage and grow communities around mission-driven work.

Working at the Mountaineers

The Mountaineers has a relatively informal, yet high-performing staff culture. We have a collaborative decision-making culture, work hard yet value time away from the office, and are strongly rooted in our Core Values. As you might imagine, most staff members have a love of the outdoors and it’s a defining part of who we are as individuals. Here’s what we offer to support your outdoor adventures and personal well-being:

• 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 for gear, clothing and services (“prodeals”)

• Four on-site climbing and bouldering walls

• Bring your dog to work

• 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

Compensation and Benefits

This is a full-time salaried position requiring a willingness to work some evenings and weekends and occasional travel throughout the state of Washington. The expected salary range is between $125K-$150K, depending on qualifications and experience. 

The Mountaineers offers generous benefits including medical, dental and vision insurance, 401k, and holiday, vacation, commuter benefit, and sick leave. We observe 12 paid holidays and offer 3 weeks of vacation per year, which increases to 5 weeks over 5 years, and accrues 8 sick days per year. Staff also receive 2 paid days/year to volunteer or take a Mountaineers course. The Mountaineers headquarters and Seattle Program Center is located in Seattle, WA, in the Sand Point neighborhood, adjacent to Magnuson Park. Mountaineers Books is located in Seattle on Harbor Island and The Mountaineers Tacoma Program Center is in Old Town Tacoma. 

How to Apply

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

Applying by August 8 is strongly encouraged to ensure timely consideration, though we will continue accepting and reviewing applications after this date. All applications will be acknowledged via an email receipt. Consideration will be given to applications as soon as they are received; phone and video interviewing is anticipated to begin in August.  

Creating an inclusive environment for all staff members is a cornerstone of The Mountaineers' commitment to equity and reflects 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.

Questions regarding this opportunity are welcomed and can be directed to:

Sumi Bhat-Kincaid

sumi {at} cloversearchworks.com 

Posting Date: Jul 14, 2025