Employment with the Yosemite Climbing Association

The YCA is a 501(c)(3) non-profit, established in 2003 by Yosemite local, Ken Yager. Our flagship projects are Facelift (www.yosemitefacelift.com), a weeklong volunteer cleanup event in Yosemite and globally every year in September, and the Yosemite Climbing Museum (www.yosemiteclimbingmuseum.com) slated to open to the public on June 25, 2021.

Our employment opportunities offer the benefit of experience in the outdoor industry, a dynamic and flexible workplace, and the chance to shape the YCA’s future.

Executive Director

This is a full-time exempt position for a self-starter who is excellent at bringing together the right people and resources to get things done and can creatively problem solve. This person is coming on board at a critical time for the YCA and will be instrumental in developing and implementing processes and strategies to ensure the organization’s future success. The time spent laying the initial process foundation will eventually be offset by creative development projects once fundraising and accounting goals have been met and a Business Manager has been hired. Detailed list of tasks below.

Finance (55% initially, transitioning to 30% after financial processes are in place and business Manager has been hired)

  • Create and implement business plan and fundraising strategy (work with Board for individual donations, write grants, design corporate programs (i.e., sell benefits for public museum events similar to Facelift model, etc.), and as museum sales and membership fees grow, reevaluate fundraising needs from other sources) to accomplish priority financial objectives:

    • Raise salary for Business Manager and Curator/Director of Facelift

    • Forecast spend and prolong runway for overhead expenses

    • Raise Executive Director salary beyond Year One (the YCA and YCA Board have committed to funding this position for one year)

  • Create and implement accounting strategy to capture expenses and income from two bank accounts and two PayPal accounts, with the ultimate goal of establishing an expense approval process and AP process/system

    • Monthly expenses include, but are not limited to: rent, utilities, stipends for Artistic Director and Gallery Artist, fee for Director of Marketing, taxes/insurance/legal (registered trademark fee, etc.), and other for maintenance of Yosemite Climbing Museum and printing supplies

    • Manage income from:

      • Facelift Grants

      • Individual Donations (at Facelift and general)

      • Partner Organizations

      • Museum visits and art sales (TBD)

      • Other (legacy gifts and other sales)

  • Understand Guidestar non-profit requirements and publish annual filings online with the aim of achieving non-profit organization visibility; ensure other 501(c)(3) requirements are met

  • As the Yosemite Climbing Museum opens to the public, work with Gallery Artist to ensure museum inventory and sales are tracked (there is currently no POS system or process in place)

  • Eventually, hire and manage Business Manager to ensure day-to-day and long-term administrative tasks are complete and success of Museum-Gallery/YCA 

  • Until Business Manager is hired, perform critical administrative tasks (see below, Business Manager role) including finance tracking and working with Busy Bee accounting on quarterly and annual tax filings and hire hourly support (there are a couple resources who have helped the YCA with these tasks in the past), as needed and appropriate (based on budget)

Creative (30% initially, 55% after financial process are in place and Business Manager has been hired) 

  • Work with General Counsel on quarterly newsletter by soliciting noteworthy news from Curator, Artistic Director, and the industry

  • Partner with General Counsel, Board of Directors, and Curator/Director of Facelift to implement Diversity & Inclusion strategy, which has already been developed by the Board and has an annual budget allocated from a grant; includes identifying D&I status and needs, staff training, and developing underrepresented climber material/film production for future museum exhibits

  • Work with Director of Marketing to develop and implement PR campaigns related to the museum (new exhibits) and Facelift and with Gallery Artist on website strategy

  • Work with Curator and Artistic Director to improve museum design and content; develop timelines for new exhibit implementation and oversee step-by-step milestones for museum projects, including communicating with potential partners/photographers and industry players

  • Create and manage YCA membership program by working with General Counsel, Artistic Director, Director of Marketing, and Business Manager

  • Ensure that Artistic Director and Gallery Artist design and implement online archive with eventual goal of quantifying collection’s value

  • Other opportunities tailored to Executive Director’s interests: develop community programs, branding strategies, merchandising strategies, etc.

Meetings and Other (15%)

  • Meet with General Counsel prior to Board Meetings to discuss open action items and any issues/needs

  • Occasionally, attend Board Meetings

  • Schedule regular staff meeting with Business Manager, Curator, and Artistic Director

  • Until Business Manager is hired, manage inboxes 

Requirements:

  • Located in the Mariposa area or willingness to relocate

  • Bachelor’s Degree (or equivalent)

  • 7+ years of full-time work experience at an established organization

  • Proficiency with spreadsheets and word processing programs

  • Generally disciplined to see tasks through to completion (i.e., at the outset, there will be some administrivial tasks associated with the role (finance data entry) that need to be consistently completed; ideally, these tasks will be offset by more interesting strategic and creative tasks as the role and fundraising efforts develop)

Compensation and Benefits:

  • $60,000-$70,000 per year

  • Flexible work schedule

  • Competitive PTO

  • $50 per month cell phone stipend

  • At this time, we cannot offer health insurance or retirement benefits. This is our first full-time position and the ability of the organization to provide these desirable benefits and more in the future will be tied directly to the ED’s role in growing our fundraising efforts! We are really looking forward to expanding and offering better and better benefits as we grow.

*If you are interested in applying, please send cover letter and resume to Allyson at allyson@yosemiteclimbing.org no later than July 5, 2021.