Executive Director

Job Description - Executive Director

Azimuth Check Foundation

Founded in 2017 and based in New Hampshire, the Azimuth Check Foundation (ACF) helps heroes find their way by providing injured warriors with challenging year-round outdoor activities that create wellness in an atmosphere of camaraderie. ACF believes that physical, mental, social, and emotional health must be nurtured to achieve wellness.

To achieve this, ACF helps our injured warriors achieve wellness through rewarding events such as multi-day hikes, mountaineering, deep sea fishing, bicycling trips, rock and ice climbing, downhill mountain biking, snowshoe hiking. sporting events and tournaments, and much more.

Description

The Azimuth Check Foundation seeks an experienced executive professional to fill the position of part-time Executive Director.

Reporting to the Board of Directors, the Executive Director (ED) will have overall strategic and operational responsibility for Azimuth Check Foundation's (ACF) programs and events, and execution of and adherence to its mission. She or he will initially develop deep knowledge of existing core programs, events, operations, budget, and strategic goals.

Responsibilities

Leadership & Management:

• Ensure ongoing regional and national (Washington and Colorado) programmatic excellence, rigorous program evaluation, and consistent quality of program financial sustainability.
• Oversee administration, fundraising, grants, communications, and systems; recommend timelines and resources needed to achieve operational and strategic goals.
• Actively engage and energize ACF board members, volunteers, event committees, partnering organizations, and funders.
• Develop, maintain, and support a strong Board of Directors; serve as ex-officio member of each committee; seek and build board involvement with strategic direction for both ongoing and new local, regional, and national operations.
• Lead, coach, develop, and retain a high-performance board of directors and volunteer network.
• Ensure effective systems to track progress, and regularly evaluate program components, to ensure safety and to measure effectiveness, sustainability, and potential growth. Safeguarding successes that can be effectively communicated to the board, funders, and other constituents.

Fundraising & Communications:

• Prioritize and lead the expansion of regional revenue generating and fundraising activities to support existing program operations and expand on programs nationally; to include identification and acquisition of corporate partnerships and sponsors.
• Continue and strengthen relationships with strategic partnerships such as those with the Appalachian Mountain Club, The Ladd Farm, and International Mountain Climbing School.
• Manage and administer current grants and research and secure additional grant funding.
• Deepen and refine all aspects of communications—from web presence to external relations with the goal of creating a stronger brand. 
• Cultivate past donors and granting foundations such as Swim with a Mission and Operation Hat Trick, establish new contacts, and pursue outreach.
• Create a quarterly then monthly newsletter building the ACF email list.
• Use external presence and relationships to garner new opportunities.

Planning & New Business:

• Begin to build partnerships in new markets, establishing relationships, locally and regionally, with funders, and political and community leaders.
• As the face of the organization, be an external presence that publishes and communicates program results with an emphasis on the successes of the local program as a model for regional and national replication.

Organizational Duties:

• Total oversight through intimate detailed knowledge of every aspect of Azimuth Check Foundation.
• Have complete familiarity with Azimuth Check Foundation bylaws, Articles of Incorporation and all published ACF handbooks, policies, and guidelines.
• Financial Management in coordination with the ACF treasurer, bookkeeper, and CPA/Accountant.
• Overview of financial planning and generating financial reports, including monthly board meeting reports and a detailed annual report as specified by ACF Board of Directors.
• Ensure that all ACF physical assets are identified, inventoried, and insured.
• Take the lead role in fundraising activities by cultivating donors through outreach and by exploring all potentially beneficial contacts, in concert with the ACF Board of Directors.
• Public speaking to establish contacts and gain referrals.
• Accountability for creating, evaluating, managing, and operationalizing programs.
• Evaluate the performance of volunteers and the overall organization in achieving the ACF mission following each program event and a larger assessment of each season’s operations.
• Ensure that all operational volunteers have appropriate training and certification and have been issued clear instructions and all operational guidelines and handbooks.
• Comfortable using various cloud software such as; Flipcause (CRM); Quickbooks; Trello – Project Management; Mail Chimp; Adobe; and Microsoft Suite (Word and Excel).

Qualifications:

The Executive Director will be thoroughly committed to the Azimuth Check Foundation’s mission. All candidates should have proven leadership, fundraising, grant writing, and relationship management experience.

Specific requirements include:

• Track record of effectively leading and growing a performance and outcomes-based organization; ability to point to specific examples of having developed and operationalized strategies that have taken an organization to the next stage of growth.
• Unwavering commitment to quality programs and data-driven program evaluation
• Excellence in organizational management with the ability to engage and coach volunteers, manage, and develop high-performance teams, set and achieve strategic objectives, and develop and manage a budget.
• Past success working with a Board of Directors with the ability to cultivate existing board member relationships.
• Strong marketing, public relations, and fundraising experience with the ability to engage a wide range of stakeholders and cultures.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills; a persuasive and passionate communicator with excellent interpersonal and multidisciplinary project skills
• Proficiency in grant and letter writing
• Action-oriented, entrepreneurial, adaptable, and innovative approach to business planning.
• Ability to work effectively in collaboration with diverse groups of people.
• Passion, idealism, integrity, positive attitude, punctuality, mission-driven, and self-directed.

Salary and Benefits:

• Salary range of $37,000 to $47,000 
• Work from your home base with Organization provided equipment and supplies.
• Job does require travel throughout New England as needed for in person meetings, program and special events, and outreach opportunities.
• Flexible schedule, to include an average of 30 hours per week.
• 3 weeks accrued Paid Time Off in year 1, increased in future years.
• 11 Paid Federal Holidays. (New Years, MLK, Presidents Day, Memorial Day, Juneteenth Day, July 4, Labor Day, Columbus/Indigenous Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas)

Requirements:

• Must reside in New Hampshire or Northern Massachusetts.
• May be needed to attend program, special and outreach events that may include evenings, weekends, and possible overnights.
• Available to travel throughout New England. 
• Valid driver’s license and reliable transportation with good driving record.

Equal Opportunity Employer

Azimuth Check Foundation provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws.

This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation, and training.