Communications Coordinator

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 17,000 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. We believe that all people should feel belonging in the outdoors. Our ~60 staff, divided between our program centers and our nonprofit publishing division, Mountaineers Books, plus 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.

Learn more at mountaineers.org.

Position Overview

The Communications Coordinator is a creative and collaborative communications professional who is passionately committed to The Mountaineers mission of promoting outdoor education, conservation, and recreation. Playing a key role in engaging The Mountaineers community as part of our collaborative Community Engagement team, the Communications Coordinator will have the opportunity to contribute to the organization’s message delivery through thoughtful content development, with a particular focus on email delivery and social media, in support of our entire organization, branches, and volunteers. This person will work as part of a team to curate and deliver regular email communications and develop digital content for our emails and social media channels.

You’ll love this job if

• You have a passion for storytelling, writing, editing, and social media.
• You are curious, adaptable, and comfortable learning new technologies, platforms, and tools.
• You have exceptional attention to detail and take pride in producing polished, error-free work.
• You understand the value of brand standards and can balance consistency with creativity.
• You have a strong visual eye and appreciation for effective graphic design, photography, and video content.
• You thrive in a fast-paced environment and can successfully manage multiple projects, priorities, and deadlines at once.
• You are highly self-motivated and enjoy working independently while collaborating effectively with a supportive team.
• You enjoy turning ideas into engaging content and finding creative ways to connect with audiences.
• You are energized by working with volunteers, members, and colleagues to tell meaningful stories and amplify community impact.

Key Responsibilities

Manage Marketing Cloud Email Portfolio

The Mountaineers has a robust email communications calendar, which includes regularly recurring newsletters along with multiple annual campaigns and ad-hoc emails and announcements. You will assist other departments in developing their email campaign strategies. With the support of the Communications Manager, you will be responsible for gathering content, editing content to fit brand standards, and putting the content into Marketing Cloud for email distribution.

• Manage communications calendar, coordinating with manager and other departments to optimize delivery and timing of email content.
• Serve as primary point of contact for gathering and editing content and putting it into Marketing Cloud for email distribution.
• Become the internal staff expert of Marketing Cloud, our email service provider, to manage templates, utilize its communication functions, and serve as main point of contact for error management.
• Oversee health and use of our distribution lists, assuring compliance with member privacy policy and opt-in agreements, including email re-opt in process with Marketing Cloud.
• Track and share email performance trends and metrics.

Manage Social Media Channels

The Mountaineers maintains a social media presence to inspire people to get outside, build affinity for our mission, grow our community, and increase participation in our programs and events. As part of a collaborative communications team, you will help evolve our social media presence, moving beyond primarily sharing existing content toward creating compelling, platform-native content that expands our reach and deepens engagement. This role is ideal for someone who is excited about storytelling, community building, short-form video, and staying ahead of rapidly changing social media trends.

• Collaborate with the communications team to implement and refine social media strategies that grow brand awareness, engagement, and audience reach across multiple platforms.
• Collaborate with staff and volunteers to develop a robust pipeline of engaging content.
• Help create, curate, and manage content for social media channels, including short-form video, reels, stories, graphics, photos, and user-generated content.
• Help identify opportunities to tell authentic stories that showcase The Mountaineers community, impact, volunteers, programs, events, and conservation work.
• Stay current on emerging social media trends and best practices, sharing insights and recommendations with the communications team to inform content and channel strategies.
• Monitor conversations and feedback across social channels, engaging with followers, responding to inquiries, and fostering a welcoming online community.
• Analyze social media performance and audience behavior using platform analytics and reporting tools, providing data-informed recommendations to the communications team to improve results.
• Support the development and execution of paid social campaigns, when appropriate.

Provide Org-Wide Communications Support

As a member of the Community Engagement team, you will support general communications for the organization. You will bring your passion for writing, editing, and brand stewardship to multiple projects across the organization, including Mountaineer of the Week blogs, new badge development, fundraising campaigns, strategic priorities, and membership engagement.

Requirements

• Cultural competency and demonstrated ability to work with people of all races, ages, genders, abilities, and economic backgrounds.
• Ability to maintain confidential member and donor information.
• Ability to pass a national criminal background and sex offender check.
• At least 2 years experience in writing, online communications, social media management, or comparable field.
• Ability to use Microsoft Outlook, Word, Excel, and Google Docs and Sheets.
• Experience with Meta Business Suite
• A passion for the outdoors and conservation and a personal interest in human-powered recreation.

Desired Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in communications or related field, or comparable experience with demonstrated success in these areas.
• Excellent interpersonal skills and a sense of humor.
• Desire to work in a small nonprofit work environment.
• Demonstrated emotional intelligence around online engagement, particularly through social media.
• Excellent attention to detail with strong time management and organization skills.
• Familiarity and comfort with InDesign, Photoshop, Salesforce, Marketing Cloud
• Experience with LinkedIn and YouTube
• Outdoor recreation knowledge

Cultivating an inclusive staff is central to The Mountaineers focus on advancing equity in alignment with 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.

We are also committed to building a culture where all people feel emotionally and physically safe. In support of this commitment, all prospective employees must agree to abide by The Mountaineers Code of Ethics and our Child Protection Policies. We do not tolerate discrimination, sexual misconduct, harassment, micro-aggressions, retaliation, assault, or any form of child abuse.

Work Environment

This role is based in Seattle, at The Mountaineers Program Center in Magnuson Park. This position requires in-person collaboration, with up to 40% remote work time with supervisor approval. The Mountaineers will provide a laptop computer for remote access. All employees are expected to have a suitable remote work environment, including broadband internet access, to accomplish their job duties when working remotely.

This position reports to: Director of Communications and Engagement

Physical Demands

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

While performing the duties of this job, the employee will also be expected to sit or stand for extended periods of time at a keyboard for computer work. The employee may be asked to work the very occasional evening or weekend, for which you will be compensated, but that is at the discretion of the supervisor and employee. Must have regular and reliable transportation to get to and from the office.

Benefits include medical, dental, vision, life, and long-term disability insurance, and paid sick, vacation, and holiday time. 401(k) retirement plan available after three months.

PTO benefit package for current staff and new hires include:

• 15 paid days vacation in first year, with additional accrual based on tenure
• 4 paid volunteer days
• 12 paid holidays
• Paid sick leave according to Seattle's Paid Sick and Safe Time Ordinance

Additional benefits include:

• 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 (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