Executive Director | Grand Junction Sports Commission

Grand Junction, Colorado, The Executive Director of the Grand Junction Sports Commission is responsible for the procurement, support, or creation of sporting events to the Grand Junction area. This individual is the lead staff member for the Grand Junction Sports Commission (GJSC), reporting to the board of directors. Primary functions include leading the Grand Junction Sports Commission strategy and implementation, managing staff, pursuing new business opportunities, developing new revenue streams, and overseeing the brand perception and awareness of the organization. Founded in 2015, the Grand Junction Sports Commission is a collaborative effort between Colorado Mesa University, the City of Grand Junction, Mesa County, the City of Fruita, and the Town of Palisade serving to promote sport tourism in the community. The organization’s mission is to represent the Grand Junction region in attracting new, enhancing existing, and/or creating new sporting events that capitalize on our assets, positively impact our economy and community, and deliver the highest level of customer service. The GJSC is a 501-C-3 nonprofit organization and is the only known sports commission born out of a university (Colorado Mesa University). ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS include the following. Other related duties may be assigned. Administration Function • Serves as the administrator of the GJSC driving the overall sports events and tourism strategy for the community. • Schedules and facilitates all advisory board meetings. • Provides reports and updates on activities procured by the Commission. • Directs financial management inclusive of budget development and tracking, partner entity funding and requests, grant program facilitation, and individual event budget. • Responsible for the direct staffing of the GJSC including assessing, adjusting, reviewing, and managing staff, student workers and contract labor. Vision and Strategy Development • Sets vision, strategy, and objectives for all organizational efforts, including, but not limited to portfolio of bid-on versus owned and operated events, grant and legacy programs, community development through sports events and tourism efforts. • Assesses and monitors local, state, and national sports events and tourism trends and adjust accordingly to ensure long-term health and viability of the GJSC. • Develops and track GJSC key performance metric data including economic impact, number of participants, number of spectators, etc. and report on results to the board of directors, key constituents, and community groups. • Garners stakeholder and community support of articulated vision and strategy. • Actively participates as the primary contact or the community’s economic development partnership and works in partnership with representatives of the city, county, school district, and others in fostering partnerships that promote the resources of the community and allows for an increase in economic activity Event Portfolio Management • Identifies, recruits, vets, and develops bids for tournaments and events, inclusive of fundraising events for the GJSC, that will benefit the Grand Junction area, including hosting site visits, scouting events, and providing requested information. • Oversees all aspects of owned and operated event portfolio, including, but not limited to: Cultivating new event ideas and feasibility, budget development and financial management, facility procurement, contract development, securing permits, operational and logistical planning, volunteer management, marketing and sponsorship, registration and ticket sales, customer service, day-of operations and timelines, post-event review and reporting. • Supports all awarded events per contract details, such as: Room block coordination, vendor procurement, financial arrangements, etc. • Works with community stakeholders to identify regional, collegiate, and national event procurement, development, and growth of youth sports. • Oversees sports events associated with GJSC and assists with other local sporting events as needed. • Maintains a working knowledge of the facilities available for use and their capacities. • Works with internal and external stakeholders to develop the necessary budget and communication vehicles to market and promote the events to the public, inclusive of developing and writing bids for submission to the appropriate organizations; securing a web and social presence, advertising and sponsorships. Program Oversight • Develops community legacy programs encompassing quality of place, resident sentiment, and community development through sport. • Spearheads grant programs including event seeding and grant funding efforts of the GJSC, cultivating organizational fundraising, development, and grant initiatives. • Oversees the volunteer program for the GJSC, including recruiting, scheduling, training, supervising, and retaining a strong volunteer collection. • Manages communications program to positively impact the brand awareness and perception of the broader Grand Junction community as a premier sport destination both internally and externally, including public relations, communications, web, digital, and print elements. SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES: This position reports to the GJSC Board of Directors and may supervise other employees, contract workers, volunteers, and student employees. Performs above tasks independently and is fully responsible for them. Determines own methods of performing assigned work. To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty and responsibility satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. Grand Junction Sports Commission is committed to providing a safe and productive work environment. To achieve that goal, we conduct background investigations for all final applicants being considered for employment. Background investigations include reference checks, a criminal history record check, and when appropriate, a financial and/or motor vehicle history. Applicant must be able to verify U.S. employment eligibility. Grand Junction Sports Commission is an Equal Opportunity Employer, committed to a culturally diverse community. Women and minorities are encouraged to apply. Any person with a disability as defined by the ADA Amendments Act of 2008 (ADAAA) may be provided a reasonable accommodation upon request to enable the person to complete an employment assessment. • Bachelor’s degree in sport management, business, tourism, or finance • Minimum of 5 years sports event and tourism industry experience • Strong background in sport management and tourism with quantifiable proof of growing sport tourism efforts • Robust experience in all facet of event operations • Knowledge of the nonprofit sector • Experience reporting directly to a Board of Directors preferred • Strong relationship building skills • Excellent communication, negotiation, and human relations skills • Ability to work weekends, nights, and long event hours • Ability to travel, including nights and weekends • Experience with organizational accounting, budget development and management • Reliable means of transportation • Ability to work in an environment requiring moving and lifting of heavy objects LANGUAGE SKILLS: Ability to effectively present information, both orally and in writing, and to respond to questions from participants, spectators, organizational stakeholders, board members, and the press. Ability to read, analyze and interpret technical instructions, manuals and periodicals. MATHEMATICAL SKILLS: Ability to perform basic mathematical functions and calculate figures and amounts such as discounts, interest, proportions, and percentages as related to fiscal management. REASONING ABILITY: Strategic and analytical reasoning skills are necessary. Ability to exercise sound judgment. Ability to solve practical problems and deal with a variety of concrete variable in situations where only limited standardization exists. Ability to interpret a variety of instructions furnished in written, oral, diagram or schedule form. 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. The incumbent is required to sit, walk, talk, hear, see with both near and far acuity, and do light lifting which may include exerting up to twenty pounds of force occasionally and/or up to ten pounds of force regularly. WORK ENVIRONMENT: The tasks involved with this position will be performed in a variety of environments, including an office environment, indoor athletic facilities, and outdoor facilities where the incumbent may be exposed to hot, cold, wet, humid or windy conditions caused by the weather. The noise level in the work environment varies from quiet to extremely noisy.