VP of Development, Tri-County Aquatics and Sports Facility Project

We are searching for an innovative, persistent, and persuasive leader to champion the fundraising for construction of a new sports and fitness facility to serve the greater Helena area. This is an opportunity to impact generations of Tri-County residents through physical and mental health and wellness, youth development and childcare, community engagement, and economic growth. 

The greater Helena area is in desperate need of an indoor sports facility to meet increasing demand from our growing community. We are the only AA-high school community in Montana and the only capital city in the U.S. without an indoor competition swimming pool. Helena does not have any indoor public recreation facilities. Finding field and pool time is a constant battle for youth and adult sports teams and recreational enthusiasts. The community has insufficient bandwidth for youth development, senior services, and general community support.  

This is an extraordinary opportunity, but also an extraordinary challenge requiring collaboration with several community partners. We are looking for a leader with a proven track record of breaking through walls to achieve seemingly impossible feats. 

Responsibilities:

• Develop and execute a fundraising plan to support project construction and ongoing operations
• Build and strengthen relations with community partners
• Develop and execute a campaign to secure widespread community support
• Serve as the project’s primary spokesperson to the project’s constituents, the media, and the general public 

Qualifications:

• 5+ years fundraising experience. Ideally, this would include experience securing funds from large individual donors, foundations, city bond initiatives, social media platforms, and public and private grants.
• Experience spearheading multi-million-dollar projects that require the collaboration of various stakeholders
• Ability to communicate the vision effectively to donors, partners, and the overall community
• Experience in changing public opinion and in obtaining widespread community support
• Strong written and oral communication skills
• Strong public speaking ability 

Compensation:

• A salary of at least $90k, commensurate with experience + performance-based compensation. We have designed a compelling compensation package to attract the best candidates. 

Spearheading the project are Paul Landes, a retired land developer and one of our local swim coaches; Elizabeth Kraus, Masters Swimming member and the founder and chief investment officer for the MergeLane venture capital firm, and Heather Grahame, local endurance athlete, and general counsel and vice president at NorthWestern Energy. Dick Anderson and Bob Heberly of Dick Anderson Construction are working closely with our project team Private donors who prefer to remain anonymous have committed to funding this salary. This position will report directly to Paul Landes and Elizabeth Kraus.

To apply, please contact Elizabeth Kraus at elizabeth@mergelane.com.