We’re Hiring: Trail Ranger Associate Director

Do you enjoy connecting people and communities to the outdoors? Can you cultivate a thriving, efficient team? Would you win a staring contest with an Excel spreadsheet? 

We’re looking for an organized, compassionate networker to be WABA’s Trail Ranger Associate Director. 

The Team

The Trail Ranger Associate Director is part of WABA’s Programs Team. The fourteen-person team runs WABA’s outreach, education, and trails maintenance programs. The DC Trail Ranger program consists of the Associate Director, DC Trail Rangers, and Outreach and Operations Managers. The Associate Director reports to WABA’s Programs Director.

WABA’s DC Trail Ranger Program aims to make the District trails welcoming and inclusive to all residents, frequently used, and in a state of good repair. The program encourages trail use through daily trail presence, trail maintenance, trail user assistance, and community engagement. Trail Rangers cover paved multi-use trails within the District, including the Metropolitan Branch Trail, Anacostia River Trail, Marvin Gaye Trail, Oxon Run Trail, I-295 Trail and connecting street routes. You can learn more about the Trail Ranger Program here.

The Job

The Associate Director manages and implements the DC Trail Ranger program. 

  • Provide technical and budget oversight, lead on grant deliverables and outcomes.
  • Develop, implement, and evaluate progress towards program strategy, annual budgets, and work plans. 
  • Ensure accurate and timely grant reporting and invoicing.
  • Lead a team of eight Trail Ranger staff, with a lens towards managing for diversity, equity, and inclusion.
  • Support staff development, professional skills and experience, maximize impact and managing risk. 
  • Direct risk management reporting, evaluation and training to ensure safe programs.
  • Facilitate collaboration across team and organization.
  • Develop WABA’s networks and relationships with other nonprofit organizations, businesses, elected public officials, governmental agencies and community leaders in the trail corridors and beyond. 
  • Represent WABA at public speaking engagements, conferences, and on coalitions, including the Capital Trails Coalition, to advance our outreach partnerships and opportunities.
  • Collaborate on regional trails advocacy for current and future trails.    

Required Qualifications

You should apply if you meet at least 75% of the following:

  • At least five years of program management experience.
  • At least three years of full-time experience mentoring, developing, and evaluating employees.
  • At least three years of experience managing a field operations program. 
  • Experience developing, managing and analyzing program budgets.
  • Proven track record for working collaboratively within and across teams.
  • Excellent writing, presentation and public speaking skills, including excellent communication skills in informal settings and across lines of difference.
  • A strong commitment to WABA’s mission, vision, and diversity, inclusion and equity goals, including a nuanced understanding of how race, gender, and other factors shape conversations and experiences, and how climate and transportation justice are connected to a trails program. 
  • The ability to ride a bike, with a willingness to ride in mixed city traffic and off-street trails.

The Trail Ranger Associate Director must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 pursuant to Mayor’s Order 2021-099, Section II and Mayor’s Order 2021-147, Section VI, or be eligible for an exemption as defined by the District of Columbia Mayor’s Order 2021-099, Section III.

Useful experience and skills

If you have this experience or these skills, let us know. You don’t need them to be considered for the position, but you should be eager to learn:

  • Experience with government grant program management and reporting.
  • Creative problem-solving skills and capacity to innovate.
  • Lived experience with our program trails, and the nearby neighbors and neighborhoods, especially near Marvin Gaye and Oxon Run trails.
  • Experience building connections and relationships trail communities and organizations.
  • Experience engaging and navigating federal and local government agencies, including DC government and National Park Service. 
  • Experience with paved multi-use trail or park maintenance operations. 
  • Experience with urban watershed restoration and management. 
  • Trained or formal experience with mid-Atlantic ecology, and invasive and native plant identification. 
  • Experience with Google Suite (Gmail, Chat, Drive, Sheets, Docs) and Salesforce.
  • Working fluency in Spanish, ASL and/or Amharic.

Benefits

  • Full-time employment. Fulfillment and year-over-year continuity of this role is subject to funding. 
  • Expected salary range is from $69,700 to $81,400.
  • 100% employer-paid health, dental, and vision insurance premiums.
  • Vacation, sick and personal leave, including:
    • Accrue up to 120 hours of paid vacation starting in your first year, with additional hours after two, five, and ten years of service.
    • Accrue up to 160 hours annually of paid sick time starting in your first year.
    • WABA supports and promotes the health of its staff. You may use accrued sick time for unscheduled leave when not feeling well (mind or body), as well as for scheduled medical appointments.
    • Paid time off for holidays following the federal holiday calendar. 
  • Eight weeks paid parental leave and up to eight weeks of additional parental leave from the DC Paid Family Leave act (based on eligibility).
  • Immediate access to WABA’s 403(b) retirement program, with up to a 5% employer match after one year of service.
  • Optional commuter transit benefit (pre-tax deduction)
  • Optional voluntary insurance benefits including life insurance, short-term disability, and long-term disability.
  • A fun and relaxed workplace environment.

About the Washington Area Bicyclist Association

WABA empowers people to ride bikes, build connections, and transform places. We envision a just and sustainable transportation system where walking, biking, and transit are the best ways to get around. With more than 7,000 members region-wide, WABA serves people biking and walking throughout the Washington, DC Metropolitan Area, including the District of Columbia and parts of Maryland and Virginia.

Location

This position will be based in WABA’s Adams Morgan office. The Trail Ranger Associate Director role is classified as Hybrid Flex– working primarily remotely, but requiring routine in-person and in-office work. Specific in-person days are determined by the employee and their manager based on their annual work plan and program needs. Employees may be required to work additional days in the office or in the field to support specific projects or activities.

To Apply

Send a cover letter and resume to jobs@waba.org with Trail Ranger Associate Director in the subject line.

No phone calls please.

Position available immediately. Applications accepted until the position is filled.

WABA is committed to providing equal employment opportunity for all persons regardless of race, color, religion, national origin, marital status, arrest record or criminal convictions, political affiliation, sexual orientation or gender identity, disability, sex, or age.

Page last updated by Colin Browne on August 17, 2022.