The ABC is seeking a Chief Executive Officer

The Association of British Climbing Walls is the Trade Association for UK Climbing walls. It started almost 20 years ago to share best practice in what was a very new industry.

The industry has developed hugely since then and there has been massive change in the ABC. There are currently 184 members of the ABC. The ABC has a Management Committee and a Training Committee – all staffed by volunteers. We run a 2 day conference each year, attended by 60+ climbing wall workers and owners. We also run 2 or 3 training courses across the UK. We have a set of Guidelines for managing walls, a national accident reporting database and, in the past year, have received Sport England funding to build a National Participation database which has gone live recently and is producing important insights. We have a paid development officer who works 2 days per week.

Over the past 18 months, we have strengthened our relationships with key partners, The BMC, Mountain Training and the ABC Training Trust.

We are bidding for Sport England funding to enable us to grow and develop further over the next cycle (2017-21) so that we can deliver our strategy, focused on Safe Operation and Growing Participation.

We now need to appoint a CEO to steer the ABC into this funding stream and to grow it over the coming 4 years.

Main duties of the CEO
Strategy
• Develop the ABC Vision and Strategy
• Build a safe and strong culture in the organisation
• Identify and implement the appropriate governance structure
• Building the ABC’s relationship with key partners – BMC, ABCTT, MT, Sport England
Management
• Staffing up the organisation
• Supporting the safe operation of Member walls
• Build a detailed financial plan and ensure the ABC operates within it’s budget and becomes self funding at the end of the 4 year Sport England cycle
• Build a strong team and manage ABC employees
Marketing
• Developing a plan to increase the market presence of indoor climbing and participation in it
• Engage indoor climbing with the Olympics in 2020 and beyond
• Build on the insights provided by the Sport England Database

Reporting
The CEO will report to the ABC Board of Directors quarterly.

Skills/attributes
• Strategic thinker
• Political awareness and understanding
• Drive and a desire to make things happen
• Ability to work with internal and external stakeholders and foster high degree of collaboration
• Sound organisational and planning skills
• Self-motivation and drive to deliver on own initiative
• Strong people leadership and excellent communication skills

Experience
• Will be a climber though not necessarily involved in climbing administration
• Will have experience of working in a range of organisations at a senior level
• Experience of working with the not for profit sector and an understanding of governance in these
• Experience of growing an organisation
• Leadership of teams in a political, multi-stake holder environment
• Strong financial management and modelling skills
• Staff recruitment, management and development
• Track record of identifying risks and ensuring future proofing of organisations

Salary
Pay will be £40,000-50,000 per year pro rata, depending on experience.
This role is part time, 1 day per week.

Applications
If you’re interested in this exciting opportunity then please send a CV and no more than a 1 page letter to Rich Emerson, Chair of ABC by email on chair@abcwalls.co.uk.

The closing date for applications is: 11 Nov
We will short list in the w/c: 22 Nov
Interviews will be held in Manchester in the w/c: 6 Dec