Chief Executive Officer (CEO) - USA Pickleball Association (Surprise · AZ · Open to Remote)
USA Pickleball Association Jobs
Jobs in Surprise · AZ · Open to Remote
Administration/General Management: General Management/Profit & Loss
Overall Job Responsibilities and Ideal Candidate Profile
Background: Some news organizations report that over 36 million people have played pickleball. We believe that might be an enthusiastic overstatement. What we do know is, pickleball is popular! From young kids to seniors. It has even attracted investment in several professional leagues. Pickleball continues to be the fastest growing sport in the U.S.
Who are we? We’re the United States of America Pickleball Association (USAPA). Like the United States Golf Association (USGA) or the United States Tennis Association (USTA), the USAPA is the national governing body of the sport of pickleball. We set the rules and equipment and court specifications. And just like tennis and golf, we host the National Championships and qualifying series for all Pickleballers.
What do we need? We are seeking a new CEO to continue to lead the explosive growth of the sport. By connecting with and building our communication to all pickleball participants and enthusiasts, the CEO and staff will provide meaningful member services and benefits, attract more corporate partnerships, and find other forms of revenue which will be used to continue to increase the engagement in the sport and our footprint amongst all age groups and skill levels.
What is the ideal candidate background? We believe this CEO will have played our game and have an engaging and public persona, the vision, plus the technological, business, marketing and communication expertise to grow member, fan and/or participant engagement through various constituent channels and age groups, such as juniors, high schools and colleges, adults and seniors nationwide. These skills will in turn drive investment to help us better connect with, service and continue to grow the sport of pickleball.
If you still want more information to see if this is right for you or someone you know, please read on.
About USA Pickleball
USA Pickleball Association (USAPA) is a non-profit organization and the national governing body for the sport of Pickleball in the United States. Pickleball is the fastest growing sport in the United States with an estimated 9 million players, though some published reports will say upwards of 36 million have played pickleball.
USA Pickleball staff of 29 including the CEO report to a 7-member board of directors who support approximately 80,000 members and budget of about $6.4 million. We foresee growing significantly for the future. The organization is managed as a virtual office with staff working for the association from a variety of cities. We plan to remain that way until we establish a permanent national headquarters.
Responsibilities of CEO:
Responsibilities of CEO:
As part of the mission of promoting the growth and development of pickleball, the CEO will be responsible for developing and expanding the infrastructure of the sport (e.g., membership, referees, officials, staffing, courts, as well as school and college participation, recreational play and corporate venues). Therefore, the USAPA seeks a dynamic, experienced CEO who will help us realize our mission and goals. Increasing communications to and growing participation and membership amongst all pickleballers will in turn continue to fund and grow the sport.
Reporting to the board of directors, the position of CEO is a full-time, paid position in its corporate staffing structure. The CEO will be primarily responsible for:
- Ensuring USA Pickleball continues to be the trusted source and leader in the sport of pickleball.
- Leading and growing the participation and impact of USA Pickleball as an organization in terms of building the technological tools and processes to communicate with all pickleballers and create valuable member benefits. Additionally, greater members and participation will lead to an increase revenue, partnerships, which in turn will increase the overall impact and growth of the sport.
- Providing both day to day and strategic leadership for the organization.
- Working directly with the board and our 29 staff and contractors, establishing long-range goals, strategies, plans to reach those goals, and build and maintain appropriate policies for the association.
- Interfacing with all players, instructors, officials, tournament directors, fans, vendors, sponsors and other stakeholders.
- Developing good working relationships with professional league leaders, and other providers in the sport.
- Representing the USAPA as the national governing body for the U.S. pickleball community and serving as its spokesperson. This individual will be the day-to-day leader of the organization, tasked largely with expanding the membership, participation and commercial revenues of the USAPA. This person ought to be a visionary. The selected individual ought to have a “do-anything” mindset yet be disciplined to fulfill short-term goals.
Additional responsibilities include, but are not limited to:
- Attracting, motivating and retaining the very best talent available; creating an environment that fosters great performance and positive morale.
- Reporting to the Board and keeping them abreast of important developments.
- Substantially growing its membership base.
- Developing and substantially growing multiple revenue streams, including media and corporate partnerships.
- Overseeing the USAPA’s fiscal activities, including budgeting and reporting.
- Assuring all legal documents, contracts and agreements are complete, filed and in compliance with necessary rules, regulations and laws
- Preparing annual evaluations of direct reports to CEO.
Preferred Qualifications:
- A passion and thorough knowledge of the sport of pickleball.
- Proven experience as a President/CEO or C-Level marketing, corporate development, business development, and/or sales executive of a for-profit company, sports national governing body, or non-profit organization having annual revenues in excess of $5 million.
- Proven, broad and leverageable network of C-level executives in two or more of following industries: sports, advertising, technology, broadcast media, digital media, marketing and sales
- Proven track record of leading the negotiation and closing of multi-million-dollar commercial agreements, joint ventures or strategic partnerships
- A collaborative approach to business, charisma, and strong work ethic.
- Superior written and oral communication skills.
- Knowledge of non-profit corporate governance and general management best practices.
- The ability to attract, motivate and retain top talent.
- Strong knowledge of finance, budgeting, financing and cash flow.
Questions on this search? Please feel free to contact [email protected]
Job Questions:
Yes/ No: I regularly participate in pickleball
Explain briefly where you have increased fan engagement, participatory engagement and communications systems to them.
