Events Director

Title: Events Director
Location: USA Climbing National Headquarters – Salt Lake City, UT
Position Type: Full Time - Exempt
Reports to: President & CEO
Direct Reports: Youth Series Coordinator, Elite Series Manager, Senior Events Manager, Wall Build Supervisor, and part-time events support staff.

About USA Climbing
USA Climbing is the National Governing Body for the sport of competition climbing in the United States. Competition climbing has grown rapidly since its historic Olympic debut at the Tokyo 2020 Games and its second Olympic appearance at Paris 2024, with continued growth expected heading into the Los Angeles 2028 Games. Our mission is to support the well-being, development, and competitive excellence of our athletes as we advance the accessibility and growth of the climbing community nationwide.

Position Summary
The Events Director leads USA Climbing’s competition and event operations across Youth, Elite, Collegiate, and Para Climbing Series, National Championships, and USA-hosted World Climbing Series events. The Director oversees the full event lifecycle—from calendar development, host facility relationships, budgeting, pre-production, staffing, and volunteer management through on-site execution and post-event evaluation. The role ensures competitions are delivered consistently, efficiently, and in alignment with USA Climbing’s competition standards and organizational priorities. The ideal candidate is an experienced sports administrator with a strong background in event operations, facility coordination, and staff and volunteer leadership.

Primary Job Responsibilities
• Develop and manage the season competition calendar, balancing the needs of each series, host facilities, athletes, officials, routesetters, and other stakeholders, and establish event timelines.
• Identify operational risks and develop contingency plans related to facilities, staffing, scheduling, weather, travel, equipment, and other event-critical needs.
• Manage host facility and event partner relationships from qualification to national-level events, including soliciting and selecting event venues, negotiating and administering host agreements, defining venue requirements, and serving as USA Climbing’s primary point of contact for host facilities, vendors, and event partners.
• Oversee competition administration and event standards, including competition rules, scoring systems, judging standards, appeals and protest procedures, ADA-compliant athlete accommodation requests, belay administration and standards, and event policies and procedures. Work closely with Officials, Technical Delegates, Routesetters, Wall Builders, the National Belay Coordinator, and other subject-matter leaders to ensure consistent and effective competition operations.
• Lead USA-hosted World Climbing Series competitions, coordinating with World Climbing, international federations, host facilities, and event partners on technical requirements, venue infrastructure, wall construction and teardown, event staffing, logistics, and event delivery.
• Oversee timelines, equipment, and permitting for wall builds at both events and the Training Center; coordinate closely with the High Performance Director to align training-center wall availability with National Team training schedules and minimize disruption.
• Oversee the implementation of broadcast and livestream production for national and international events, including securing production teams and coordinating AV and technical requirements.
• Lead and manage the Events team, including the hiring, supervision, performance management, workload planning, and professional growth and development of staff.
• Coordinate with the Marketing & Communications team to ensure timely, accurate communication of event details, registration deadlines, and results to membership, coaches, Regional Coordinators, and the general public.
• Serve as staff liaison to Rules and Judges Committees.
• Work closely with Regional, Divisional, and National Coordinators (critical partners in USAC event series operations) to ensure consistent event planning, communication, and delivery nationwide.
• Manage event logistics, equipment, procurement, and inventory, including scoring and timing systems, signage, awards, routesetting equipment, and other event materials moving between the Training Center and host facilities. Coordinate shipping, transportation, setup and teardown, and contract labor across event locations.
• Develop and manage the Events department budget in collaboration with the CFO, including annual planning, event-level budgets, host fees, staffing, vendors, equipment, and other operational expenses.
• Partner and collaborate closely with the High Performance Director to align the competition calendar, event operations, and World Climbing hosting commitments with National Team selection, training, travel, preparation, and performance needs.
• Lead continuous improvement of event operations, using post-event evaluation and stakeholder feedback to identify and implement improvements in efficiency, consistency, communication, and event experience.
• Collaborate with the USA Climbing Foundation on hospitality for national and international events, including designated spaces, registration and check-in, seating and access, receptions, and other special events.
• Work with the Membership & Compliance Director to understand and implement SafeSport requirements and best practices at all events.
• Interpret and apply policies, rules, and technical requirements and communicate them clearly to staff, volunteers, officials, athletes, coaches, and host facilities.

Qualifications/Skills
• Bachelor's degree in Sport Management or a relevant field; advanced degree a plus.
• Must be authorized to work in the United States.
• Minimum of five to seven (5-7) years of experience in competitive sport event operations/management, including multi-site or national-level event series.
• Ability and willingness to travel extensively and work a variable schedule, including frequent evenings, weekends, and extended hours during the competition season.
• Current SafeSport certification, or ability to obtain immediately upon hire; valid driver's license. Required to pass a background screen and attest to adherence to USA Climbing policies.
• Working at Height (WAH) Certification, or ability to obtain immediately upon hire.
• Forklift Operating Certification (shop, all-terrain, and extended-reach forklifts), or ability to obtain immediately upon hire.
• Aerial Lift Certification (boom and scissor lifts), or ability to obtain immediately upon hire.
• General climbing ability, including comfort working at height and on ladders, is a plus.
• Demonstrated experience managing event staff, volunteers, financial budgets, host facility and vendor relationships, and contract labor.
• Knowledge of competition officiating, scoring, and rules administration; climbing competition, belaying and/or routesetting industry knowledge a plus.
• Experience working with international federations or hosting international-level competitions a plus.
• Strong project management, negotiation, decision-making, and problem-solving skills, with the ability to manage multiple concurrent events, priorities, and deadlines.
• Excellent written and verbal communication and relationship-building skills, with the ability to work effectively with host facilities, volunteers, officials, staff, committees, and other internal and external stakeholders.
• Strong passion for sport and the ability to deliver high-quality, athlete-centered competition experiences.
• Strategic leadership and team-development skills, with the ability to translate USA Climbing’s goals into effective event plans and to build, motivate, and hold accountable staff and volunteer teams in a fast-paced environment.
• Ability to lead through influence, working effectively across departments, committees, volunteer leadership, and external partners with differing priorities and perspectives.
• Proficiency with event management, registration, scoring, scheduling, and other technology systems, with the ability to learn and implement new systems as needed.

Compensation / Other
• Annual salary commensurate with experience (final range to be set by USA Climbing leadership/HR, benchmarked against comparable NGB Events Director roles).
• Vacation / Paid Time Off included.
• Inclusion in USAC benefits package (Health/Vision/Dental, SIMPLE IRA, including company match).
• “Pro Deals” with participating companies.