Executive Director @ Bay Area Disc Association (BADA)

The San Francisco Bay Area, California 

(remote role, with required travel throughout the Bay Area)

About the Organization

Bay Area Disc (BADA)’s mission is to serve, strengthen, and grow the Ultimate community by creating opportunities for athletes of all ages and backgrounds to interact, develop, and compete. Central to everything we do is the Spirit of the Game, a philosophy that emphasizes integrity, respect, and joy in play.

BADA is more than just a sports organization. We believe in the transformative power of Ultimate as a tool for personal and community development. Ultimate isn’t just a game—it’s a vehicle for fostering connections, building character, and promoting inclusivity. Through Ultimate, players learn teamwork, leadership, and conflict resolution skills, all within a fun and supportive environment.

We serve a diverse community across the Bay Area, from young beginners taking their first steps on the field to seasoned adult players looking to refine their skills. Our programs offer a mix of recreational and competitive opportunities, creating spaces where everyone can find their place, whether they’re in it for the joy of casual play or the thrill of high-level competition. In addition to hosting our own leagues and tournaments, we partner with other organizations to expand access and foster even more opportunities for engagement.

Our vision is a Bay Area full of healthy, thriving, compassionate, and skilled individuals who live in strong, inclusive, equitable, and interconnected communities. By using Ultimate as our medium, we aim to cultivate these outcomes, shaping a future where people not only play together but grow together.

At the heart of BADA are our core values: Fun, Respect, Community, and Belonging. These values guide our programs and initiatives, ensuring that we create environments where everyone feels welcomed and valued.

Bay Area Disc is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to making a positive impact through sport, using Ultimate as a unique and powerful catalyst for change.

As the governing body that supports the sport in the region, we directly host leagues, tournaments and teams (often divided into youth and adult opportunities, with a mix of recreational and competitive opportunities), as well as partnering with other organizations to foster additional playing opportunities.

We envision a Bay Area full of healthy, thriving, compassionate, and skilled individuals who live in strong, inclusive, equitable, and interconnected communities. We use the unique sport of Ultimate to improve individuals and communities, creating the future we want to see.

About the Role

As the Executive Director of the organization, you’ll lead the entire nonprofit towards accomplishing its important mission and goals. Serving as the external face of BADA, the ED partners closely with the Board, the ultimate community, and the broader Bay Area community to secure and allocate the resources necessary to maintain the health of the organization and expand its programmatic impact. 

Reporting to the President of the Board, the Executive Director (ED) is the lead staff member who holds overall strategic, financial and operational responsibility for organization. This includes the management of the Bay Area Disc Association staff, fundraising, operations, donor cultivation, community engagement and organizational vision + development. The ED drives and is accountable for the execution of BADA’s strategic priorities and fulfillment of its core commitments. 

BADA has been serving the community since 2009, and was registered as its own 501c3 in 2018. The nonprofit is at a pivotal point in its maturity journey, and we’re excited for the impact that this role will have in leading an exciting new chapter, especially as we look to grow revenue through programming, grant, and donor funding, building on our strong programming base, so we can expand programming, deepen financial aid, and reach players and communities we don't yet serve.

BADA facilitates over 100 events annually, with approximately 5,000 youth and adult participants each year. These events range from local leagues and tournaments to community clinics and youth programs, providing opportunities for players of all skill levels. Our growth goals are deeply woven into our ongoing DEIB (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging) work, and we are centering inclusivity and accessibility as we move into the next phase. We currently have a team of 3 full time staff, with a broad network of contractors and volunteers supporting these initiatives as well. These folks all either directly or indirectly will report into this ED position.

This role is approximately 50% development, fundraising, strategic visioning to drive the organization forward, 25% internal operations, staffing + fiscal management, 25% programming + community engagement.

Skills and Experience

As we approach this search, we know that there are a lot of potential paths that could lead someone to being successful in this role. We value all experience (educational, lived, professional, etc.) and encourage anyone who is passionate about this opportunity to apply - regardless of whether or not they meet the listed core competencies that we’re looking for.

Leading the Organization

• Ownership at Organization/Nonprofit Level
• Brings an “owners” mentality to the responsibility of being the leader of the entire organization
• Has experience or very clear aptitude to be the day to day lead of the entire organization (heft + gravitas, as well as the operational responsibilities) 
• Leverages the board as a core stakeholder
• Financial projects and budget management
• Reporting and forecasting experience 
• Poised Leader
• Proactive leader who has a track record of navigating complex challenges with an even keel approach
• Experience leading staff, guiding the board, and working directly with the community 
• Commitment to DEIB learning/work internally at the organization level as well as personally
• Visionary Storyteller
• Communication skills that resonate with their audiences
• Strong connection to the mission and vision of BADA

Fundraising + Development 

• Fundraising + Development Experience
• High net worth individual donor cultivation
• Corporate partnerships/sponsorship experience
• Planning and executing a fundraising strategy, including forecasting
• Grant writing + other non-programming fundraising experience
• Communications + Operations
• Adept at initiating relationships, following up with prospects, ongoing updates and communications
• Organizing and updating the CRM to ensure both short and long term opportunities are well documented
• Strategic planning
• Experience building long term strategies and plans for an organization’s fundraising needs and goals 

Operational Leader of the organization

• People Management Experience 
• Managing teams of 5-10+
• Managing a mixture of full-time, part-time staff and volunteer members
• Results-Driven
• Motivation and drive towards setting and empowering the organization to achieve strategic goals and objectives
• Prior accountability for large organization-wide objectives
• Resourceful and Creative
• Track record for testing and iterating new programs, ideas and solutions

Logistics

Compensation: $100 - 125k annually 

Location: Remote. Travel throughout the Bay Area (all nine Bay Area counties)

Structure + Flexibility: Full time role of 40 hours/week (hours and days of the week vary depending on the role’s needs, events, and fundraising schedule), autonomy for the ED to determine the right structure and balance of their work

Visa Sponsorship: Unfortunately we are not able to support visa sponsorship at this time

Note: Higher People is partnering directly with BADA in support of this hire. Please contact Nikki Adamson nikki@higherpeople.co with any questions.