Communications Manager

position description: Communications Manager

About Cottonwood Gulch Expeditions
Our mission is to create transformative outdoor experiences that foster personal growth, build community, and inspire a lifelong connection to the natural world. We have been leading outdoor expeditions since 1926 and currently work with hundreds of students (or “trekkers,” as we call them) each year. We use the outdoors as a classroom to explore science, culture, history, art, and adventure in New Mexico and surrounding states, with the goal of inspiring inquiry and a strong community. We steward an active alumni base, who represent multi-generational connections to CGE.

About This Position
Cottonwood Gulch is hiring a full-time Communications Manager to bring more trekkers, donors, and school partners to CGE while keeping our existing community engaged. The role leads CGE’s public channels, brand and asset management, and recruiting through public channels, working closely with the Enrollment Coordinator and Program Directors. The role runs on a system: a seasonal brief with set priorities and metrics, a single request queue, and measurement on outcomes like new trekkers and school partners rather than volume of output. Field time on treks, including overnights at Basecamp or in the field, is part of the job.

Reports to: Executive Director

Job Duties

Recruiting & Enrollment Communications (~35%)

• Oversee organization-wide communications for summer and school programs, planned and produced against the seasonal brief and in collaboration with pertinent staff — e.g. campaigns, program print (school brochures, summer fliers), info-session materials, and event collateral.
• Support the Enrollment Coordinator’s recruiting with production, advertising, and analytics.
• Recruit prospective school partners as first point of contact, handing off to the School & Community Program Director once a school expresses interest.
• Prepare materials for outreach events; attend and present as needed.

Channel, Content, & Vendor Management (~30%)

• Plan, write, design, and schedule content for CGE’s public channels: social media, email newsletter, blog, website, and press releases.
• Monitor social comments and messages; triage the communications inbox, routing family inquiries to the Enrollment Coordinator.
• Maintain the content and task calendar, published ahead of each season.
• Serve as day-to-day contact for Momenta and other vendors. The Executive Director holds contracts, scope, and budget.
• Manage Google Ad Grants and website updates with Momenta, bringing Ad Grants in-house within the first year.

Brand, Field, & Asset Management (~15%)

• Steward the brand: voice, visual standards, photo and video consent, and consistency across channels and merchandise; lead periodic brand training for staff.
• Build and maintain a digital asset system so field photos and video are filed, tagged, and findable.
• Spend field time on treks capturing content, direct seasonal storytellers, and make sure field material comes back and gets used.

Planning, Reporting, & Administration (~10%)

• Write seasonal briefs (priorities, metrics, due dates) from established framework.
• Hold the single request queue for communications work across the organization.
• Coordinate with the Deputy Director on mailing list hygiene and segmentation.
• Report on communications progress five times a year, timed to board meetings.

Supporting Responsibilities (~10%)

• Produce the annual report, and support the fall and spring fundraising appeals with email and social content. Development owns strategy and cultivation.
• Other communications duties as assigned by the Executive Director.

Required Qualifications

• Two or more years in communications, including at least one campaign taken from concept through completion.
• Metrics fluency: setting targets, measuring results, and changing course.
• Recruitment or acquisition experience: bringing new customers, students, or members to an organization.
• Planning habit: structuring a season of work and declining what doesn’t fit.
• Experience with, or ability to learn, Constant Contact, Canva or Adobe, and Google Ad Grants or similar platforms.
• Clear, professional communication with a wide range of audiences.
• Valid driver’s license and clean driving record.

Preferred Qualifications

• Three or more years in communications, ideally with schools, educational nonprofits, or outdoor education.
• Direct experience with Google Ad Grants and analytics platforms.
• Experience with Cottonwood Gulch or a similar program.
• Spanish fluency.

Physical Requirements

• Ability to sleep in a tent, open-air cabin, or similar accommodations while on trek or at Basecamp — a highlight of this role for someone who wants to spend some of their working hours outdoors.
• Ability to hike on uneven ground for extended periods while capturing content in the field.
• Ability to work at a desk, talk on the phone, and use a computer for extended periods.
• Ability to carry boxes and equipment up to 20 lbs.

Criminal Background Check
CGE requires criminal background checks from all employees.

Work Location
Our primary office is in Albuquerque, New Mexico. This role is office-anchored, following CGE’s standard hybrid work norm, with field time on treks throughout the year to support content capture, storyteller direction, and recruiting.

Compensation and Benefits
This is a permanent, full-time, salaried (exempt) position. The salary range is $45,000 to $55,000 depending on experience, plus benefits that include 100% health insurance, retirement match up to 5%, and generous PTO. In addition to base pay, this role is eligible for a performance bonus of up to $5,000, split between new trekker and new school partner acquisition.

Inclusive and Welcoming Environment
CGE is an equal opportunity employer and does not and shall not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion (creed), gender, gender identity or expression, age, national origin (ancestry), disability, marital status, sexual orientation, spousal affiliation, mental or physical handicap, serious medical condition, or military status in any of its activities or operations.

Moreover, Cottonwood Gulch Expeditions believes in the learning, growth and healing that can take place in the outdoors. We also recognize that access to programs like ours can be a privilege rather than a right. CGE recognizes that in outdoor spaces, the voices and work of people of color, people from working class backgrounds, Indigenous people, women, and LGBTQ+ individuals have been often overlooked and marginalized. Therefore, we encourage applications from people in these groups, and all people, regardless of background.