Join our Team!

You’ll tell your friends how much you love your job.

The staff at the Illinois Park & Recreation Association have diverse backgrounds and interests, but all agree that we have the best jobs, serving the best profession. You’re a perfect fit to join us if you thrive working with a small team (with big personalities!). You’re down for pot-luck lunches, lively discussions, and rolling up your sleeves to help a colleague out. You’re not afraid to ask questions, make decisions, or to throw out the old lunch that someone left in the fridge. We have fun, work hard, enjoy each other’s company.

Shoot us an email with your resume and salary expectations. Let us know what inspires you, what you like to do in your free time, and whether white chocolate can really qualify as chocolate (there’s no wrong answer to that question.)

We look forward to meeting you!

Administrative Support Specialist

As the Administrative Support Specialist, you will be an integral part of the administrative team supporting our members. You will provide support to the other staff and directly to members while also managing the needs of the IPRA office.

Our small staff team is dedicated to our membership and are here to support one another. We offer a flexible working environment with the ability to work from home 1-2 days per week. Limited travel, mostly within the state, may be required. The Annual Conference will require an extended stay downtown Chicago the last week of January each year.

Primary Responsibilities:

Serve as main point of contact answering and responding to phone calls, answering questions whenever possible and transferring calls as appropriate.
Manage all aspects of the IPRA office including mail, equipment maintenance, supply inventories, etc.
Assist Executive Director with administrative duties as requested.
Schedule appointments including committee meetings considering schedules for a group of people.
Book space at the facility and outside facilities for all meetings.
Performs clerical tasks: sorting, filing, collating, and stuffing.
Present a professional and courteous demeanor to board members and all volunteers.
Maintain contact information for all board members.
Prepare meeting schedules for the year.
Attendance at all Board meetings, taking the official minutes of the Board meetings.
Take the lead in managing all social media accounts for IPRA and IPRF (foundation).
Support other staff members on projects as needed.
Support tasks related to the job board.

Qualifications:

Bachelor’s degree preferred or equivalent experience.
Prefer at least two years of administrative experience.
Experience working for a non-profit organization or association preferred.
Willingness to work occasionally outside of business hours.
Ability to travel for short business trips (in addition to one week each January in downtown Chicago).

You are:

Highly organized.
Able to write professionally and accurately.
Trustworthy with highly confidential information.
Able to maintain professional demeanor/maintain a high level of visibility with the Board of Directors.
Accountable for completing tasks as assigned.
Able to have a positive attitude and support our mission.
Customer service oriented.
Self-directed and work with limited supervision.
Detail oriented.
Able to multi-task and prioritize work.
Proficient with Word, Outlook, Excel, and Power Point.
Experienced with multiple social media platforms (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram).

For a full job description, click here .

Membership Manager

Find your purpose in Parks and Rec! The Illinois Park and Recreation Association (IPRA) wants you to join our team supporting the Park, Recreation and Conservation professionals in our communities. Have fun for a living while supporting the important work our members do to bring people together, help them grow and provide them with programs to improve their health and well-being.

As the Membership Manager, you will be an integral part of our team - responsible for member/customer service, the IPRA association management software (currently iMIS), IPRA website, and working with staff on membership recruitment, retention, and renewal processes. Additionally, this position manages IPRA relationships with Affiliate organizations.

We offer a flexible working environment with the ability to work from home 1-2 days per week. Limited travel, mostly within the state, may be required. The Annual Conference will require an extended stay downtown Chicago the last week of January each year.

Primary Responsibilities:

Maintain membership data, including database management, prospect lists and analysis reports
Maintain association website, making updates/changes as needed
Manage join and renewal processes for members.
Point of contact on the phone for member services. Serve as the key IPRA contact for members seeking assistance with program/event registration, member profiles, and other member inquiries.
Support the Communications & Marketing Director on membership retention and renewal strategies for IPRA.
Collaborate with IPRA team on conceptualization, development, and implementation of new membership offerings and programs
Support relationships with Affiliate organizations including processing reciprocal membership and cross-promoting where appropriate.
Continually evaluate membership benefit offerings to maximize value of membership.
Work with Communications & Marketing Director to develop and implement a volunteer recognition program.
Serve as Award Program Liaison: manage the award application process and ordering and distributing of awards.
Work closely with internal staff and external partners to optimize processes and maintain quality data related to membership recruitment, renewal, and fulfillment.
Develop strategies and activities to encourage member involvement in association activities and build a sense of community among members and constituents.
Assist the Education Director and Education and Events Manager in customer service related to educational events – providing event reports, handling cancellation and/or refund requests, etc.
Responsible for compiling and analyzing event, membership, and registration data in an efficient and accurate manner.
Provides updates, analysis, and recommendations to improve the member’s registration experience based on member feedback of programs and services.
Maintain accurate member/prospect records

Qualifications:

A bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution preferred, with a minimum two (2) years’ experience in a professional office setting, preferably with previous experience in an association/non-profit environment.
Proficiency with association management software program(s) or comparable equivalent, and website management experience preferred
Advanced PC proficiency, including Microsoft Office, Outlook, Internet search engines, and ability and willingness to learn new software and programs as required.
Excellent written, verbal, organizational, management, and customer service skills are required.
The employee will be subject to a criminal background check and yearly driver's license checks and may be subject to drug testing.
Reasonable accommodations will be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

You are:

Flexible, adaptable, ability to work on a wide variety of tasks independently and in a team structure and comply with confidentiality.
Skilled in the ability to meet deadlines, set priorities, and demonstrate a high degree of attention to detail.
A self-starter and highly dependable.
Able to relate in a positive manner with a variety of personality types.
Able to maintain composure in a fast-paced working environment.
Willing and able to occasionally work beyond the traditional hours.

For a full job description, click here .

About the Illinois Park & Recreation Association

Our mission is to provide and promote exceptional standards of education, networking, and resources for all professionals in the Illinois park, recreation, and conservation communities. IPRA leads the nation in providing premier education, networking, and resources for professionals in parks, recreation, and conservation.

Learn – Connect – Inspire