MRPA Executive Director

MRPA Executive Director - The Mississippi Recreation and Park Association

Posted:

July 23, 2026

Position Type

Part-Time

Time Commitment

20-25 hours per week

Compensation

Incentives

Performance-based incentives may be available for Board-approved revenue growth, membership growth, sponsor ships, vendor development, grants, and special projects.

Location

Mississippi-based; remote/hybrid work possible, with statewide travel as needed

Reports To

MRPA Board of Directors

Position Summary

The Mississippi Recreation and Park Association is seeking a motivated, organized, and mission-driven Part-Time Executive Director to provide administrative leadership, member support, financial coordination, conference and event support, communications, sponsorship development, and operational management for the Association.

MRPA is a statewide professional organization representing parks, recreation, tourism, therapeutic recreation, athletics, programming, public service, and community quality-of-life professionals across Mississippi. The Executive Director will work closely with the MRPA Board of Directors to strengthen member services, improve communication, support professional development, grow revenue, and help position MRPA as the leading statewide voice for parks and recreation. This includes supporting current and emerging MRPA priorities such as MRPA 2.0, Safe Play Mississippi, credentialing and continuing education, small-agency support, professional standards, conference development, sponsorship growth, and partnerships with NRPA, neighboring state associations, public agencies, universities, and allied organizations.

• Support the MRPA Board of Directors, Executive Committee, officers, districts, and committees in carrying out Association priorities.
• Maintain Association records, calendars, files, contracts, meeting materials, and operational systems.
• Assist with budgeting, invoices, dues processing, financial reports, sponsorship tracking, accounts receivable, and coordination with the Treasurer, Finance Committee, accountant, or bookkeeper.
• Serve as a primary point of contact for members, prospective members, agencies, sponsors, vendors, partners, students, retirees, and allied professionals.
• Coordinate membership renewals, database updates, dues notices, lapsed-member outreach, new member support, and communication lists.
• Assist with planning, promotion, registration, logistics, and follow-up for the MRPA Annual Conference, workshops, district meetings, Board meetings, vendor expos, and other Association events.
• Support sponsorship, vendor, grant, partnership, and other revenue-development opportunities, including initiatives tied to professional development, member services, Safe Play Mississippi, small-agency support, and statewide training needs.
• Coordinate regular MRPA communications, including website updates, email announcements, newsletters, social media, event promotions, and member alerts.
• Represent MRPA professionally at meetings, events, conferences, workshops, and partner functions as assigned.
• Support MRPA's role as a statewide voice for parks and recreation in Mississippi, including efforts related to professional standards, credentialing, advocacy, youth-sports safety, community wellness, tourism, public service, and quality of life.
• Proficiency with Quick Books or comparable accounting software.
• Proficiency with membership database systems or Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems, including member records, renewals, invoices, reports, and communication lists.
• Experience with, or demonstrated ability to coordinate, statewide conferences, professional meetings, vendor expos, workshops, or similar association events.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to work independently, manage deadlines, communicate progress, and follow through on Board-approved priorities.
• Ability to manage basic association operations, including calendars, meeting materials, records, files, reports, contracts, and member communication.
• Basic understanding of budgets, invoices, accounts receivable, sponsorship revenue, event revenue, and nonprofit financial accountability.
• Ability to communicate professionally with members, Board members, sponsors, vendors, public officials, agencies, and partner organizations.
• Willingness to travel within Mississippi for Association meetings, conferences, workshops, and events as needed.

Preferred Qualifications

• Preferred candidates will have experience in the park, recreation, sport, tourism, therapeutic recreation, leisure, public service, or related quality-of-life industries, with additional value placed on experience in association management, nonprofit administration, municipal government, event management, membership services, sponsorship development, or related work.
• Experience working with state-based, regional, national, or neighboring-state professional associations, as well as boards, committees, volunteers, public agencies, sponsors, vendors, universities, or member-based organizations, is…