WAGAP to hire a new associate director
Growing services and programs create a need for additional staff
Bingen, WA (May 27, 2022) - Over the past two years, community action agencies like Washington Gorge Action Programs (WAGAP) have expanded services to help local communities. The continuing demand has led to a need to adjust staffing levels. WAGAP recently announced a new associate director position is open to support the organization.
“We’ve seen a tremendous increase in the number of families served and in the grant volume since COVID-19 began at the beginning of 2020,” said Leslie Naramore, executive director. “And, unfortunately, at this point we don’t see an end to the trend.”
Prior to the pandemic, WAGAP’s 2019 Annual Report shared that 3,210 households and 7,215 individuals were helped. The 2021 Annual Report is still going through its certification process, but the unofficial numbers show the organization helped over 4,000 families and 8,500 individuals.
Funding from a variety of local, state, and federal sources allows the program teams to administer the services which help people change their lives. Each funding source requires a variety of administrative actions to maintain the organization’s eligibility.
During a recent meeting, WAGAP’s Board of Directors noted that the increased workload and a need to develop succession planning made it important to open the new role for an associate director. “We are excited to find a caring, effective and motivated leader to join our team,” said Bruce Bolme, WAGAP board president. “This person will learn the ins and outs of community action and support the executive director in all facets of the agency management.”
In addition to administering and managing multiple programs, the new associate director will play an important role in the ongoing organizational objectives and help to set future direction through participation in strategic planning. Bolme adds that diversity, equity, and inclusion are very important to the organization and encourages qualified candidates from diverse backgrounds to consider joining the WAGAP team.
More details and the complete posting for the associate director position can be found at https://www.wagap.org/jobs and the position will be open until filled. The board plans to review the first round of applicants the week of June 6, 2022.
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Washington Gorge Action Programs (WAGAP) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit Community Action Agency that helps individuals, families, and communities. WAGAP addresses basic human needs, including food, shelter, energy assistance, and more, in Skamania and Klickitat Counties. For more than 50 years, WAGAP has helped people help themselves and reach self-sufficiency. Learn more at wagap.org, or contact WAGAP at (509) 493-2662 or info@wagap.org.