The bike industry is challenging to break into—right now most jobs are filled through connections and friends, so people who aren’t part of the right groups may never get a chance to pursue those opportunities. To have a seat at the table, underrepresented groups in mountain biking first need to know that seat even exists.
To democratize access to those opportunities the Grow Cycling Foundation is launching Grow Cycling Jobs, one centralized place for bike industry jobs.
It’s entirely FREE to job seekers, and companies can put up Regular ($29) or Premium ($299) job postings. Both options last for three months with the Premium listings being highlighted on the board. This new platform allows companies to use HR and recruiting budgets to support Grow Cycling Foundation, and signal their support for Grow to job candidates.
100% of the money companies spend on job postings goes to Grow Cycling Foundation initiatives.
I have worked for some of the biggest bike companies in the world such as Red Bull, Santa Cruz, Giant, FOX, and Backcountry in many different roles and not once have I applied to a job posting that was public. As such, the person outside of those phone calls or emails never had a chance to be where I am today, no matter how talented or prepared they may have been.
—Eliot Jackson, Grow Cycling Foundation
So far you’ll find jobs from our friends and partners at Trek, Specialized, Santa Cruz, Yeti Cycles, Pinkbike, SRAM, Norco, Giant, People For Bikes, Abbey Bike Tools, Jenson USA, and more, but our goal is for the entire industry to take part in this platform.
It’s not a job board for BIPOC exclusively. The purpose is to make the industry less insular and expand the overall hiring base, which benefits people of all ethnicities, genders, and backgrounds as it helps remove the barriers to entry to the cycling industry. By advertising the many opportunities within cycling, we can help inspire and develop talent pools for the bike industry that may have previously been unaware of the many paths available to them.
FAQ with Eliot Jackson
How does this help BIPOC? What's the point?
We think about things in terms of barriers. The first barrier to entry into the cycling world is knowing that opportunities exist and then having a chance to pursue them.
Application accessibility disproportionately affects BIPOC because there are less of them in the industry to receive those phone calls from a friend telling them to apply. By removing the barrier of application accessibility, we empower people of all genders, ethnicities and backgrounds to enter the industry.
I have worked for some of the biggest bike companies in the world such as Red Bull, Santa Cruz, Giant, FOX, and Backcountry in many different roles and not once have I applied to a job posting that was public. As such, the person outside of those phone calls or emails never had a chance to be where I am today, no matter how talented or prepared they may have been.
Another huge benefit for public availability is the ability to see the career paths available. If I love computer science and I want to be in the bike industry, but I don’t think there are computer science jobs in the industry, I may choose to pursue something else or work elsewhere. With Grow Cycling Jobs, I have the ability to discover that iOS Engineer job at SRAM while I am applying for the Trek Retail Manager position and have something new to aspire to.
We have a long term plan to continue to remove other barriers like training, qualification and community.
Is it only for BIPOC to get jobs?
No! There is no special treatment for any group of people. This is NOT about placement for a specific group and our participating employers have received this same message.
Does it cost anything? Who can post a job here?
It's free for job seekers. Posting a Regular Job is $29 dollars. We wanted to make it affordable for a bike shop to post a job, as right now other sites charge around $350. At less than $10 a month, we felt it was a much better alternative to Craigslist or bike shop websites.
Any cycling industry specific job is welcome.
Posting a Premium Job (highlighted yellow) is $299. We did this so larger companies are able to use their HR budget instead of their marketing budget to support Grow Cycling in addition to signaling their support for Grow to future candidates.
Where does the money go?
100% of the money from job postings goes to Grow Cycling Foundation initiatives.
Industry Support for Grow Cycling Jobs
As one of the founding partners of Grow Cycling Foundation we are excited to be a part of this new initiative that Eliot and team are launching. Their vision of what Grow can accomplish continues to be bold and inspires us. The job board allows us to practice what we preach and continue to reach beyond our regular mediums to expand access to the industry and what it means to be a part of the cycling world.
—Chris Conroy, President of Yeti Cycles
As we aim to diversify and grow access to cycling, we must actively create pathways and connections into our sport, both for the riders we look to serve and those who want to build careers in the industry. We believe a culture that fosters equity within our workplace is best suited to deliver the best experience for all riders. Grow Cycling Foundation is an incredible partner in creating that bridge between BIPOC and under-represented athletes and the cycling industry. Together, we're able to change the face of the industry, and in doing so, truly activate meaningful change for the future of the sport.
—Kim Price, Leader of Global Strategy at Specialized
We’ve been engaging with Grow Cycling and Eliot since the foundation launched, and we see the work of Grow as incredibly exciting for our industry and our sport. We jumped at the opportunity to participate in the Grow Cycling Job page. As part of our journey towards being a more inclusive and diverse company, we are always looking for ways to connect with talented people. This is a great tool to help us reach people who may want to join SRAM and help us expand the potential of cycling.
—Eileen Mulry, VP of Human Resources at SRAM
This initiative and the rest of the Grow Cycling Foundation’s work is really important because it’s focused on helping communities overcome barriers between them and the sport, and provides the opportunity for people to access cycling on their own terms. Eliot and his team are creating genuine, meaningful ways to connect people with bikes, which will help the cycling community evolve into a better reflection of North America’s full cultural spectrum. It’s something that, as an industry, we need to get behind because it will allow us all to find new ways to connect with one another and grow together.
—Sara Hamelin, Human Resources Manager at Norco Bicycles
As the owner of a relatively small business I'm pretty involved with training everyone. I've also learned a lot from every one of our employees. My biggest take away is that it's the people within a business that make it perform and finding great people is always the goal. I see the Grow Cycling job board as a great way to expand our reach outside of the local community to a broader range of applicants. I'm sure it will lead us to some great options for future employees that hopefully allow us to grow as people and a business.
—Jason Quade, Abbey Bike Tools
As a company that serves riders in every part of the world, it is vital for the Giant Group to build teams with diverse backgrounds and perspectives. We also know it’s hard to find great people for our brands Giant, Liv, Momentum and CADEX. Grow’s new career hub connects the dots for us, and we’re looking forward to expanding our reach, especially with underrepresented voices in our community. Thank you Eliot and Grow for making this happen!
—An Le, Group Global Marketing Director at Giant
Eliot and his team are leading a much needed resource for the bike industry — attracting diverse talent and making sure our industry is an open and welcoming place to work for traditionally marginalized communities. We all know the power of diverse teams, but we consistently hear there is a disconnect in reaching and attracting new audiences. PeopleForBikes is committed to working with Grow Cycling to diversify our talent pipeline on a variety of fronts and asks the industry to support this important work.
—PeopleForBikes CEO Jenn Dice
When we are hiring for new positions at Santa Cruz our HR crew works hard to try and target a diverse pool of applicants that closely resembles the population of Santa Cruz County. While we can do this locally with job fairs and community message boards, it's much harder to do on a national scale. We expect that Grow Cycling Foundation’s cycling industry specific jobs board will help us with that immensely.
—Scott Turner, Santa Cruz Bicycles
From day 1, the purpose of JensonUSA has always been about empowerment. We are a trusted resource for all riders, all over the country, giving people the ability to shop for the best brands and the best products in cycling from wherever they live and whatever they ride. Grow Cycling represents a perfect synergy for us – they are all about getting anyone and everyone on a bike, and growing access to riding areas, and we keep people pedaling. Aligning our efforts with those of Grow Cycling helps to build our community of riders and increases access to opportunities both on the bike and within the bike industry.
—Jenson USA
We’re very excited to partner with Grow Cycling and believe that it can make a meaningful difference to some of the industry’s biggest gaps in access, outreach, and visibility. Eliot and his team have a lot to teach us and we are looking forward to applying those lessons as we continue our journey to create a more inclusive company and industry.
—Eric Bjorling, Director of Brand and Public Relations at Trek