Senior Program Manager Jobs

ABOUT GREEN SCHOOLYARDS AMERICA

Green Schoolyards America partners with school districts and public agencies across the U.S. to establish large-scale living schoolyard programs that transform school grounds into ecologically-rich, park-like green spaces. Our goal is to improve children’s health, learning, and happiness while contributing to communities’ ecological and climate resilience. We are working to change the norm for school ground design, use, and management so that all children will have access to the natural world in the places they already visit on a daily basis. We center equity in our work and collaborate with communities that have the greatest need for educational, environmental, health, and open space improvements. Our programs support the living school ground movement, build relationships that help it succeed, and work to embed this perspective in our existing institutions and policy frameworks.

Green Schoolyards America’s work is highly interdisciplinary and sits at the intersection of the environmental, health, education, city planning, and public policy fields. The problems we are trying to solve are larger than any single organization can address alone, so we convene and lead large-scale, collective impact initiatives that align many organizations and institutions to work toward robust, enduring systems change-level solutions. We value the power of the written word and share our ideas through professional presentations and written materials including books, articles, webpages, newsletters, policy guidance, and more.

In 2022, Green Schoolyards America launched the California Schoolyard Forest System℠, a partnership between Green Schoolyards America, the California Department of Education (CDE), the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) and Ten Strands. This statewide initiative seeks to increase tree canopy on public school grounds across California to shade and protect PK-12 students from extreme heat and rising temperatures due to climate change. This initiative is a long term effort and will be a focus of our work for years to come.

POSITION SUMMARY

In partnership with GSA leadership, the Senior Program Manager will support key programs and organizational functions during a time of accelerated growth. In particular, the Senior Program Manager’s role will focus on developing and implementing our strategy to support school districts as they plan, design, implement, manage and operate their green schoolyards and schoolyard forests, first in California and eventually in other states. The Senior Program Manager is an exempt position that reports to the California State Director.

COMPETENCIES

• Communication. Strong communicator both verbally and in written form.
• Detail-oriented. Ability to produce high quality work and attention to detail.
• Collaboration. Ability to work across the organization and with external partners.
• Project management. Strong planning, tracking, organizational and management skills; self-motivated to complete work in a timely manner with minimal oversight.
• Growth mindset. Ability and interest in learning and developing new skills and knowledge for the role

JOB RESPONSIBILITIES

Green Schoolyards America’s Senior Program Manager will be responsible for providing support in the following areas:

School District Support Management

The Senior Program Manager will assist GSA leadership in developing and deploying strategies and systems to support school districts across the state as they plan, design, build, use, and manage schoolyard forests. This may include the following tasks:

• Organize meetings and events including planning and logistics, preparing agendas and presentation materials, and meeting notes and other follow up tasks.
• Develop and share online resource toolkits
• Convene, organize, and lead communities of practice in person and online
• Develop and implement professional development training series for school districts and other partners
• Assist in the development and delivery of other district support systems such as on-call technical assistance and/or sub-grant programs
• Develop networks and build relationships that support school districts as they implement schoolyard forest programs at scale

Pilot Project Management and Administration

The Senior Program Manager will manage schoolyard forest pilot projects meant to test approaches for planning, designing, building, implementing, using, and maintaining schoolyard forest projects with significant student involvement. This may include the following tasks:

• Provide project administrative support including administering consultant contracts
• Work with schools and school districts
• Hire and manage consultants and/or staff including providing construction oversight during schoolyard forest installation
• Develop and manage school district partnerships
• Document and evaluate pilot projects
• Manage project budgets and schedule

General Organizational Support

• In coordination with GSA leadership, work to further the mission of the organization by representing Green Schoolyards America as a spokesperson with agencies, nonprofit partners, and supporters
• In collaboration with GSA leadership, coordinate and support projects across functions, as needed. This can include research, advocacy, fundraising, and operations tasks.
• Work with other GSA staff as needed to ensure proper operations of the organization and c ontribute to and provide strategic thinking and writing for special projects

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Demonstrated ability with Microsoft Office, Keynote, Google Drive, Zoom, and Adobe Creative Suite
• Strong commitment to Green Schoolyards America’s mission and a personal commitment to the environment and children’s well-being
• Experience working in the nonprofit and environmental fields
• Experience working with school districts and public agencies to lead initiatives, change systems, advance policies, and/or implement greening projects
• Flexible and collaborative approach, with an aptitude for interpersonal rapport-building, including ability to work in teams in a positive, constructive, and effective manner
• Demonstrated commitment to valuing diversity and contributing to an inclusive working and learning environment
• Familiarity with school ground facilities planning, design, and construction processes
• Excellent written/verbal communication skills and experience with giving public presentations and organizing and leading meetings, webinars, workshops and other events
• Passion for engaging in the environmental, education, and health-related issues that are related to the green schoolyard field
• At least ten years of experience in positions with progressively increasing responsibility
• Strong planning, tracking, and organizational skills; self-motivated to complete work in a timely manner with minimal oversight

DESIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor’s degree from four-year college or university
• Graduate degree or experience in landscape architecture and/or K-12 education

LOCATION

The Senior Program Manager will spend time in the field working with school districts across California, therefore, we are looking for someone based in California. We anticipate that much of the initial field work will be in the Los Angeles region, the Central Valley, and the San Francisco Bay Area. When not in the field, this position is fully remote and much of the work will be conducted from the employee’s home office.The employee will need access to a strong internet connection, and must have a driver’s license and a vehicle to use for travel.

Most of our team is based in California, so it is important to us that all employees overlap on our core hours of 10 am - 4 pm PT, to allow collaboration between team members.

COMPENSATION

This position is full-time and includes health benefits through Green Schoolyards America’s fiscal sponsor, Earth Island Institute. We also provide a generous number of days off (vacation, sick leave) and paid holidays.

Classification: This is a full-time, salaried, exempt position.

Salary: Bay Area Salary Range $70,000 to $90,000. Salary is commensurate with

experience and takes into account the cost of living where the employee is located.

Benefits: Health, dental, vision, and life insurance.

Home office expense allowance (start up and monthly).

Paid time off: Holidays, vacation, sick leave

Note: Benefits and PTO are prorated if working less than 40 hours per week.

Green Schoolyards America is a fiscally sponsored project of Earth Island Institute. As such, Green Schoolyards America’s Senior Program Manager will be an employee of Earth Island Institute.

Earth Island does not unlawfully discriminate against employees or applicants because of race, color, religion, religious creed, sex (including pregnancy, breastfeeding, childbirth, or related medical conditions), national origin, ancestry, age, marital status, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, military and veteran status, or any other basis protected by state or federal laws, local law, or ordinance.

TO APPLY

If you are interested in being considered for this position, please email your cover letter, resume, and a writing sample to [email protected] with “Senior Program Manager” in the subject line.

This position is open until filled.