This position is closed.

The Outward Bound California Director of Programs and Safety (DPS) provides overall program leadership and management of the OBCA program teams. As a member of the Senior Leadership Team, the DPS ensures alignment among program operations, facilities, organizational strategy, and business operations. The DPS also acts as the school wide Safety Director, ensuring the highest quality programs in accordance with OBUSA Safety and Risk Management policies and procedures. If you are looking for an opportunity to create a significant impact within OBCA programs with an awesome team, this could be the position for you!

Outward Bound California (OBCA) is part of a national network of experiential and outdoor education programs, with a 50 year history in the US, serving over 40,000 students annually. OBCA uses unique experiences in natural settings to create social-emotional learning opportunities for our students to tap into their inherent potential as compassionate leaders and active participants in their communities. 
We work with students on a range of programs, from 1-day experiences on our San Francisco Challenge Course to multi-day rock climbing, backpacking and mountaineering courses ranging from 7 to 65 days long.  We work with students aged 12+, including adults, educators and veterans.  Outward Bound California is deeply committed to opening up access for students and schools that have traditionally been excluded from outdoor spaces and programs and we do this through over 40 effective community partnerships.  As a non-profit, more than 2/3 of our students receive partial or full scholarships to go on a course with us in the High Sierra, Southern California and in the Bay Area.

Equity and Inclusion Statement:

We believe that all people should have safe access to the outdoors and culturally relevant and responsive educational programming. OBCA is also striving to create an equitable and inclusive internal culture where all staff members feel represented and honored for their identities and lived experiences. We examine how power, bias, race and other aspects of identity impact our organization. We work to build a culture where we are always learning and improving toward a vision for equity and belonging for all staff. We are looking for team members who can actively join us in this process. We are also committed to reflecting the diverse communities with whom we work and strongly encourage people of color, LGBTQ+ identifying folks, and women to apply. 

Outward Bound California does not expect every applicant to have every skill and qualification listed here, and we are committed to the professional development of our employees. A strong candidate who is interested in growing and learning in this role will possess at least 75% of the following qualifications. If this is you, then we strongly encourage you to submit an application for consideration.

Knowledge and Skills

• You have a demonstrated passion for the mission of OBCA. You possess organizational skills and structure and possess strong communication and people management skills. You are a person who enjoys creative problem-solving and supporting your team.
• A visionary and creative individual who likes to to identify new opportunities to expand or improve Outward Bound California’s programs
• Committed to continuous personal and professional development around power, privilege and racial equity. You recognize how your identities show up and how they influence programmatic and larger strategic thinking.
• Demonstrate strong leadership and working with people
• Self-motivated and flexible with an innate sense of initiative with an ability to both independently and cooperatively as a team member and give both positive and constructive feedback.
• Flexible, multi-tasking and careful time and expense management, working closely in partnership with the finance team.
• Compassionate & effective communicator, both written and oral
• Effective team leader who can respond appropriately under high pressure and timely issues, dealing with risk management and program decisions.
• Strategic, systems thinker
• Proven track record in supporting Equity efforts across an organization
• Experience with and understanding of the diverse communities we serve
• You are equipped for innovating thinking about the future of climate change and how it will impact our programs in California.

Education and Work Experience

• Committed educator and with Bachelor’s degree and/or 5-6 years’ experience in the outdoor education/experiential learning field or any similar combination of education and experience
• 3-5 experience in Management and Leadership or similar roles preferred
• Proficient with PC in Word® and Excel® and Google Apps
• Experience with managing a budget and overseeing a budgeting process

Physical & Mental Requirements

• Able to sit or stand at a desk for a significant amount of the working day
• Ability to serve on-call duties and set work-life boundaries while being responsible to the organization
• Able to lift and move a minimum of 30 pounds
• Ability to drive to multiple OBCA bases across California

• Have Salesforce experience 

• Have experience with curriculum development with an equity focus. 
• Completed a Master’s in Education, Non-Profit program management or comparable field
• Have worked with Outward Bound in the past

• Supervise 3 Program Directors across the state of California and their teams to deliver high quality OBCA programs
• Support the development of new programs and new program areas
• Work with key organization leaders to use outcomes research data with the Outward Bound Outcomes Survey (OBOS) to inform strategic programmatic decisions, program changes, and training opportunities.
• Act as an OBCA ambassador by attending conferences related to experiential learning, youth development, community-based leadership, etc
• Build partnerships with external stakeholders including land use management agencies, other Outward Bound schools and experiential education organizations.
• Dig into numbers and support program budgets, looking at program revenue and expenses.

Safety and Risk Management

• Act as school-wide Safety Director.
• Work with OBCA Program Directors, the OBCA Safety Committee, and OBUSA National Safety Office to define annual safety objections and execute on those metrics.
• Lead OBCA annual safety reviews and safety audit performed every 3 years and execute on areas of improvement.
• Serve as the lead organizational efforts in crisis management.
• Act as thought leader in our organization around Equity and Inclusion and how it impacts the emotional and physical safety of our students.

Strategy

• Work with the OBCA Leadership Team to execute OBCA’s new Strategic Plan (we will begin working on it Fall 2021) and track progress to annual goals (financial results, program #s, and outcomes evaluation) refining the business model and overall program success.
• Support Program Directors in developing metrics and achieving goals at their basecamps.
• Support Finance Team in responding to budgeting and reporting variances requests.

Facilities

• Support High Sierra, Joshua Tree and Bay Area facilities and work with our operations team in supporting Program Directors in those regions.

Benefits, Compensation and Location

• This is a full-time benefited position beginning November 1st or sooner. 

• This position needs to be based at or within 4 hours of one of our basecamps (San Francisco, Midpines or Joshua Tree)
• Salary commensurate with experience with a range of $73,000-$85,000.

Benefits

• OBCA offers a competitive benefits package, including comprehensive health insurance with employer contribution, long-term disability and life insurance, Flexible Spending Account, Employee Assistance Plan (EAP), and 401(k) plan after 1000hrs within a 12 month period.
• Opportunities for professional development
• Pro Deal, the opportunity to purchase outdoor gear at discounted rates
• Highly energetic and supportive work environment in a mission-driven organization

Location

• This position needs to be based at or within 4 hours of one of our basecamps (San Francisco, Midpines or Joshua Tree).

Outward Bound California is an equal opportunity employer. Employment decisions are made without regard to race, color, religion, national or ethnic origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, disability, protected veteran status, or other characteristics protected by law. Outward Bound California also promotes respect for all people, and will not tolerate harassment based on any of these characteristics.