Regional Program Manager – SF Bay Area

Regional Program Manager – SF Bay Area

About Big City Mountaineers

At Big City Mountaineers, we work alongside the transformative powers of nature to foster a lasting impact in the lives of youth from disinvested communities. BCM creates opportunities for 12 to 18 year-olds to connect with nature and realize their own sources of strength, resilience, confidence, serenity and joy by providing free, fully outfitted, and professionally led outdoor experiences. BCM’s programming culminates in a weeklong backcountry trip, which is often the first time the youth we serve experience the outdoors in such a way. The BCM experience enables youth to take on healthy and relevant challenges and cultivate a connection to themselves, their community, to nature, and to joy. 

For thirty five years, BCM’s programming has come to be a recognized and highly regarded national nonprofit that is supported by a stable operating budget.  BCM is at an exciting point in its history, one that holds great potential and opportunity to reimagine how the organization can best deliver on its mission. Our team includes a dedicated staff, seasonal trip instructors, and volunteers. 

Though we are headquartered in Colorado, Big City Mountaineers’ regional hubs touch both coasts, and several locations in between. We are located on the ancestral territories the Ute, (Denver, CO), the Dakota and Anishinibawaki (Minneapolis, MN), the Ohlone, Ramaytush, Chochenyo, and Muwekma (San Francisco Bay Area), the Duwamish (Seattle, WA), and the Muscogee Creek and Shawnee (Birmingham, AL).

Position Overview

The SF Bay Area Regional Program Manager (RPM) is responsible for all aspects of BCM programming based out of the SF Bay Area. This includes ensuring that all logistics and details pertaining to packing out and bringing back in BCM’s day trips, overnights, and weeklong backcountry expeditions for youth are completed. This also includes coordination and scheduling with BCM’s youth agencies, instructors, and volunteers, supporting a small team of instructors, and oversight of BCM’s budget for the SF Bay Area region.

The SF Bay Area RPM will be the sole full time staff representative in the region, will work from a home office, and will need to be physically located near BCM’s storage unit (currently in Richmond) for the duration of their term of employment. The RPM can expect to be on site at BCM’s gear storage facility, and may need to travel locally to tend to logistics such as food shopping, laundry, and van pickups.

Job Duties

Stakeholder Engagement

The RPM will maintain clear and consistent communication with various stakeholders in their region and colleagues internally, promoting a culture of safety and inclusion that centers’ youth and partner agency’s expeditions needs.  The RPM maintains relationships with four main stakeholder groups: Youth Agency Partner staff, youth and their families, instructors, and volunteers. The RPM is expected to set and hold organizational expectations and policies, communicate logistics, including updates and changes to schedules and plans, to all three groups of stakeholders so that all adults involved in a BCM trip feel prepared, informed, and resourced.  More specifically:

• Communicate with youth agency partner staff to ensure registrations, surveys, and trip enrollments are happening on schedule
• Supply youth agency partners with logistical information and trip resources such as packing lists and program manuals
• Effectively communicate and uphold BCM’s partnership expectations with Youth Agency Partners (YAPs), including securing signed agreements by stated deadlines and representing BCM in negotiating key terms. RPMs are expected to lead these conversations with confidence and ownership, reinforcing organizational policies and expectations.
• Manage a team of field instructors, including hiring, training, scheduling, supporting, and confirming  instructors for trips as well as admin days before and after overnights and expeditions
• Delegate admin day tasks to volunteers, ensure volunteers are properly resourced with items such as packing lists and program manuals.
• Liaison with BCM’s regional advisory board to ensure the organization is well represented in the SF Bay Area

Program Logistics and Administration

The RPM is responsible for overseeing the various logistical and administrative tasks associated with getting BCM day trips, overnights, and expeditions into the field successfully.  BCM will supply the RPM a checklist of items that need to be done for each trip.  This includes (but may not be limited to): gear inventory management, food and supply procurement, picking up rented vans, laundry and cleaning. 

The RPM will collaborate with other Regional Managers and the National Program Director to keep accurate records of programs, participants, and events using BCM’s data management systems. This includes inputting and tracking student and adult participation in programs using Salesforce, and administering surveys and assessments. At the conclusion of the program season, the RPM will be asked to complete various tasks to wind the region down, including an annual gear inventory. 

The RPM will also support a one-time storage unit relocation project in Fall 2025, including packing, organizing, and coordinating logistics. Additional duties may be assigned as needed to support operations and programs.

Risk and Safety Management

RPMs are expected to actively manage risk as it directly and indirectly applies to outdoor programs. During the program season this includes reviewing relevant information on student registration forms, waivers, and other key documents, conducting thorough pre-trip briefings and post trip de-briefings with instructors and volunteers, equipment inspection and management, serving as an on call resource for programs in the field, and managing emergency and incident response procedures with the support of the broader BCM team.

Role Requirements

• Personal and professional values consistent with BCM’s mission, values, and principles, centering the unwavering belief in the power of nature-based experiences to help youth strengthen life skills and build community
• Residence in or near The SF Bay Area, and ability to be physically present in The East Bay (Richmond, El Cerrito, Albany, Berkeley, Oakland, Alameda, San Leandro) and travel to BCM’s storage unit.
• Current Wilderness First Responder (WFR) certification, or equivalent, as well as training and experience managing and responding to physical, emotional, and situational risks inherent in youth outdoor programs, including experience serving in an on-call capacity
• Personal or professional experience, familiarity, and comfort in backcountry and outdoor settings that involve hiking, camping, and backpacking
• Demonstrated experience in outdoor program development, facilitation, and management, specifically managing backcountry trip logistics for groups (preferably with youth groups)
• Experience working from a home office and/or remotely, including capacity to work independently as the sole full time staff member in a geographic region with remote supervision and comfort with technology platforms that enable effective remote collaboration with a national team
• Clean driving record and reliable transportation to travel locally to meet in-person with agency partners 
• Prior professional experience working with youth from disinvested communities and racially, ethnically, and socioeconomically diverse groups, ages 12-18, preferably in outdoor, educational, or outdoor education settings

Qualifications

• Familiarity with the local communities BCM works in, and the natural areas BCM utilizes on its courses (including Marin Headlands, Point Reyes, Stanislaus National Forest, Desolation Wilderness, CA state parks in and near the Bay Area)
• Prior or current experience working in youth-serving nonprofits of BCM’s general size
• Ability to work both collaboratively and independently, and to know when each is required 
• Interpersonal awareness, ability to cultivate trusting interpersonal relationships and connect with people across lines of difference
• Demonstrated capacity to manage complex administrative details, including maintaining accurate and complete data
• Ability to communicate clearly and effectively in multiple formats (written and verbal) and to diverse audiences
• Track record of successfully problem solving and responding when challenges arise in the field 
• Comfort giving and receiving feedback up a supervisory hierarchy 
• Ability to set priorities and manage multiple projects and accountabilities simultaneously, including the ability to be self-directed in moments of potential ambiguity in a geographic region where they would be the sole full time, year round employee and organizational representative
• Ability to inspire passion for BCM’s work and programs, internally and externally
• Strong understanding of current outdoor industry / outdoor education safety standards and best practices for organized backcountry travel
• Willingness to hold self and others accountable for all program and organizational policies

Employment & Compensation

This is a full-time, exempt position, with a starting annual salary of $69,000 per year. The Regional Program Manager will be eligible to receive medical, dental, and vision insurance within one month of hire.  Big City Mountaineers employees enjoy a generous paid time off policy and flexibility in terms of work schedule. Employees have access to additional benefits after an initial period of employment. 

Benefits include: 

• Health, Dental, and Vision insurance (with options for coverage to be 100% employer paid)
• 34 paid days off per calendar year (prorated for start dates)
• Discretion and flexibility over work schedule 
• 401k program (BCM does not currently provide a match)
• Employee Assistance Program
• Optional long and short term disability insurance
• Optional life insurance, hospital insurance, accident insurance, critical illness insurance
• Optional Flexible Spending Accounts (medical, parking, transit, dependent care)
• Optional Legal/ID shield 
• Mileage reimbursement (federal rate) for use of personal vehicle
• All expenses paid annual staff camping trip
• Pro discounts (usually 40%) on outdoor gear and other member rewards

The start date for this position is September 29, 2025.

How to Apply & Timeline

Please submit a current resume and thoughtful cover letter detailing why you believe your experience, capacity, and passions align with BCM’s needs to [email protected]. In your cover letter, be sure to address the following: 

• Your professional experience and track record of success working in roles similar to this one 
• Your personal “Why”, both in terms of our mission and why this is the right moment and role for you in your professional path
• How your personal identity and/or lived experiences play a role in your motivation and ability to do this work

Please combine both documents into a single PDF file, and use the subject heading format [Your Full Name] – BAY Regional Program Manager Application.  (there are several free PDF creator tools online to help you with this)

This position is open until filled, with priority given to applicants who have applied prior to August 15. If we feel you might be a good potential fit for the role, we will be in touch to schedule time to talk about this opportunity further. 

Big City Mountaineers is invested in cultivating a diverse candidate pool and is interested in connecting with candidates whose identities and/or lived experiences are similar to the youth we serve. We understand that our next RPM may not have taken a traditional professional path, and we encourage interested individuals to apply even if you don’t meet every one of our qualifications listed.