The program manager is an essential member of the Rocky Mountain leadership team, serving students, creating vision, and helping lead through uncertainty into the future. This exciting leadership opportunity provides supervision and vision for the program and evacuation departments toward creating positive, life-changing opportunities for every NOLS Rocky Mountain student. This position is responsible for programmatic oversight including faculty supervision and support, curriculum, evacuations, and student outcomes at our largest field location. The RM Program Manager provides support to other Rocky Mountain locations including the River Base, Three Peaks Ranch, and Teton Valley.

Key Logistical points:

• This position is based in Lander, Wyoming USA. Only candidates with established US working rights will be considered. Current NOLS employees globally will be considered.

• Start date: 4 weeks after job offer

• Benefits: This position is eligible for Health Insurance, Dental Insurance, Vision Insurance, Flexible Spending account, Life Insurance, Accidental Death and Dismemberment Insurance, Long Term Disability, Employee Assistance Program, Paid Time off, 403(b), 403(b) contribution, and more.

• Questions: Please contact peopleteam@nols.edu

What does a Program Manager do?

This role is in our Program Team. Key questions your work may answer are:

• How are we keeping our program focus student-centered with their experience at the forefront of our operations?

• How are we maintaining an environment at the RM that is open-minded and welcoming to the experiences and beliefs of all of our students and employees?

• How are we measuring the performance of our instructors as related to student outcomes?

• In what areas do instructors need continued development and training? How do we support this? 

• What opportunities exist to support and invest in the program team to have positive work experiences and grow skill sets?

This role is mid-level/senior which means you will be involved in the following activities:

• Contribute as part of the Rocky Mountain leadership team. Set tone and shape culture across all RM locations. Support all campus departments as needed.

• Oversee RM courses with regard to student satisfaction, risk management, and educational outcomes. 

• Lead day-to-day needs, complex evacuations, emergent issues, and crisis response. 

• Carry the on-call evacuation phone and provide backup support.

• Make parent/emergency contact phone calls related to student behavioral issues, medical concerns, and evacuations. 

• Recruit, hire, train, and supervise a team of four to ten seasonal and year-round program/evacuation supervisors. 

• Control and oversee program team budget and expenditures.

• Collaborate with the Education and Risk Management departments to contribute to annual program supervisor meetings, schoolwide curriculum, and program development at NOLS.  

• Work closely with the Field Staffing Office to staff courses, track faculty performance, and address field staff performance concerns. 

• Teach NOLS field and/or classroom courses if desired. 

What makes a great Program Manager at NOLS? 

We are looking for people who share our values and are keen to learn and develop their expertise. We are looking for candidates with the skills listed below. We expect to provide training and development support in some of the areas.

• Team Focus: As their workload shifts based on the season, the Program Manager continues demonstrating consistency and reliability for their team. 

• Decisive: The Program Manager brings significant experience, competence, and confidence with NOLS programming. This allows them to know when to move forward with decisions independently and when to consult other leaders. 

• Creative: As challenges emerge, the Program Manager brings creative ideas to problem-solving at all levels, including briefing and debriefing courses, working through logistics with the evacuation team, and filling emergent openings with the Field Staffing Office. 

• Prioritization: On any given day, the Program Manager shifts their priorities and workload to adjust to the immediate needs of the branch. They also strive to lead effectively through complexity with limited information.

• Growth mindset: The Program Manager embodies a culture of giving and receiving feedback. 

• Communication: The Program Manager has a high level of emotional intelligence. They can communicate clearly and advocate as needed with a variety of stakeholders, including supervisees, colleagues, students, and parents/guardians.

• Flexible: Ability and willingness to maintain a flexible schedule, working some long days, weekends, and holidays.

In your first 6 months, you will: 

• Work with the RM River Base and Teton Valley directors to develop a staffing plan for their winter and spring course mix where program supervisors and evacuation coordinators from the RM will likely support those locations.

• Lead, mentor, and support the Rocky Mountain program team in terms of vision, goals, tasks, and scheduling.

• Support courses in the field working through complicated medical and behavioral situations.

• Collaborate with leaders across NOLS on risk management, field staffing, and curriculum. Reflect, innovate, iterate, and improve.

Who are we and what can we offer you?

NOLS is a nonprofit global wilderness school that seeks to help people step forward boldly as a leader.

We believe that anyone can be a leader; it is our role to provide the environment and training to help people discover their full potential. We do that in classrooms close to home and in remote wilderness areas around the world. We are an organization with heart, expertise, and wildness, and these qualities help us support powerful, authentic experiences.

NOLS really is a great place to work:

• We have locations in seven U.S. states, and six countries; and courses in all 50 U.S. states and over 10 countries.

• We have fantastic employee discounts on top outdoor gear brands

• We offer discounts on NOLS Courses for you and your family

• All employees can benefit of free Outdoor Equipment "Rental" at our various locations

• Insurance Coverage: Medical, dental, and vision benefits are available at a special NOLS rate to seasonal employees. Full-time employees are eligible for benefits package. 

• Wellness Time: Accrued leave that may be used for many HR-approved reasons throughout the season.

• Employee Assistance Program: Access to counselors that are available 24/7 to assist employees with work-life balance concerns.

Next steps

At NOLS we use the Applied platform for our recruitment. Applied aims to overcome unconscious bias in recruiting. Instead of using your resume alone, we'll be asking you to answer questions to test skills needed for the role. The responses are then anonymized, and reviewed in a random order by members of our team. 

The Applied platform also asks some demographic questions before you start your application. We at NOLS never see the responses to these demographic questions with your application. We only see summary statistics to help us check if our candidate pool is balanced and if everyone has an equal chance to get hired irrespective of their background. If you prefer, you can easily opt out of answering these questions.

All you need to do is start the process by clicking on the yellow button on the top right. 

Additional Information

• This position is based in Lander, Wyoming USA. Only candidates with established US working rights will be considered. Current NOLS employees globally will be considered.

• A criminal background check is required from all NOLS employees.

• NOLS participates in E-verify for U.S. employees, and other relevant employment verification systems based on location.

• Current NOLS employees please note it is NOLS policy to conduct an internal reference check with human resources and/or your current supervisor as part of the reference check process. If you have any questions or concerns about this process please contact peopleteam@nols.edu.

NOLS does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, genetics information, disability unrelated to job or admission requirements, or status as a protected veteran. The school’s nondiscrimination policy applies to all phases of its employment process, its admission and financial aid programs, and to all other aspects of its educational programs and activities. Retaliation directed to any person who pursues a discrimination complaint or grievance, participates in a discrimination investigation, or otherwise opposes unlawful discrimination is prohibited.

NOLS values community and fosters a sense of belonging for our employees and applicants. We are committed to providing reasonable accommodations in the workplace because they embody these values, as well as our operating principle of promoting a positive, safe, and learning environment. Reasonable accommodations may be requested for disability; limitations related to pregnancy, childbirth, or a related medical condition; religion; and domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, or harassment. Reasonable accommodations may be requested at any point of the employment process, including during recruitment. Please email peopleteam@nols.edu with your request.