Big City Mountaineers

Regional Program Manager - Summer 06

Program Description:
The mission of Big City Mountaineers, a 501(c)(3) non-profit, is to provide urban teenage youth in need of positive adult mentoring with challenging and safe wilderness experiences led by qualified adult volunteer guides. The uniqueness of BCM’s program includes its 5-to-5 ratio of adults to teens during trips, the extended duration of trips, the volunteer-led design, and the exclusive focus on at-risk teens. BCM’s program positively impacts teens’ beliefs with regard to environmental awareness, age and ethnic diversity, and self-esteem. As a result of the relationships formed with positive adult role models during trips, these teens become better equipped to make critical career, educational, and lifestyle decisions. BCM offers its program in major urban centers nationally. Learn more at www.bigcitymountaineers.org.

Job Description: Big City Mountaineers, a non-profit recreational mentoring program for at-risk teens, is expanding rapidly and in need of a high-energy and talented team member to help manage our California program operations during Summer 2006. The Regional Summer Program Manager role is a new position, having been added to address the growing complexity and workload of our organization. Working remotely with BCM’s program staff, and supported nearby by BCM’s Executive Director, this role will inherit much hands on facilitation of our summer recreational trips. With every team member an essential contributor to our mission, this position is key to ensuring our continued growth. This job is expected to entail 20-30 hours weekly from May through August 2006. This is a great opportunity for teachers and outdoor educators looking to summer work to supplement their primary job during the school year.

Skills Necessary - The Regional Program Manager should have a documented track record of success and an interest in youth. Skills that this job will require include:

• High degree of self motivation and management
• Strong organizational skills.
• Very solid verbal and written communication skills
• Experience working with youth required, preferable teens.
• Understanding of cross-cultural learning and appreciation of diversity issues required.
• Familiarity with backpacking and outdoor equipment
• Ability to work weekends in the months of July and August
  
  
• A clean driving record
• Knowledge of the Bay area and surrounding geography
• High tolerance for a fluid work environment
• Mastery in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, contact management software, and Internet
• Comfortable being held accountable to expectations
• Excited and motivated by our mission
• Bi-lingual candidates preferred (Spanish).
• Ethnically diverse candidates are encouraged to apply.

Expected Tasks - Specific tasks for this role will include:

• Working with the BCM Program Director to help foster positive and lasting relationships between California youth agency partners and BCM.
• Working with the BCM Volunteer Manager to recruit and train new volunteers in the communities served by BCM
• Facilitation of program events and meetings for teens, guardians, volunteers and youth agency staff
• Oversight and training of seasonal BCM Alumni Teen Program Assistants
• Coordination of all logistics for California program outings including gear distribution, pre and post trip meeting organization, lodging and transportation arrangements, collection and distribution of on and off trail paperwork, trail scouting and directions to trailheads
• Ensuring effective measurement of the BCM program in order to further develop the curriculum and program effectiveness for the teens through survey and other methods
• Training new volunteer and youth program participants through face-to-face sessions
• Identifying and recruiting new youth organizations, volunteers and sponsors who are interested in becoming involved with BCM

Other – As a small but dynamic organization, there are constantly unexpected but important issues that will need to be addressed. As is the case with all employees at BCM, being flexible and willing to help the organization with tasks that might fall outside of one’s formal job description is quite common and to be expected.

In addition, as BCM does not currently have an established office location in the San Francisco Bay Area, we would prefer a candidate who:

• Can work from their home or other location which has access to a phone and internet connection
• Has their own transportation to be used for meeting with youth agencies and events around the Bay Area.

Job location is in the San Francisco Bay Area in Northern California, ideally in Alameda County.

Job Type: Seasonal - Summer
Hours: Part time
Program Type: Non-Residential