Program Director

Tribal EcoRestoration Alliance • Lakeport, CA

9d • Hybrid

About The Position

The Program Director is a community-oriented leader who helps build capacity for the Tribal community to steward their ancestral lands. The Director develops and oversees all of TERA’s training, outreach, and education programs. Specific responsibilities include: Leading the planning and hosting of educational and community events, Developing program content and curriculum, Recruiting participants through outreach and community engagement, Making presentations and interfacing with the public (both Tribal and non-Tribal) regarding our education and training programs, strong partnerships and collaborations with Tribes and other organizations. The Program Director will oversee the Native Stewards Fellowship, a 140-hour workforce development program that weaves traditional knowledge with wildfire resilience and vocational skills, preparing fellows for meaningful careers stewarding our ancestral lands. TERA has graduated 56 Native Steward Fellows and will train a third cohort in Spring of 2027. 80% of fellows have succeeded in securing employment opportunities in natural resource management careers. In addition the Director will oversee the On-the-Job Training program which gives entry-level land managers the opportunity to learn from and work with TERA’s hand crew.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s Degree in communications, education, ecology, or related field
• Minimum 3 years working with Tribal communities; willingness to learn about contemporary challenges, concerns, and interests of Lake County tribal community and ecology
• Minimum 3 years experience working cross-culturally and bridge-building between communities with a history of conflict
• Minimum 3 year experience directing/leading educational programming, teaching, and curriculum development
• Minimum 3 years experience as a practitioner of ecocultural stewardship, fire, and/or cultural education
• Minimum 2 years experience as supervisor of contractors and/or employees
• Expertise with office technology, including Google suite (Mail, Calendar, Docs, Sheets, Drive), MS Office suite (Word and Excel), Adobe Acrobat, videoconferencing (Zoom, Meet), and strong ability to learn new software and technology
• Superb communication skills, including writing and storytelling
• Strong public speaker and presenter
• Patient, personable and approachable attitude. Able to work with diverse people, build and maintain strong working relationships with both internal and external partners.
• Highly organized, and able to develop and follow a prioritized plan of work, set and keep deadlines and work on multiple projects concurrently, and manage competing demands.
• Cultural competency, humility, self-awareness, and willingness to learn
• Commitment to working cross-culturally as a bridge builder
• Ability to listen well, and give and receive direct, honest, and constructive feedback
• Positive attitude, able to work independently and contribute to a high-functioning, collaborative team environment
• Strong work ethic, reliability, accountability, and commitment to excellence
• Flexibility, adaptability, and capacity to work in a fluid and often fast-paced work environment
• Commitment to follow and enforce all TERA policies, maintain professionalism, and represent the work of TERA and Tribal communities with dignity and integrity at all times

Nice To Haves

• 2+ years experience overseeing aspects of communications/storytelling (graphic design of promotional materials, developing film, etc.)
• Working knowledge of Pomo languages or Native language revitalization

Responsibilities

• Develop and implement ecocultural educational programming that aligns with TERA’s mission and meets grant deliverables.
• Manage and oversee educational/training programs including the Native Stewards Fellowship, On-the-job training program, custom trainings/workshops for Tribal partners, and trainings for TERA’s bridge-building ecocultural fire program.
• Lead strategic planning and continuous improvement of TERA’s programs by assessing goals, identifying gaps, and designing new initiatives.
• Collaborate with TERA staff to lead development of curriculum and course agendas.
• Develop systems to support the Program Coordinator with logistics management, coordinating instructors, and acquiring workshop materials.
• Collaborate with Grant Managers to develop budgets and timelines for trainings and workshops.
• Support Grant Managers with grant compliance and reporting.
• Collaborate with the Communications team to develop digital outreach strategies for training events and workshops.
• Draft content for promotional materials, website updates, social media, and newsletters.
• Spearhead multimedia storytelling efforts to share program successes and ecocultural perspectives.
• Oversee the schedule of outreach events and develop ecocultural activities to engage the community.
• Build and maintain communication with partner Tribes by organizing presentations and other in-person communications.
• Attend weekly staff and team meetings.
• Collaborate across departments to support effective communication flow.
• Supervise the Program Coordinator.
• Perform other duties as needed.

Benefits

• IRA retirement plan
• $600 monthly pre-tax health reimbursement
• Up to 30 days of paid time off annually, including 14 holidays, 5 days sick leave, and 12 days vacation (accrued based on hours worked)
• On-the-job training
• Great working environment

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Manager