Program Manager

Job description

About UndauntedK12

UndauntedK12 is a national nonprofit working to support America’s K-12 public schools to  make an equitable transition to zero carbon emissions while preparing our youth to build a sustainable future in a rapidly changing climate. We are united by a desire to activate the potential of America’s K-12 public school sector to respond to the challenge of climate change and are undaunted by the scale of the challenge. We believe the current moment offers opportunities to address long standing inequities, stimulate the economy, enhance critical public infrastructure, and position America to lead the world in the transition to clean energy-driven commerce and community. We envision a day when every dollar spent on K-12 infrastructure is aligned with building an equitable, zero-carbon future; when every education leader recognizes and acts upon the threat of rapidly changing climate to their core mission; and when every student is prepared to build a sustainable future.

Role Overview

We are seeking a highly motivated Program Manager to help our team advance our programs and campaigns in California, and to help engage state and local leaders to act on climate. This Manager will play a crucial role in shaping programming, creating communications, and developing tools and data that allow UndauntedK12 to grow our impact and expand our reach within California, and across new states. This role is an opportunity to advance key content and messaging, high-impact programming, and project management skills at an early-stage organization operating at the intersection of climate and education.

The Program Manager will accelerate our California state campaigns and programs by managing targeted strategies to influence state-level policy, budgets, and implementation to realize healthy, sustainable, decarbonized, climate-resilient California schools. Our ideal candidate will have experience with climate or education policy, building decarbonization, climate resilience and adaptation, and/or environmental justice, enjoy engaging in the details, and be a quick learner. They will have strong writing skills and demonstrated success tailoring communications to reach and motivate diverse audiences. They will be a partner to other Undaunted team members and organizations in devising effective approaches to monitor, track, and analyze relevant efforts associated with our campaigns and programming. We’re a small, start-up team of eight where everyone pitches in and works across projects as team players. This is a great learning and leadership opportunity for someone who wants to be a part of a dynamic organization and who thrives when working on multiple projects at once.

Our state work is always evolving. Take a look at our UndauntedK12 California and Climate Ready Schools Coalition websites to see our current California campaigns, projects, and programs.

Responsibilities

Campaigns and Programs ~50%

• Advance ongoing state campaigns to advance equitable access to healthy, resilient, decarbonized school buildings and grounds. Includes collaborating with partners and stakeholders, mobilizing grassroots groups, engaging district leaders, connecting with organizations, and monitoring campaign metrics.
• Advance the Climate Ready Schools Coalition’s (CRSC)’s advocacy, initiatives, and operations, and help marshal the network’s resources for impact.
• Develop state-specific advocacy materials including policy briefs, toolkits for advancing climate action, youth leadership programming, and assets to support our campaigns.
• Conduct policy research, landscape scans, informational conversations, and synthesize external reports to support the development of campaigns and strategies
• Serve as an ambassador of Undaunted and steward relationships with select partners (advocacy allies, elected officials and staff, government agencies, district stakeholders, other coalitions, and prospective partners) at the local, state, and national level.
• Develop and maintain data-related products for public consumption, likely in partnership with aligned organizations.
• Help the Undaunted team efficiently engage new partnerships, allies, school districts, and communities by providing support, resources, and tools as needed.
• Create, maintain, and improve systems for managing Undaunted’s state specific contact database, distribution lists, and listservs.
• Identify, collect, and manage performance indicators related to our campaigns and broader impact metrics, and develop practices that enable the organization to utilize collected data to inform decision making and communicate with donors and partners.
• Manage logistics for webinars and other virtual and in-person events.

Communications ~30%

• Draft communications and materials, including visual content, for a variety of audiences including schools, state and local leaders in California and emergent states, partner organizations, and private sector partners, addressing both focal priorities and day to day issues.
• Write, research, and edit reports, presentations, fundraising materials, blog posts, website copy, op-eds, and social media for both state and national audiences, reflecting UndauntedK12’s brand and voice.
• Collaborate with the Undaunted team, communications partners, and reporters to support the placement of relevant and timely news articles, op-eds, and letters to the editor that drive public support and visibility for our campaigns.
• Manage and enhance UndauntedK12’s state-related communication channels including but not limited to state specific pages on UndauntedK12.org, state network emails, and state campaign spaces.
• Strengthen, develop, and actively organize the Climate Ready Schools Coalition webspace and similar spaces in emergent states; handle incoming communications from possible members and stakeholders.
• Create communications assets for our California Youth Climate Policy Fellowship and alumni and support efforts to scale and expand youth programming and youth advocacy to additional states.

Contribute to shaping a healthy, thriving UndauntedK12 ~20%

• Support UndauntedK12 staff with relevant research and outreach related to UndauntedK12’s core issues, including our national campaigns, and inform policy proposals and landscape analyses.
• Support efforts to both expand youth leadership programming to new states and to engage alumni of existing youth programs in K-12 climate action.
• Represent UndauntedK12 on additional state and national meetings with policy-related coalitions, elected officials and staff, government agency staff, district stakeholders and current and prospective partners.
• Develop and communicate clear work-plans aligned to organizational priorities.
• Engage on emergent projects as needed

Skills and Mindsets

• Outstanding communicator. Exceptional writing skills and success in creating and designing compelling resources, tools, and presentations that distill complex topics and serve a variety of audiences.
• Project manager. Exceptional project management skills and a demonstrated ability to manage multiple priorities and details to success in a rapidly changing environment.
• An eye for details and design. Extraordinary attention to detail, the aesthetics of good design, and a track record of producing consistently high-quality work.
• Data & research savvy. Skilled at conducting research, analyzing data sets, building models, drawing out conclusions and trends, and communicating those trends to broader audiences.
• Problem solver. Able to consistently make excellent decisions through a combination of data analysis, judgment and experience – including the ability to anticipate future consequences and trends and incorporate them into the organizational plan.
• Team builder. Has an exceptional capacity for managing and leading people across multiple functions and the ability to connect, on both an individual level and in large groups, with people from a wide range of backgrounds. Treats teammates and others with care and respect.
• Systems thinker. Can quickly assess root causes and see how multiple work streams fit together into a cohesive operation. When facing a large issue, the first instinct is to break it down into smaller, manageable pieces to be able to move forward.
• Entrepreneurial. Thrives in environments where there is not an established path. Is not deterred by ambiguity and remains motivated and adaptable when responding to evolving circumstances.
• Strong collaborator. Eager to contribute and support across work streams, proactive in spotting issues and solving them, and invested in overall success of the organization.
• Aligned to the cause. Passion for UndauntedK12’s mission, issues, and values.

Education and Experience

• College degree or comparable experience.
• Minimum 5 years of relevant experience preferably in a field focused on climate, education, decarbonization, resilience, and/or environmental justice.
• Demonstrated mastery with presentation and design tools such as Powerpoint, Google Slides, Canva, Adobe, and Squarespace.
• Candidates must be comfortable working with datasets in Excel and Google Sheets.
• Experience with data analytics and visualization tools, such as Tableau or ArcGIS StoryMaps, is a plus.

Location, Benefits and Salary

• Salary and Benefits: Competitive nonprofit salary between $80,000 - $120,000.  Comprehensive benefits package including medical, dental & vision coverage for employee, employer-paid life insurance, short-term/long-term disability including paid parental leave, and 401(k) retirement savings plan with company contribution. Federal holidays plus 3 weeks paid time off and a winter holiday break.
• Location and Travel: UndauntedK12 is a national organization with team members  across the country. While this is a remote role, candidates for this role must reside in or be willing to move to California. In-person meetings and events within California are expected approximately 2-3 times per month, with overnight (or out-of-state) travel expected approximately 4-6 times a year.
• Organizational Relationship: Reports to the organization’s Program Director.
• Physical Demands: Requires sitting, talking and listening for up to 8 hours per day.

Diversity Statement

We believe that having staff with diverse personal and professional backgrounds and lived experiences make our work stronger as we seek to engage all those who can contribute to this effort. We encourage candidates who bring diverse perspectives, identities, professional and lived experiences to apply. UndauntedK12 seeks individuals of all backgrounds without regard to race, color, ancestry, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, religion, age, pregnancy, disability, marital status, genetics, or any other factor that the law protects from employment discrimination to apply for this position.

Application Guidance

We are moving to quickly fill this position with priority given to applications received by October 31, 2025. Candidate review and interviews begin immediately and will be conducted throughout the search process. Given limited capacity, we may not be able to respond to all applicants. We appreciate your interest in UndauntedK12.