Job Opening: Career Pathways Program Manager

Ridgeline

June 12, 2026

Career Pathways Program Manager

Ridgeline is hiring for a Career Pathways Program Manager.

About Ridgeline

Ridgeline is a Bay Area nonprofit education-to-employment intermediary launching in July 2026. We connect young people ages 16–22 from underserved communities to high-wage careers, backwards mapped from employer demand. This Career Pathways Program Manager role is focused on healthcare and maritime, two of the region's highest-demand sectors, both offering strong wages and clear career ladders with or without a four-year degree.

We are the connective infrastructure between education and industry – building the pathway together so that what young people do in the classroom, at a clinical site, and on the waterfront adds up to a coherent path to a career. Our programs are organized into three phases.

In Explore (Grades 11-12), students enter through short-form career intensives and multi-month paid cohort programs, designed to build career clarity, durable skills, and professional networks.
In Build (Grades 12-13), young people complete paid work-based learning placements with employer partners, earn industry-recognized credentials, and gain early college credit.
In Launch (post-secondary), young people step into employment, apprenticeship, or degree programs anchored by those same employers.

Every program is paid and at every phase, the goal is the same: a high-ROI next step for the young person. Demand for our programs has consistently outpaced capacity by 3x. We are hiring our first dedicated program team, scaling what's working and piloting what's next.

We are building a team of people who bring the talent and the heart needed to make an impact. Our team includes skilled achievers who care deeply about building relationships with the young people, employers, and communities we partner with.

Read more about the Ridgeline team culture here

‍About the Role

We are seeking a part-time Career Pathways Program Manager to partner with the Co-Founder and Head of Program as the primary program design, operations, and facilitation lead. This role is equal parts designer, organizer, and facilitator: you will translate big-picture ideas into dynamic career-connected learning experiences while also ensuring smooth operations and serving as a consistent, trusted adult presence for youth participants.

Because Ridgeline is an intermediary – coordinating across multiple school, employer, and college partners simultaneously rather than sitting inside any single institution – this role requires someone who thrives in multi-stakeholder environments as much as in the room with young people.

This role is part-time in the upcoming fiscal year with a plan for it to eventually become a full-time position on the team.

Responsibilities

Includes but are not limited to:

Program Design & Facilitation

Co-design pilot programming with the Head of Program, with emphasis on career exploration, durable skills, work-based learning, and social capital building.
Develop activities and challenges that align with industry trends and program goals while centering participant voice and engagement.
Facilitate interactive sessions that blend hands-on learning, durable skill practice (e.g., communication, collaboration, AI fluency), and career exploration.
Build genuine relationships with participants — showing up as a consistent adult presence who encourages reflection, fosters community, and ensures every student is actively engaged.
Provide direct 1:1 support to enrolled participants, including e.g. coaching, career preparation support, and problem-solving as needs arise.

Operations & Coordination

Support student recruitment across partner schools and community organizations, and manage the application and selection processes to build cohorts that reflect the communities Ridgeline serves.
Support program logistics for pilots, including scheduling, communications, materials, and day-of execution.
Track program timelines and ensure details run smoothly so that program design and facilitation can shine.
Track and analyze participant outcomes within and across programs; maintain shared data systems and contribute to regular progress reports.

Partnership & External Engagement

Co-design authentic, industry-informed learning sessions with experts
Support guest speakers, mentors, and industry reviewers to deepen the real-world impact of programs.

Qualifications

Experience

3+ years designing and facilitating project-based, experiential, or career-connected learning programs for young adults, especially in diverse or underserved communities.
Strong track record of program operations and coordination (e.g., scheduling, logistics, communication).
Demonstrated ability to balance big-picture program design with detail-oriented execution.

Skills

Exceptional facilitation and communication skills, with the ability to inspire, connect with, and support young adults (ages 16–22).
Highly organized and proactive project manager; comfortable juggling multiple moving pieces and stakeholders.
Strong collaborator and communicator who builds trust and alignment across teams, schools, and industry partners.
Creative problem-solver who adapts in real time to challenges while keeping program goals at the center.

Knowledge

Familiarity with healthcare and/or maritime/blue economy sectors is a plus.
Familiarity with CTE, dual enrollment, and work-based learning structures in California is a plus.
Clear understanding of durable skills and how to embed them into learning experiences.
Awareness of systemic barriers to education-to-career pathways and a commitment to equity in design and facilitation.

Preferred Backgrounds

Educators, facilitators, or instructional designers with experience in project-based or experiential learning.
Nonprofit program managers with expertise in career readiness or workforce development.
Coaches or trainers with background in apprenticeship, internship, or early-career pathways – bonus if you have direct experience working with young people (ages 16-22).

Role Details & Compensation

Pay: $40 to $50 per hour. We use a consistent compensation framework across all roles. Hourly rates and salaries are set based on that framework. We will give our best offer and will not negotiate.
Benefits: We are finalizing benefit offerings and will share more information with the candidates who are invited to screen.
Classification: Part-time, non-exempt, eligible for overtime in accordance with California employment law.
Schedule: 20 to 25 hours per week. The schedule will vary based on programmatic needs and will be set in partnership with the Head of Program.
Location: In-person for student-facing programming and key team meetings in the Bay Area, with flexibility to work remotely otherwise.

Application Process

Application Window: We will be collecting applications for this role until Friday, July 10, 2026. We look forward to kicking off the interview process the week of July 13, 2026. To submit the online application you will need to login to a Google account.