Non-Profit Program Contractor Opportunities

Ridgeline is collecting resumes from contractors for short-term, fixed-scope projects for specific career pathway program cycles and pilots.

About Ridgeline

Ridgeline is a Bay Area nonprofit education-to-employment intermediary. 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.

Read more about the Ridgeline team culture here

About This Contractor Opportunity

This is an open call to build a pool of qualified independent program contractors we can engage for short-term, fixed-scope projects — typically 3–4 month engagements tied to specific program cycles and pilots. This is a resume drop: submitting your materials adds your business to our contractor bench. When a matching engagement opens, we reach out to get to know you, discuss scope, timeline, and your proposed rate, and formalize the work through a written independent contractor agreement.

Because our programs are facilitated in person in the San Francisco Bay Area, we prioritize contractors who live in, or within reasonable commuting distance. We work with contractors who operate as their own established business and can plug into one or more of the areas below.

Areas of Engagement

When you apply, you’ll indicate which of these areas fit your business. You do not need to offer all three.

Learning Designer

Lead the design and development of programmatic materials including scope and sequences, facilitation guides, and program evaluation materials (e.g., slides, handouts, surveys, etc.). This role does not require someone to deliver the program in person, so the ability to train the trainer is critical.

Career Pathways Program Manager

Lead the design, coordination, and delivery of a defined program cycle or pilot. Typical scopes include translating program goals into career-connected learning experiences, coordinating logistics across school, employer, and college partners, and serving as an engaging presence for youth participants during the engagement.

Session Facilitator

Design and deliver interactive sessions that blend hands-on learning, durable-skill practice (communication, collaboration, AI fluency), and career exploration for participants ages 16–22. Scopes are typically defined by a set of sessions or a cohort cycle.

Program Operations & Event Support

Provide operational and event execution for program cycles and one-time events — scheduling, materials, communications, participant data, and day-of execution.

What We Look For

• A track record designing, facilitating, or coordinating project-based, experiential, or career-connected programming — ideally for young adults or in diverse or underserved communities.
• Strong operations and coordination capability: scheduling, logistics, communications, and juggling multiple moving pieces and stakeholders.
• Excellent facilitation and communication skills, with the ability to connect with and support young adults ages 16–22 (for facilitation and program-management scopes).
• A self-directed working style and the ability to deliver a defined scope of work independently, without day-to-day supervision.
• Based in, or within reasonable commuting distance of, the Bay Area, with the ability to be on-site for in-person programming (prioritized).
• Bonus: familiarity with healthcare, maritime, or building trades sectors; CTE, dual enrollment, or work-based learning structures in California; and durable-skills frameworks.

Contractor Requirements

We work only with contractors who operate as an established, independent business. To be added to the pool, you should be able to confirm that your business:

• Operates through an active LLC (or other business entity) in good standing in a relevant business area.
• Provides its own tools, equipment, and materials needed to perform the services.
• Is customarily engaged in an independent business of the same nature as the work — you market these services, hold yourself out to the public as available for them, and are free to (and typically do) serve other clients.
• Is free to accept or decline any engagement and may use its own personnel or subcontractors to deliver the work.
• Maintains its own business location separate from Ridgeline (a home office qualifies).
• Carries appropriate business insurance (e.g., general liability), or can obtain it for an engagement.
• Sets its own methods and, consistent with agreed deliverables and participant schedules, its own working hours.

Engagement Details & Compensation

• Structure: Independent contractor (1099). Each engagement is governed by a written independent contractor agreement drafted to meet the conditions of California’s business-to-business exemption (Labor Code §2776), defining the scope, deliverables, timeline, and payment.
• Term: Fixed-term, typically 3–4 months for program design and management roles and shorter for others, aligned to a program cycle or pilot.
• Rate: Ridgeline’s budgeted range for these engagements is $60–$75 per hour. Contractors propose and negotiate their own rate within that range as part of scoping each engagement.
• How the work is performed: You control how the services are delivered. Ridgeline defines what is needed — deliverables, program dates, and participant-facing commitments — and you direct the methods, sequencing, and day-to-day execution. Ridgeline does not supervise or train you; you are responsible for your own work product and bear the ordinary business risk of the engagement.
• Location: Youth-facing sessions happen in person in the Bay Area; other work can be performed from your own location. We prioritize contractors based in, or within reasonable commuting distance of, the Bay Area.
• Not employment: These are contractor engagements, not employment. They do not include employee benefits, paid time off, or overtime, and no employment relationship is created.

How to Apply

Submit your materials through our contractor interest form. We review submissions on a rolling basis and reach out when a matching engagement opens. Adding your business to the pool does not guarantee an engagement. You will need to login to a Google account to access the application. Email hello@ridgelinepathways.org if you have any questions.

Resume drop: Program Contractors