Programs Project Manager
Reports To: Chief Program Officer
Status: Full-time; Exempt
Location: Los Angeles
Hours of Operation: Monday - Friday 9:00am – 6:00pm
Salary Range: $75,000 - $88,000 annually
Are you passionate about giving back to your community and making a lasting difference in the lives of young people?
Who We Are:
In 1922, Woodcraft Rangers opened its doors in Los Angeles and began its mission of guiding young people as they explore pathways to purposeful lives. As a progressive organization, Woodcraft has always been responsive to the evolving needs of the communities served, and is notably inclusive, youth-led, and rooted in the Woodcraft Way, a holistic framework that develops body, mind, spirit, and service. Continuously at the forefront of expanded learning opportunities, Woodcraft Rangers has a rich history of making a significant impact in the greater Los Angeles area, believing that all youth are innately good, deserve the opportunity to realize their full potential, and should be an active participant in defining their own path.
What We Do:
Woodcraft Rangers provides TK-12 expanded learning programs, including before and after school, specialty enrichment, and summer learning. In the past few years, Woodcraft has expanded its menu of services beyond traditional afterschool programs and summer camps to include early learning, environmental and social justice, college access, and inclusion services for youth with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Additionally, we offer LifeCraft, a college and career advancement program to support the development of approximately 2,000 staff. Today, Woodcraft Rangers serves more than 30,000 youth ages 4 to 18 each year across 150 plus Title I schools in Los Angeles, San Bernardino, and Riverside counties, and continues to expand its reach.
Ideal Candidate:
The ideal candidate is a highly organized, proactive project manager who thrives in a fast paced, mission driven environment. They bring strong project planning, coordination, and communication skills, and are skilled at building structure and process where none exists, so that departments can move projects from idea to execution smoothly. They are a natural collaborator who can manage competing priorities across multiple teams, anticipate roadblocks, and drive tasks to completion with minimal supervision. A passion for youth development and community impact, along with the ability to work across departments and support diverse programmatic needs, is essential to success in this role.
Why Work for Woodcraft Rangers:
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Competitive salary – $75,000 - $88,000
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Paid vacation & sick time – generous time off to recharge
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Lifecraft program – free college & career advancement for all staff
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Upward mobility – promote-from-within culture
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Health, dental & vision – comprehensive benefits coverage
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403(b) retirement plan – invest in your future
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Pet insurance – because your whole family matters
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Mission-driven work – impact 30,000 + young people annually
Role Overview:
The Programs Project Manager plays a critical role in supporting the Chief Program Officer (CPO) and the Programs Division which includes Expanded Learning, Student Services, and Learning and Development in achieving organizational goals and maintaining operational excellence. Reporting directly to the CPO, this individual serves as a key project management partner, driving efficiency across the division by planning, tracking, and coordinating cross-departmental projects from kickoff through completion. The role combines strong project management fundamentals timelines, milestones, risk tracking, and stakeholder communication with hands-on operational support, helping departments translate strategic initiatives into clear, actionable plans and successfully operationalize new programs, trainings, and rollouts. This position requires a high degree of discretion, as the individual will regularly handle confidential information including internal communications and reports.
Responsibilities:
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Lead end-to-end project management for key initiatives across Expanded Learning, Student Services, and Learning and Development, including scoping, planning, and sequencing work so departments can move from strategy to execution
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Build and maintain project plans, timelines, and milestone trackers, ensuring deliverables stay on schedule and roadblocks are surfaced and resolved quickly
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Facilitate and support cross-departmental project meetings by setting agendas, taking detailed notes, tracking action items, and following up to ensure completion and accountability
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Partner with department leads to design and document repeatable workflows, templates, and standard operating procedures that help departments operationalize new programs, trainings, and rollouts efficiently
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Provide hands-on project management support to the Programs Division — including Expanded Learning, Student Services, and Learning and Development particularly during high-priority periods such as program launches, training rollouts, and large-scale events
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Track project risks, dependencies, and resource needs across departments, proactively flagging issues to the CPO and department leads before they impact timelines
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Manage a portfolio of division-wide projects, maintaining a master project calendar and providing regular status reporting to the CPO and department leadership
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Identify opportunities to streamline processes and improve project execution across departments, and manage confidential information with the highest level of discretion and professionalism
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Draft, proofread, and manage project-related correspondence, updates, and status reports, ensuring timely and professional communication with internal stakeholders and external partners
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Own a recurring reporting cadence — compiling and delivering monthly and quarterly project roll-ups that synthesize updates from Expanded Learning, Student Services, and Learning and Development into a single, executive-level summary with clear recommendations for the CPO
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Maintain year-round implementation-fidelity and quality-assurance monitoring across active projects — not just at launch — through recurring check-ins, site visits, or quality rubrics, flagging performance gaps and recommending course corrections
Qualifications/Skills:
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2-3+ years of project management, program coordination, or operations experience, preferably in a nonprofit or education-related setting
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Strong project management skills, including experience building timelines, tracking milestones, and managing multiple projects simultaneously
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Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to facilitate meetings, drive alignment across departments, and take clear, accurate meeting notes
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Demonstrated ability to operationalize projects — turning strategy and ideas into clear plans, workflows, and processes that departments can execute
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Proficiency with project management tools (such as Asana, Monday.com, or Smartsheet) as well as Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint) and/or Google Workspace
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Ability to work in a fast-paced, dynamic environment and adapt quickly to shifting priorities, including hands-on support during program launches and trainings
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Strong interpersonal skills and a collaborative spirit; ability to influence without authority and work effectively across teams and with external partners and stakeholders
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Bachelor's degree in business administration, project management, or a related field preferred; PMP, CAPM, or similar project management certification a plus
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Demonstrated experience managing large-scale, multi-department projects (e.g., programs serving hundreds or thousands of participants, multi-site rollouts, or projects with significant budgets) — not just single, small-scope projects
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Experience managing a portfolio of concurrent projects rather than one project at a time, with the ability to prioritize across competing departmental needs
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Experience building and maintaining ongoing quality-assurance or implementation-fidelity processes that support consistent execution throughout a full program year, not only at project launch
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Proven ability to build executive-level reports, dashboards, or scorecards that synthesize data from multiple departments into a single, clear view;
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Experience with reporting or BI tools (e.g., Excel/Google Sheets, Power BI, Tableau, Looker Studio, or Smartsheet reporting) a plus
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Strong analytical judgment — able to translate department-level detail into concise executive summaries, identify trends or risks across departments, and recommend clear course corrections
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Sound judgment in determining what to escalate to the CPO versus resolve independently, with a track record of proactively flagging risks before they become problems
Physical Demands:
In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the following physical demands may be essential for the effective performance of this position. Reasonable accommodation will be considered to enable individuals with disabilities to perform these essential functions:
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Frequent standing is required during working hours
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The ability to travel across the Great Los Angeles area, using either a car or public transportation, is necessary several times a month.
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Regular use of hands for various tasks, such as operating a computer and handling objects, is essential.
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Must be able to occasionally lift/move up to 40 pounds.
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Reasonable accommodation is available for individuals with disabilities.
Work Environment:
We are committed to fostering an inclusive work environment and will actively consider reasonable accommodations to enable individuals to effectively perform their roles. This position operates in environments typical of the following key aspects:
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Regular exposure to computer monitors during work.
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The typical noise level of a standard work environment.
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Stable internet access is required for effective work-from-home performance.
Woodcraft Rangers provides equal employment opportunities to all qualified applicants without discrimination with regard to race, religious belief, color, sex, sex stereotype, pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions (including breastfeeding), age, national origin, ancestry, sexual orientation, gender identification and expression, transgender status, transitioning status, physical or mental disability, medical condition, genetic characteristics,
genetic information, family care, marital status, enrollment in any public assistance program, status as military, a veteran or qualified disabled veteran, status as an unpaid intern or volunteer, or any other classification protected by law. We also prohibit discrimination based on the perception that anyone has any of those characteristics or is associated with a person who has or is perceived as having any of those characteristics
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