Program Manager

Program Manager Position Details

Location: Candidates must be within daily commuting distance to Portland, OR. In-person and remote work will be required.

Job Type: Full-time, permanent, exempt (35 hours a week, which would include occasional evenings and weekends)

Compensation: $62,000 annual salary with generous healthcare, retirement, vacation, and sick leave benefits.

Approximate Start Date: April 20, 2026

ABOUT PEACE IN SCHOOLS

Peace in Schools is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Our mission is to liberate mind and heart through teen-centered, transformative mindfulness education. Since 2014, we have delivered an innovative approach to social-emotional learning using our research-backed Mindful Studies curriculum. Evidence-based practices, including mindfulness meditation and conscious communication, empower students to thrive in and outside of the classroom. Each year, we bring trauma-informed, equity-centered, and mindfulness-based social-emotional learning to hundreds of teens and adults across the country.

www.peaceinschools.org

THE CHALLENGE

Peace in Schools is a small team with a large vision; we're on a mission to ensure that every young person can thrive and contribute to a healthy, courageous, and more joyful future. While the impact of our work has been proven through independent research and over ten years of rigorous evaluation, working inside the education system presents ongoing challenges. Strained school budgets and shifting policies at the federal, state, and local levels, invite our team to be persistent, creative, and relationship-based to sustain and grow our programs.

THE OPPORTUNITY

Peace in Schools is at an exciting time in the organization's history. With the growth of Mindful Studies Partnerships in both Oregon and California, we are in a prime position to scale and grow while making the model more sustainable through community-based fundraising and exploring earned revenue. This fall, we launched our brand new Training Institute to support youth-serving professionals across the country, expanding our reach and bringing mindfulness to hundreds more youth in new communities. The Program Manager is responsible for organizing all aspects of these two programs. They will develop program management plans and oversee the execution of day-to-day activities and deliverables that are central to this role.

THE TEAM

The Program Manager reports directly to the Program Director and works closely with other team members. Although the Program Manager will be within daily commuting distance to Portland, OR, our ideal team member thrives while working remotely, as most of our meetings happen virtually. The Peace in Schools team thrives in collaboration, but also works individually toward fulfilling our mission.

For Peace in Schools to achieve its mission, we know we must have supported, happy staff who are fully accountable and empowered in their spheres of work, who trust each other to do excellent work, who listen, and are open-minded. Our team strives to practice what we cultivate in our classrooms. We believe that how we do our work is just as important as the outcomes. Our values are presence, equity and racial justice, flexibility, interconnection, compassion, and joy. Our staff and Board of Directors strive to center these values in all aspects of our work: our systems, policies, curricula, and interactions.

THE SKILL SET

We seek a resilient, flexible, and thoughtful leader who can hold many goals and priorities at one time. A deep commitment to our mission and awareness of equity and racial justice are essential. We are looking for someone who exhibits excellent attention to detail, organizational skills, follow-through, motivation, and flexibility. The ideal candidate will have an excellent track record of developing and maintaining strong working relationships with, and among a diverse group of partners. This position requires a proactive, high-performing individual who is passionate about working cooperatively with team members, proficient in project management, and is deeply committed to executing the mission of Peace in Schools.

The scope of work for the Program Manager includes:

• Program Management (40%)
• Partnership & Participant Management (30%)
• Outreach (25%)
• Other Duties as Assigned (5%)

We are looking for someone who:

• Is passionate about the mission of Peace in Schools
• Embodies mindful leadership that is inclusive, transparent, and empowering in a manner that supports and uplifts the staff and the Peace in Schools mission
• Centers equity and racial justice in all program management and partnership development
• Can work with the Program Director to strategically grow the impact of our programs; establish annual rhythms and planning sessions to optimize program impact; look at structural issues, barriers, and improvements that need to be made to make the work more sustainable and successful
• Can work collaboratively with a team on an existing and developing program
• Can act as the big picture holder of Mindful Studies Partnerships and the Training Institute; ensure program efficiency and excellence; track and achieve program Objectives & Key Results
• Can organize, manage timelines, and coordinate team activities across departments to accomplish program goals and deliverables on time for Mindful Studies Partnerships and the Training Institute, through usage of the project management platform, Monday.com and Google Suite
• Can maintain Standard Operating Procedures for programs and update as needed
• Can organize and create effective strategies and communications for “cold call” outreach
• Can work with the Program Director and other pertinent staff to seek out new partnership opportunities in alignment with our mission, values, and organizational capacity, and once a new partnership is established, can ensure that our programs are maintained and growing
• Can work with other team members to ensure the monitoring and deepening of equity and racial justice outcomes
• Can do quality work with efficiency, consistency, and reliability
• Is available some evenings and weekends (monthly); occasional travel is required.

We strongly prefer someone who:

• Has a minimum of 3-4 years of program or project management experience
• Experience working in a non-profit organization or educational environment
• Is detail-oriented and has strong communication skills
• Has strong technology skills, with proficiency in programs such as Excel, Google Apps, Slack, Monday.com, and database programs
• Has personal experience with mindfulness/meditation practices
• Has experience working with people of diverse ages, races, and backgrounds and has a combination of life or work experience and/or training in anti-racism, equity work
• Demonstrates self-awareness in terms of understanding their own culture, identity, biases, prejudices, power, privilege, and stereotypes.

Studies have shown that women and people of color are less likely to apply for jobs unless they believe they meet every one of the qualifications as described in a job description. We recognize that experience can be gained in a variety of ways: lived, professional, volunteer and other experience. We thoroughly look through application questions and resumes in order to qualify candidates for our open positions.

If you are interested in this position, but think you may not meet all the above criteria, please do apply!

Within One Month You Will:

• Complete the Peace in Schools onboarding process which includes learning the organization’s mission, vision and core values as well as systems, procedures and processes
• Meet and introduce yourself to the Peace in Schools Staff
• Understand your scope of work, benefits, professional development opportunities, and internal culture, structure, and communication
• Establish a supportive relationship with your supervisor, the Program Director
• Begin to learn where your role intersects with the Board of Directors, contractors, staff and community partners
• Understand where we are with Mindful Studies Partnerships and the Training Institute and begin to take primary responsibility for organizing timelines and team member activities
• Become familiar with our current Mindful Studies Partnerships and Training Institute partners, and begin establishing communications with partners
• Understand our current strategy for program evaluation and growth, including the challenges we face

Within Three Months You Will:

• Attend a Mindful Studies class or Peace in Schools workshop to clarify and deepen your understanding of the organization’s mission
• Regularly communicate with current partnership stakeholders and Mindful Studies Partnerships and Training Institute participants
• Organize internal and external Mindful Studies Partnerships and Training Institute meetings; coordinate external meetings for the Program Director and Head of Training
• Research and track potential partners for Mindful Studies Partnerships and the Training Institute
• Assess structural issues, barriers, & improvements that need to be made that help make the work more sustainable and successful
• Organize and manage timelines, and coordinate team activities across departments to accomplish Mindful Studies Partnerships and Training Institute program goals and deliverables

Within Six Months You Will:

• Participate in and foster an equitable, inspiring and resilient organizational culture consistent with Peace in Schools’ values
• Be in close communication with all Mindful Studies Partners, Teacher Cohort participants, and Training Institute participants
• Work with Mindful Studies Partners on the implementation of Mindful Studies in their schools
• With the Head of Training, track Training Institute participants’ implementation of the 12-session Mindful Studies Curriculum
• Support the Mindful Studies Partnerships Teacher Training cohort with logistical needs
• Establish rhythms and planning sessions to optimize program impact
• Work with Evaluation and Research Manager for ongoing program evaluation and monitoring
• Oversee partnership materials, including promotional materials, contracts, reports, and program evaluations
• Perform additional duties of similar complexity within the organization, as required or assigned

APPLICATION GUIDELINES

Fully complete and submit the online application form, and attach your resume. Applications will be accepted until March 6, 2026. No phone calls or emails, please.

Peace in Schools is an equal opportunity employer. We strongly value equity, diversity, and inclusion. We are dedicated to the goal of building a culturally diverse and pluralistic team committed to working in a multicultural environment. We strongly encourage applicants of color to apply.

We want to hear from you, in your authentic voice. We ask that you refrain from using AI to help you produce content for this application. We commit, in turn, to not using AI to review applications or make hiring decisions.

Generous healthcare, retirement, vacation, and sick leave benefits.