Retreat Program co-Manager (anticipated hire)

The LoveYourBrain Foundation is a US-based nonprofit that improves the mental, physical, and social well-being of people with brain injury and caregivers. Since 2014, we’ve been pioneering the use of mindfulness, yoga, psychoeducation, nutrition, and community-building programs for healing, advancing the science behind our holistic approach in clinical and community-based settings, and re-imagining how people can actively participate in their healing. We also conduct extensive outreach with clinical, advocacy, and community-based stakeholders to raise awareness about the benefits of mindfulness and social connection for brain injury. This is an exciting time for our organization--we’ve recently reached our 10-year anniversary, refined our strategic vision, and our Executive Director was recently recognized as a Top Ten CNN Hero (see video segment here).

The Retreat Program Manager provides end-to-end leadership of LoveYourBrain’s Retreat program, an immersive, 5-day holistic health program delivered in Maine, Colorado, Arizona, and Oregon, with plans to continue to expand for geographic equity of access. This role ensures each Retreat is accessible, inclusive, operationally excellent, and aligned with LoveYourBrain’s program model and values. The Retreat Program Manager oversees participant experience, program administration, retreat center partnerships, contractors and volunteers, travel and logistics, safety protocols, communications, budget management, and continuous program improvement. This role also contributes to the strategic growth of the Retreat program, including geographic expansion and the development of sustainable systems, partnerships, and staffing models that allow LoveYourBrain to reach more people affected by brain injury. The ideal candidate is operations-minded, person-centered, highly organized, adaptable, and skilled at creating accessible and affirming community-based holistic health programming.

LoveYourBrain believes that TBI, caregiving, and the intersections where we work—namely within healthcare and wellness spaces—disproportionately impact the most marginalized in our society, including BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, women, non-binary people, people living with disabilities, people with intersecting identities, and others with lived experience as members of marginalized communities. We believe these communities must be centered in the work we do. We strongly encourage applications from people with these identities or who are members of other marginalized communities. If you share LoveYourBrain’s values of being real, compassionate, inclusive, fun, and curious, we’d love to speak with you. The LoveYourBrain community believes in respect for all people and the planet. We embrace and strive for a community that values differences and prioritizes equity. Regardless of how you identify, or how the world sees you, please feel welcome to apply and join our community.

Program Administration & Strategy

• Manages essential operational tasks related to Retreat communications, scheduling, website content, Standard Operating Procedures, program systems, and annual planning.
• Manages the Retreat program email and phone communications in a timely, compassionate, and efficient manner.
• Maintains accurate participant and program data in Salesforce and other program systems.
• Tracks and analyzes key Retreat metrics, including applications, acceptance, attendance, participant demographics, outreach, fundraising, program feedback, and operational performance.
• Develops internal and external reports and uses program data to identify trends, improve implementation, and support strategic decision-making.
• Contributes to Retreat program strategy, annual goals, capacity planning, geographic expansion, and development of systems needed to sustainably grow the program.

Participant Experience

• Independently organizes and leads the participant application, interview, selection, and acceptance process toward a goal of approximately 60 applicants per Retreat and 350 applicants annually.
• Oversees the participant experience from application through pre-Retreat preparation, onsite participation, and post-Retreat follow-up.
• Identifies and responds to participant accessibility, accommodation, dietary, transportation, and support needs in collaboration with appropriate team members.
• Helps create a Retreat environment that fosters psychological safety, belonging, autonomy, connection, and meaningful participation for people with brain injury and caregivers.

Retreat Center Partnerships & Expansion

• Manages relationships and communications with all Retreat locations and facility staff.
• Leads onboarding, contracting, planning, and closeout processes with Retreat locations
• Evaluates prospective sites based on accessibility, participant experience, safety, programmatic needs, travel logistics, capacity, amenities, and cost.
• Maintains strong, collaborative relationships with Retreat centers and proactively addresses operational or partnership challenges.

Retreat Staff, Contractor & Volunteer Management

• Recruits, selects, onboards, trains, schedules, and supports multidisciplinary Retreat teams of 15+ staff, contractors, Ambassadors, medical professionals, cooks, kitchen volunteers, and general volunteers.
• Builds a strong Retreat team culture grounded in collaboration, accountability, inclusion, flexibility, and participant-centered support.
• Identifies staffing needs and develops sustainable recruitment and retention pipelines for key Retreat roles.
• Manages volunteer intake and stewardship processes to create a streamlined and reliable pipeline of support.

Retreat Operations & Logistics

• Leads end-to-end logistical planning for approximately 4–7 Retreats annually, including program schedules, staffing, participant and team travel, transportation, lodging, meals, supplies, accommodations, and onsite operations.
• Serves as the primary onsite operational lead for each Retreat, overseeing setup, team orientation, daily schedules, task delegation, participant arrival and departure, venue coordination, problem-solving, and site closeout.
• Coordinates participant transportation between airports and Retreat locations and supports broader transportation planning for staff and volunteers.

Safety, Accessibility & Risk Management

• Oversees implementation of Retreat safety, emergency response, incident reporting, accessibility, and participant-support protocols.
• Partners with the Wellness Team and organizational leadership to assess and respond to medical, behavioral, interpersonal, and environmental concerns that arise during Retreats.
• Ensures Retreat staff and volunteers understand emergency procedures, participant confidentiality expectations, professional boundaries, escalation protocols, and their respective roles.
• Serves as the primary on-call operational lead during Retreats, including coordinating responses to urgent or emergency situations with the Wellness Team and organizational leadership.
• Ability to oversee retreat weeks with extended and nontraditional hours, including early mornings, evenings, and shared on-call responsibilities.

Outreach & Community Partnerships

• Implements outreach strategies to maintain a strong and diverse participant pipeline and support Retreat sustainability in existing and emerging program locations.
• Develops and maintains referral and outreach relationships with rehabilitation hospitals, healthcare professionals, brain injury organizations, community partners, and other stakeholders in Retreat regions.
• Supports targeted outreach to communities historically underrepresented in brain injury services.

Budget & Resource Management

• Develops and manages Retreat operating budgets in partnership with organizational leadership.
• Tracks expenses, forecasts Retreat costs, identifies opportunities for cost efficiency, and ensures program delivery remains within approved budgets.
• Reviews vendor proposals and supports negotiation and execution of Retreat center, transportation, food service, and contractor agreements.
• Coordinates invoices, reimbursements, purchasing, and expense reconciliation with appropriate Operations team members.

Fundraising & Cross-Department Collaboration

• Partners with the Development team to implement peer-to-peer fundraising campaigns, with a current goal of raising approximately $27,500 per Retreat.

In addition:

• Opportunity to serve on Equity Team to advance our vision of being a more equitable, anti-racist organization
• Willingness and flexibility to contribute to projects outside of your primary scope of work.

While this is intended to be an accurate reflection of the current job, management reserves the right to revise the job or to require that other or different tasks be performed as assigned.

Minimum Requirements:

• At least 4-6 years experience in managing accessible residential style nonprofit programming, preferably involving mindfulness, yoga, or brain health
• Experience with people affected by traumatic brain injury or other neurological conditions, including with emotional dysregulation, anxiety, and memory symptoms
• Ability to lead and attend Retreat programs at each of our geographic locations 5-8 times per year, including irregular schedule during Retreat preparation and operation
• Program operations experience, including budget management, facility contract negotiation, personnel, and scheduling
• Experience working with Salesforce (or other CRM platform), Google platform, and Zoom
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills that effectively engages a range of audiences (i.e., people with TBI, health care professionals, media, general public)
• Strong interpersonal and problem-solving skills, with a community centered approach
• Highly-developed organizational skills with a keen attention to detail, and a demonstrated ability to effectively prioritize tasks and meet deadlines
• Bachelor’s degree (or equivalent)

Qualifications and skills strongly preferred:

• A depth of understanding and/or teaching experience in trauma-informed settings with a yoga and/or mindfulness focus
• Ability to skillfully manage complex situations with people with emotional dysregulation, familiarity with nonviolent communication a plus
• Experience sourcing and cultivating relationships with volunteers and program staff
• Strong skills in managing relationships with contracted organizations and people

Physical Requirements:

• Travel in the US (by air and car) 6+ times a year (must have license, passport)
• Ability to move Retreat-related equipment in the Retreat environment
• Drive a car

Work Environment:

• Ability to effectively work remotely
• Ability to work on a computer for up to 8 hours per day
• Ability to talk over the phone or video conferencing (multiple times a day)
• Ability to work over weekends (occasionally)

LoveYourBrain is committed to providing reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals. If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the employment process, please email us at kyla@loveyourbrain.com and let us know. LoveYourBrain is an Equal Opportunity Employer and actively seeks candidates from diverse backgrounds. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, age, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, gender identity or any other factor protected by applicable federal, state, or local laws.

• Health insurance coverage for 100% of BCBS VT Bronze level
• Delta Dental insurance
• 19 days PTO (longer based on duration at LYB) + 7 days sick/personal + 11 Federal Holidays
• 12 weeks fully paid leave for person giving birth/primary caregiver and 4 weeks fully paid for secondary caregiver
• Summer hours – half days on Fridays in July and August
• Fully remote team, with essential tech for home office
• And more!