CORE Program Director

The Great Basin Institute (GBI) is seeking a strategic, mission-driven leader to serve as Program Director for the Community Outreach and Resource Education (CORE) Program, a cornerstone to GBI’s mission, committed to the protection of public lands through environmental education, community outreach, and relationship building.

The Program Director is responsible for overseeing a dynamic and complex portfolio of three site-based community hubs of operation, spanning both Northern Nevada and California.  In NV that’s 1) Galena Creek Regional Park and Visitor Center, 2) Rosewood Nature Study Area; in CA 3) Tallac Historic Site paired with Taylor Creek Visitor Center.  In addition, the CORE Program Director serves as GBI’s Philanthropic & Charitable Giving Lead, ensuring development, performance, and strategic alignment with GBI’s Executive Team and fundraising priorities. These roles necessitate engaging and leading a multidisciplinary team delivering high-impact education programming, community events, and in partnership with federal, county and city agencies, and a diverse/growing coalition of local stakeholders.

This leadership position requires a forward-thinking and adaptable individual with the capacity to manage complex logistics, foster Staff and Volunteer development, and cultivate strong community-based partnerships. The Director is charged with ensuring operational excellence across existing initiatives while also collaborating on new fundraising avenues to pursue opportunities in innovation, and sustainable investments in the CORE Program.

Essential Duties

Program Leadership & Strategy:

• Provide high-level leadership and direction for all aspects of CORE programming. This includes direct oversight of GBI’s CORE Site Managers, ensuring targeted performance outcomes (the triple bottom line of program sustainability) and reporting requirements.
• Supervise and mentor a team of Site Managers, and indirectly Coordinators, and Volunteers across multiple field hubs in Nevada and California.
• Champion a community-focused and public-good driven culture that supports GBI’s leadership values, drives individual professional development, true collaboration and adaptive program innovation.
• Lead strategic planning efforts in coordination with Executive Leadership Team to align CORE program operations with GBI’s mission and goals.

Partnership Management:

• Build and sustain robust relationships with essential federal, county, and local partners, including the U.S. Forest Service, Washoe County, City of Reno and others.
• Lead and/or support the Development Team in identifying, fostering, and securing new funding sources, partnerships, and program enhancement opportunities.
• Serve as the primary point of contact for key collaborations and represent GBI in meetings, conferences, and professional coalitions.

Program Operations & Field Oversight:

• Support Site Managers with the full lifecycle of CORE programming, including seasonal recruitment (Volunteers and Employees), onboarding, training, logistics, safety, compliance, and performance evaluations, by extension through a strong CORE Team, and with the support of GBI’s administrative and operations specialists.
• Conduct regular site visits (x3 sites) to explore opportunities, trouble-shoot, ensure quality assurance, and seek alignment with stakeholder expectations for safety, compliance and risk management standards.
• Coordinate closely with other GBI Teams to address operational/public needs and challenges across the three CORE hubs.

Financial Oversight:

• Support and expand CORE Site Managers’ small and growing portfolio of funding sources, including AmeriCorps grant utilization, cooperative agreements, public and private grants, and Volunteer in-kind contributions.
• Provide fiscal oversight and accountability for all CORE program-related budgets; ensure responsible cost recovery and grant expenditure in accordance with budgeted funding guidelines
• Ensure retail and cash management operations are upheld, and follow best practices to ensure sound forecasting and balanced cost of goods sold.
• Collaborate with the Development and Finance Teams on required reporting, invoicing, forecasting, and proposal identification/writing.

Compliance & Management:

• Oversee the full compliance with all AmeriCorps, federal, and GBI specific regulations, policies, and documentation requirements.
• Ensure the CORE Team is generating accurate and timely reporting of member activities, hours, performance metrics, and incidents.
• Partner with HR and Compliance on personnel matters, investigations, and organizational policy enforcement.
• Hold Site Managers and agency partners accountable to GBI protocols for incident reporting, safety audits, and corrective actions to ensure GBI managed site operations meet all stakeholder requirements.
• Coordinate with GBI’s operations team (Fleet, Housing, and Logistics) to ensure workplace and residence safety standards are consistently applied, monitored, and documented across all CORE managed sites.

Qualifications

To perform this job successfully, employees must be able to satisfactorily carry out each essential duty. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable employees with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

 Required:

• Education: Minimum 10 years of progressively responsible program or project management experience in conservation, environmental education, outdoor leadership, fund-raising and/or related fields.
• Experience: Minimum 5 years supervising complex teams, including multi-site or statewide operations.
• Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:
  • Strong understanding of community engagement, nonprofit fundraising, and strategic planning for a complex organization
  • Demonstrated success in fundraising and/or grants development, preferably in a leadership or collaborative support role
  • Budget oversight and financial leadership experience, particularly with public funding and/or charitable giving
  • Exceptional communication, team-building and interpersonal skills
  • Strong organizational capacity with a demonstrated ability to manage multiple priorities in dynamic and time-sensitive settings
  • Willingness to travel between Northern Nevada and South Lake Tahoe-area of California, routinely and as needs arise
• Must relocate/live locally within Greater Reno-Sparks, South Lake Tahoe or adjacent communities to effectively fulfill position responsibilities.  A hybrid in-person remote schedule can be accommodated, locally.

 Preferred:

• Bachelor’s degree in public administration, environmental studies, nonprofit leadership, or a related field; or an equivalent combination of education, advanced training, certifications, and relevant experience suitable to the needs of this role.
• Prior experience overseeing environmental education teams, AmeriCorps programs or conservation focused service programs.
• Experience managing or leading interpretation programs, exhibit/curriculum design, etc.
• Experience managing retail operations, vendor relations, and overseeing cash and electronic POS systems.
• Familiarity with the ecology, land management practices, and cultural landscape of Northern Nevada and Tahoe Basin.

Location

Based at GBI offices in Reno, NV The “Biggest Little City in the World” the greater Reno-Sparks metropolitan area has a population of over 435,000. The city is a high desert landscape ~4,500 feet above sea level, at the foot of the Sierra Nevada mountains along the Truckee River, as it flows from Lake Tahoe to Pyramid Lake. Weather is mild, but with distinct four seasons. Reno offers easy access to world-class outdoor recreation including driving distance to Yosemite and Death Valley National Parks, the Pacific Ocean, and California redwood forests. Closer to home, Nevada offers more natural hot springs than any other state in the country, over 150 named mountain ranges, and 30 peaks over 11,000 feet. Recreation and entertainment includes eight major ski resorts in proximity to the Reno-Tahoe airport; fishing and boating on Lake Tahoe, the Truckee River, and Pyramid Lake; cultural festivals throughout the summer along the banks of the Truckee River; a thriving food scene and more.

The city of South Lake Tahoe is the largest metropolitan area within the Lake Tahoe Basin, nestled between the Sierra Nevada mountains to the west and the Carson Range to the east. Summers are typically warm and dry, while winters are characteristically cold and snowy. The alpine community sits at an elevation of 6,237ft. The region is a popular destination for both domestic and international travelers partaking in bountiful outdoor recreation and sightseeing.

This role must relocate/live locally within Greater Reno-Sparks, South Lake Tahoe or adjacent communities to effectively fulfill position responsibilities. 

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS

Starting annual salary is $80k – $95k DOE. In addition to a competitive base salary, this full-time, onsite position includes comprehensive medical, dental, and vision insurance, as well as mental health support resources, 401(k) retirement savings with up to 4% GBI match, competitive PTO accrual, paid holidays (12 per year), and family leave. Total compensation package is $89k – $104k per year, DOE.  This exciting role contributes to GBI’s significant positive impacts within the fields of environmental outreach, education, and conservation.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS  

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable employees with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to sit, use hands, stand, walk, bend, and have specific vision abilities to include close and distance vision, and ability to adjust focus working with computer business equipment and other job/industry specific equipment. The noise level in the work environment is usually low.

The overall nature of the position is sedentary, requiring little physical effort and occasional light exertion. There is occasional exposure to environmental conditions such as heat, cold, and temperature changes. 

The Great Basin Institute (GBI): 

Founded in 1998 at the University of Nevada, the Great Basin Institute is a leading interdisciplinary field studies organization, fostering environmental research, education, and service throughout the West. GBI specializes in applied research to support science-based management of public lands and is fervently committed to the promotion of scientific understanding through its field studies, conservation efforts, and public outreach. GBI is home to numerous influential programs, including the Nevada Conservation Corps, Research Associate Program, Cultural Resource Services, Forestry, NEPA Resource Planning, Ecological Monitoring, and oversees visitor centers at Taylor Creek, Galena Creek, and the Tallac Historic Site, thereby expanding its reach and impact in safeguarding the region’s natural and cultural heritage.

POSITION CLOSES 2/23/2026

Disclaimer: Although the Company has attempted to accurately and thoroughly describe this position, the Company reserves the right to change the same, including to change, add to or subtract from the duties outlined, within the sole discretion of the Company, at any time, with or without advance notice.