Certification Program Manager Jobs in California

POSITION: Program Manager
LOCATION: Remote (within the U.S.)
JOB TYPE: Full-time, exempt
REPORTS TO: Senior Manager, K-12 Program
THE ROLE
As an Eat Real Program Manager, you will guide school districts through our K-12 certification program, providing a high-touch, concierge-level experience from onboarding through certification. You'll be hands-on in managing district relationships, shepherding the assessment process, and piloting new tech-enabled support offerings. But most importantly, you'll be helping school leaders across the country create a healthy, delicious future for their students.
ABOUT YOU
Our Program Managers like to call themselves cheerleaders, and we think that's pretty accurate. Because cheerleaders are enthusiastic and driven. They're deeply invested in the success of their team. And they nail complex choreography with precision, expertise, and a winning smile. Those are exactly the qualities you'd bring to your district partners as the face of Eat Real. You love to motivate and support people doing great work, anticipating their needs and exceeding their expectations. Your clear communication, strategic mindset, and data-driven creativity will help us consistently adapt to meet the moment. And of course, there's nothing more exciting for you than being surrounded by peers who are as talented, dynamic, and fast-thinking as you are. At Eat Real, we believe it should be fun to change the world. If you agree, this might just be the job for you.
PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES
Program Management & Customer Success

• Deliver best-in-class customer service: Act as the primary liaison leading districts through our certification process with clarity and efficiency
• Charter new landscapes: Learn the challenges & opportunities unique to school food in different states and regions
• Advance the certification experience: Leverage your expertise to refine Eat Real's tools and processes, helping districts implement real food changes more effectively and ensuring customer success
• Facilitate engagement opportunities: Organize and lead meetings and events, fostering a network of like-minded school food leaders
• Drive impact: Ensure projects move forward smoothly, prioritize tasks effectively, and support district success from start to finish.
• Adapt and respond: Flexibly address shifting priorities, new opportunities, and unique district challenges

General Organization Support

• Shape Eat Real's strategy: Contribute to the evolution, growth, and strategic planning as the organization grows
• Think creatively and strategically: Bring fresh ideas and long-term vision to help the certification program evolve and stay ahead of emerging district needs
• Plan events & partnerships: Contribute to events and initiatives that foster Eat Real's work
• Evaluate & enhance content: Support the marketing team to craft content for the website, blog, and social media channels

The above is an overview of the job; as needs arise, there will be additional miscellaneous responsibilities.
REQUIREMENTS

• 4+ years of foodservice experience at scale, including operations, nutrition, menu planning, and procurement. Strong knowledge of K-12 foodservice is preferred but not required
• Experience in customer success, relationship, or program management strongly preferred
• Customer-first approach: prioritizes trust, collaboration, and long-term relationships over transactions
• Builder mentality: comfortable with ambiguity, enjoys problem-solving, thrives in a fast-paced, evolving environment
• Self-directed and tenacious: acts with integrity, takes initiative, and maintains a 'let's get it done' attitude
• Strong project management skills: highly organized, detail-oriented, and excellent at managing multiple priorities
• Strategic and analytical thinker: anticipates challenges and applies strategic, analytical thinking to solve problems and support long-term planning
• Collaborative and inclusive: excels in cross-functional teamwork and values diverse perspectives
• Tech-savvy: comfortable using Asana, Slack, Google Suite, client portals, CRM systems, and other cloud-based tools
• Alignment with Eat Real's values:
• • We Serve Heroes - And Each Other
  • Make Every Day Better
  • Leave Room for Magic
  • Be a Great Hang
• Bachelor's Degree preferred; sense of humor required

THE ORGANIZATION
Eat Real exists to prevent diet-related illness before it starts. The only national doctor-led, foodservice-approved children's health nonprofit, we're on a mission to put real food on the table-at school, at home, and in local and national policy.
Through our award-winning K-12 certification program, we give foodservice leaders the framework and support they need to make school menus delicious, nutritious, and responsibly sourced. Together with a community of foodservice professionals, doctors, food advocates, chefs, and parents, we raise awareness about the power and urgency of serving real food at every meal. And from the cafeteria to the Capitol, we advocate for policies and standards that ensure every child has access to nourishing food.
Two questions lie at the heart of our strategy: 1. What's the shortest possible route to the greatest possible impact? 2. How can we make changing the world more fun? That means we're not building an institution; we're building a rocketship. We are pioneering a model that delivers the values of a nonprofit - accountable, transparent, impact-driven, and heart-led - with the tactics and structure of the most effective start-ups - agile, experimental, industrious, and compact.
Eat Real is entering the next phase in our exciting growth trajectory - having doubled our lifetime impact last year to reach one million students in 21 states, we're now busy establishing roots in key states across the country. And we've set our sights on a new goal: reaching three million students in 30 states to demonstrate the power of real food on a national scale.
The cafeteria can change the future-for our kids, our communities, and our planet.
OTHER DETAILS
This is a remote role within the U.S. with occasional travel for program activities. Must be available during standard business hours (Pacific time zone), with some flexibility for evening or weekend events. A driver's license and the ability to lift up to 50 lbs are required.
Compensation & benefits: The annual salary for this role is between $80,000 and $105,000, depending on experience, with the salary adjusted based on your location in the United States. Our employees' health and well-being come first. Benefits include comprehensive health coverage, parental leave, unlimited PTO, 401k and more.
Equal Opportunity Employer
Eat Real is an equal-opportunity employer. We are committed to creating a diverse, equitable, and inclusive environment in our organization and in our work. Every day, we actively work to create a healthy, delicious future for our colleagues, communities, and planet.
The pay range for this role is:
80,000 - 105,000 USD per year (Remote)