School Program Director Jobs in California (NOW HIRING)

Job Title: Program Director

Employment Type: Year-round, Full-Time Exempt

Annual Salary: $123,600 - $129,780

Location: Presidio Middle School, San Francisco

Job Title: Program Director

Employment Type: Year-round, Full-Time Exempt

Annual Salary: $123,600 - 129,780

Location: Presidio Middle School, San Francisco

Job Title: Program Director

Employment Type: Year-round, Full-Time Exempt

Annual Salary: $123,600 - 129,780

Location: Presidio Middle School, San Francisco

JOB SUMMARY: 
As the Presidio Beacon Program Director, this individual holds responsibility for leading Presidio Middle School’s Beacon Program, which operates through a community school model. This holistic approach integrates academic instruction with comprehensive services and resources tailored to meet the needs of students, families, and the surrounding community. The Director oversees all aspects of the Beacon’s programs, including After-School and morning care, Wellness, Restorative Practices, Family Engagement, and Summer Camps, while ensuring a strong culture of student engagement, belonging, accountability, and safety across all program spaces. This role also entails managing staffing and ensuring strategic alignment with the mission, vision, and values of The Richmond Neighborhood Center (TRNC).
Close collaboration with school administrators, faculty, social workers, counseling teams, SFUSD, DCYF, and SF Beacon Initiative partners, Beacon staff, and Neighborhood Center leadership is essential to identifying and addressing the evolving needs of Presidio Middle School students. The Director serves as a key partner to the school community, helping to foster safe, supportive, and youth-centered environments that promote positive student outcomes and strong school-day to after-school alignment. Effective staff supervision, communication, and partnership management are central to delivering high-quality programming and responsive support for youth and families. In partnership with the CFO and organizational leadership, budgets are developed to support sustainable program structures aligned with SFUSD expectations and student outcome goals.
The Director’s vision for programmatic excellence drives continuous improvement, with a steadfast commitment to student- and family-centered practices, particularly prioritizing the needs of students identifying as BIPOC, ELL, and/or having special needs. This position requires a leader who can balance collaboration, accountability, and relationship-building while working in partnership with school administrators and community stakeholders. The Director maintains a clear understanding of the organization’s mission, standards, and target populations to ensure quality, consistency, and meaningful impact across all areas of programming.

ORGANIZATIONAL RELATIONSHIP
Reports To: Chief Strategy Officer
Supervises: Program Managers, Family Engagement Team, and Coaches at Presidio Middle School
RESPONSIBILITIES

PROGRAM IMPLEMENTATION AND EVALUATION (40%)
Develops a vision for the program (aligned to organizational mission and values and participant needs), understands the current state of the program, and creates a path forward.
Serves as the gatekeeper for creating new programs, sunsetting outdated ones, and tabling requests with a strategic plan in mind.
Serves as the key collaborator on projects between the organization and the school, including consistent communication with the Principal and Counseling Department. 
Supports school administrators and site partners on identifying and meeting needs of policies, projects, and school stakeholders.
Works with program managers to ensure Beacon programming meets DCYF’s (San Francisco’s Department of Children, Youth, and Their Families) and ExCEL’s (San Francisco Unified School Districts’ After-School Program) requirements in regards to attendance, data reporting, registration, and daily operations.
Works with program managers to ensure programming is being implemented and evaluated as planned, including but not limited to DCYF & ExCEL surveys, ExCEL Quality Action Plan and Youth Program Quality Assessment tool.
Assists Program Manager to coordinate the Family Engagement Team by supporting and assisting with meetings, scheduling workshops, and attending family nights.
Manages partnerships with local organizations including but not limited to Richmond Area Multi-Services, Richmond District YMCA, and Japanese Community Youth Council, by writing or editing Service Agreements, negotiating budgets, and paying or invoicing in a timely manner.
Substitutes for program managers or direct service as needed in supervising transitions, activities, or in classrooms.

STAFF SUPERVISION (15%)
Provides employment life cycle (hiring, training, supervising, evaluating, and disciplining) for Program Managers and various direct reports.
Sets and implements a clear vision for staff and manager training grounded in best practices, including youth development, incident response and reporting, mandated reporting requirements, restorative practices, de-escalation, safety protocols, and partnership expectations with SFUSD and school communities.
Provides proactive leadership and responsive support to emergent program, staffing, and student needs, ensuring timely communication, sound decision-making, and appropriate follow-through in partnership with school administration and TRNC leadership.
Provides written performance appraisals on an annual basis, with regular coaching, feedback, and professional development conversations occurring throughout the year to support staff growth and accountability.
Ensures that all employee paperwork, compliance documentation, and reporting requirements are completed accurately and in a timely manner.
Produces all HR (personnel) documents and reviews and approves bi-monthly timesheets in Human Resource Software, accurately, legibly and timely. 

FISCAL AND BUDGET MANAGEMENT (15%)
Tightly aligns program goals and funding in the budget creation and modification process with Chief Financial Officer
Works with the Executive Director to create the vision for the program budgets and the greater organization wide budget.
Serves as The Richmond Neighborhood Center’s key contact for ExCEL and DCYF contracts for this site.
Understands and adheres to grant funding guidelines.
Closely collaborates and communicates with Program Managers and the CFO on key issues such as spending timelines, over-budgeted costs, and reassignment of funds.
Monitors and controls expenditures through funds request procedures with staff.

EXTERNAL RELATIONS (15%)
Represents The Richmond Neighborhood Center in a wide range of venues relevant to youth development, student success, and community partnership efforts, including but not limited to meetings with Board of Supervisors officials, SFUSD administrators, ExCEL, DCYF, community-based organizations, and other citywide networks, as identified by the supervisor.
Participates in regular meetings and collaborative spaces with school administration, counseling and wellness teams, SFUSD partners, and community stakeholders focused on student engagement, student safety, student outcomes, coordinated support strategies, and the sharing of best practices.
Serves as a visible and trusted representative of TRNC both within and beyond Presidio Middle School, acting as a steward of the organization’s mission, values, reputation, and relationships throughout the broader community.
Builds and maintains collaborative partnerships with school-day staff, families, community partners, and external stakeholders through consistent communication, responsiveness, and relationship-centered leadership.
Conducts outreach to potential community partners in collaboration with organizational leadership to strengthen resources, opportunities, and support available to students and families.
Participates in organization-wide events, community activities, and fundraisers, which may take place during evenings and weekends.

ADMINISTRATIVE TASKS (15%)
Attends and participates in regular staff and supervision meetings as needed.
Produces all check reimbursements and charge vouchers accurately, legibly and timely. 
Assumes additional responsibilities as assigned by the supervisor
Prepares reports to foundation funders and to the Beacon Initiative. 
Works with the Giving Team to complete program reporting for grant applications.

QUALIFICATIONS AND EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS

Experience
8-10 years of experience working in schools, SFUSD preferred
3+ years of experience managing multiple programs and managers
Necessary Characteristics:
Excellent communicator: able to think quickly and speak well in front of audiences of diverse stakeholders, such as the student body, parents, all-faculty meetings, administrator, fellow Beacon directors, and our internal Leadership Team; a responsive email style that acknowledges the seriousness and permanence of the written word in a youth-driven world
Values-based: The ability to assess the risk of programs and new initiatives  regarding student need, org values, and staff sustainability/safety.
Data-driven: Able to comfortably navigate basic Excel and general reporting databases; sees the importance of using data to drive continuous improvement  and measure progress.
Must meet SFUSD Instructional Aide Requirement through one of the following:  
An Associate’s degree or higher, OR 
Official transcripts reflecting 48 college units and a high school diploma/equivalent, OR 
Completion of CBEST and a high school diploma/equivalent.
Critical Consciousness: Able to weave equity and cultural relevance into all aspects of planned activities. Able to plan and facilitate programming intentionally. Understanding of marginalized communities. Strong advocate for youth voice and leadership. 
DOJ Live Scan Fingerprinting: All employees who have contact with youth under the age of 18 must be fingerprinted under procedures established by the DOJ. We cannot employ any individual who has been convicted of a serious or violent felony, as defined by the California Penal Code. The organization also receives updated information from the DOJ during employment. Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records on a case by case basis.
TB Test: Every employee who has regular contact with youth is required to have a current tuberculin skin test or an X-ray examination of the lungs (with a negative result) prior to reporting for duty.
Employment Authorization: Employees must be able to prove that they are authorized to work in the United States using any of the documentation allowed according to current I-9 processes.

PHYSICAL JOB DESCRIPTION:
Typical Working Conditions:  School office, classroom, yard, field trip types of environments
Equipment Used: Computer, telephone, printer
Essential Physical Tasks: This job requires:
Ability to sit for extended periods while performing administrative and computer-based work
Frequent typing, keyboard use, and repetitive hand and wrist motion for correspondence, reporting, and data entry
Ability to occasionally lift and carry up to 20 lbs (files, materials, equipment)
Ability to move between office, program site areas, and community locations
Ability to stand or walk for periods of time at site and and off site for meetings and events
Visual and auditory ability sufficient to communicate effectively and monitor program environments 
Ability to operate standard office equipment and technology

QUALIFICATIONS AND EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS

Experience
8-10 years of experience working in schools, SFUSD preferred
3+ years of experience managing multiple programs and managers
Necessary Characteristics:
Excellent communicator: able to think quickly and speak well in front of audiences of diverse stakeholders, such as the student body, parents, all-faculty meetings, administrator, fellow Beacon directors, and our internal Leadership Team; a responsive email style that acknowledges the seriousness and permanence of the written word in a youth-driven world
Values-based: The ability to assess the risk of programs and new initiatives  regarding student need, org values, and staff sustainability/safety.
Data-driven: Able to comfortably navigate basic Excel and general reporting databases; sees the importance of using data to drive continuous improvement  and measure progress.
Must meet SFUSD Instructional Aide Requirement through one of the following:  
An Associate’s degree or higher, OR 
Official transcripts reflecting 48 college units and a high school diploma/equivalent, OR 
Completion of CBEST and a high school diploma/equivalent.
Critical Consciousness: Able to weave equity and cultural relevance into all aspects of planned activities. Able to plan and facilitate programming intentionally. Understanding of marginalized communities. Strong advocate for youth voice and leadership. 
DOJ Live Scan Fingerprinting: All employees who have contact with youth under the age of 18 must be fingerprinted under procedures established by the DOJ. We cannot employ any individual who has been convicted of a serious or violent felony, as defined by the California Penal Code. The organization also receives updated information from the DOJ during employment. Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records on a case by case basis.
TB Test: Every employee who has regular contact with youth is required to have a current tuberculin skin test or an X-ray examination of the lungs (with a negative result) prior to reporting for duty.
Employment Authorization: Employees must be able to prove that they are authorized to work in the United States using any of the documentation allowed according to current I-9 processes.

PHYSICAL JOB DESCRIPTION:
Typical Working Conditions:  School office, cla...