Chief Programs & Operations Officer(CPOO), Explore Austin
Position Title: Chief Programs & Operations Officer (CPOO)
Location: Austin, TX
Employment Type: Full-Time
Salary Range: $100k-$120k depending on experience and qualifications.
Explore Austin is a 100% free, six-year-long program serving youth from economically disadvantaged communities. For 20 years, their mission has been to empower youth to reach their full potential through mentoring, leadership, and outdoor adventure.
Position Overview
The Chief Programs & Operations Officer (CPOO) is a core member of Explore Austin’s
executive leadership team, guiding the organization’s trailblazing work in outdoor adventure,
mentorship, conservation, and community engagement. This role leads all program strategy and
delivery, oversees our new headquarters and its daily operations, and ensures our facility thrives
as both a basecamp for youth expeditions and a vibrant hub for the broader community.
The CPOO strengthens organizational capacity, builds trusted partnerships, and helps ensure
that Explore Austin remains “safe as necessary” while providing growth opportunities for youth,
mentors, staff, and community members.
Key Responsibilities
Stewardship of Facilities & Operations
Serve as executive lead for Explore Austin’s headquarters (Basecamp) and related facilities.
Oversee operations, maintenance, safety, and sustainability standards (including Austin Energy Green Building certification goals).
Ensure the HQ serves as both a mission basecamp—housing canoes, bikes, vans, and gear—and as a gathering space for the broader community.
Manage vendor, contractor, and partner relationships tied to facility operations.
Program Leadership
Provide strategic oversight and direction for all youth development, mentorship, and conservation-based programs. Flagship program operates every Saturday throughout the school year and for 8 weeks during the summer months (June/July).
Lead growth of current programming to serve more youth and mentors and facilitate the addition of school-based programming during the week at the new basecamp.
Lead effort to add additional programming in the conservation/ecology space, community benefit programming for the surrounding community, and potential fee-based programming.
Ensure program design and delivery embody Explore Austin’s values of equity, courage, and adaptability.
Lead innovation, evaluation, and continuous improvement to maintain relevance and impact for the community served.
Partner with senior leadership and direct reports to grow partnerships and resources that extend program reach and impact.
Community, Conservation & Events Leadership
Supervise the staff team responsible for community events, conservation-based programming, and community benefit offerings at the facility.
Align events, conservation initiatives, and community programming with Explore Austin’s mission, amplifying visibility and philanthropic engagement.
Serve as the primary point person for the surrounding community, forging strong relationships with partner agencies, local leaders, and elected officials.
Maximize the facility’s role as a community hub while ensuring alignment with the core youth-serving mission.
Organizational Leadership
Serve as a key member of the C-suite, partnering with the CEO and CDO to set strategy, allocate resources, and steward culture.
Act as a spokesperson and subject matter expert at events, in media, panels and conferences.
Oversees and implements appropriate resources to ensure that the operations of the organization are functioning optimally.
Mentor and develop staff, fostering a high-performance, mission-aligned team that reflects the spirit of adaptability and courage - the main tenets of our program.
Represent Explore Austin as a public ambassador—sharing our story with donors, partners, and the broader community.
Qualifications & Attributes
Proven senior leadership experience (15 years minimum) in nonprofit or mission-driven organizations; experience in youth development, outdoor education, or conservation programming strongly preferred.
Demonstrated success overseeing programs, facilities, and operations at scale.
Track record of building, leading, and inspiring high-performing teams.
Strong operational acumen, balancing bold vision with practical execution.
Excellent communicator and relationship-builder with diverse stakeholders, including government officials and community partners.
Deep belief in the transformative power of outdoor adventure, mentorship, and conservation.
A trailblazer—strategic, resourceful, and unafraid to take bold steps in service of the mission.
Collaborative leader who models integrity, resilience, and expedition behavior.
Solid, hands-on, budget management skills, including budget preparation, analysis, decision-making, and reporting
Strong organizational abilities, including planning, delegating, program development, and task facilitation
Benefits
Health, Dental, Vision insurance: 100% employee coverage, 50% dependent coverage
4 weeks PTO plus Dec holiday office shutdown
12 paid holidays
IRA 3% match
Flexible schedule and hybrid in-office structure
Opportunity to attend annual Summer Wilderness Trip
8-week sabbatical following 4 years of continuous service
... a GREAT TEAM of 100 committed volunteer mentors, 40 trip leaders, 13 professional staff members, 14 board members, and 30 volunteer advisory council members.
To Apply
Email cover letter, resume, and the below essay responses to jobs@exploreaustin.org.
Applications without all of the above-listed documents and responses
to the below essay questions will not be considered.
CHIEF PROGRAM AND OPERATIONS OFFICER BRIEF ESSAY QUESTIONS
1) What does 'Safe as Necessary' mean to you?
2) What are your 3 primary values/approaches when leading teams?
3) What are your thoughts on navigating equity work in our current climate?
