About the Role

Application Deadline*: September 7th, 2025 at 11:59 PM PT

*Please note that applications are reviewed on a rolling basis and the form may close early depending on the volume of applications. We encourage applicants to apply as early as possible.

The Programs Manager will be responsible for coordinating programs to achieve Youth Climate Lab’s (YCL) overarching organizational goals. The successful Manager will work collaboratively with program staff, broader YCL team, and external stakeholders with strong attention to strategy, implementation, and delegation. The Manager will be involved in all stages of program development - from supporting the design and fundraising of programs to developing budgets and operating plans. The ideal candidate is passionate about furthering youth-led climate action and is excited to sustain and scale YCL’s impact.

Location: Remote, Canada

Ideal Start Date: September 22nd, 2025, flexible

Hours: 35 hours per week

Hourly Wage: $28-30 per hour

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Your Duties

Reports to: Executive Director
Supervises: Program Coordinators, Program Specialists, Program Leads

Programs Management (75%)

The Programs Manager is responsible for ensuring existing programs are aligned with YCL’s organizational strategy, and for ensuring the maximum impact for the organization and its program participants. The Programs Manager is expected to manage an average of three active programs at once. Tasks include:

• Develop program critical paths and risk assessments to ensure that YCL meets contractual obligations for each program, and support program staff in maintaining them;
• Work with the Finance and Operations Manager to ensure program budgets stay on track with our contractual obligations (ex: staff-time on projects).
  • Equip program staff to be able to ensure programs stay on budget and to practice YCL’s financial processes, including: approving and quality checking expenditures and contractors.
• Work with the Impact Manager to develop systematic, impactful, culturally-appropriate, youthful, and effective impact tracking methodologies for YCL programs
• Co-manage relationships with program funders and partners, with the Impact Manager and Executive Director, and support with program reporting to funders.

Strategy Development & Implementation (5%)

• Support the development of strategic goals and targets for the organization, to support the maintenance of YCL’s vision and mission;
  • Support with the implementation of policy changes and program development to support YCL’s organizational strategy.
  • Support the development of and track implementation of staff specific KPIs and professional development opportunities
• Assess feasibility and/or desirability to scale existing and past programs, and incorporate into program development strategy
• Support the development and maintenance of the annual organizational budget, regarding staff and program planning.

Organizational Maintenance (5%)

• Develop strategies to improve delivery and management of programs, including:
  • Ensuring consistent documentation of practices and learnings during Programs
  • Researching program best practices; and
  • Incorporating learnings and best practices into existing and future programs as often as possible.
• Support training procedures for program staff to ensure continuous transfer of institutional knowledge, such as ensuring new staff have a robust understanding of organizational practices, structure and strategy, and previous programming;
• Alongside the management team, audit and improve organizational systems for tracking and maintaining institutional knowledge, including: archives, contract tracking, etc.
• Collaborate with the management team to co-develop an inclusive, healthy, and collaborative work environment for all staff.

Fundraising & Impact Support (15%)

• Identify and support successful acquisition of new funding opportunities for YCL, including: identifying new funding sources (foundations, grants, etc.), and supporting proposal writing
• Contribute to advocacy and thought-leadership for youth-led climate action, such as through attending and speaking at external meetings and conferences to amplify YCL’s impact and reach.

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Eligibility

• Youth (18 - 35 years old, inclusive at the start of employment).
• Be based in so-called Canada for the term of employment.
• Be a Canadian Citizen, permanent resident, or person on whom refugee protection has been conferred under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.
  • International students are not eligible. Recent immigrants are eligible if they are Canadian Citizens or permanent residents.
• Be legally entitled to work according to provincial/territorial legislation and regulations.
• Be eligible to travel domestically and internationally.
• Have access to a personal computer, cell phone, and reliable internet.

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Required Skills, Knowledge, and Abilities

• A post-secondary degree or a combination of entrepreneurial and/or lived experience in a related field.
• Management experience: 2+ years managing teams of staff and/or volunteers.
• Program and project experience: 3+ year(s) in working on climate or environment-related programs/projects.
• Driven: Passionate about advancing youth-led climate action, no matter the obstacles.
• Relationship-Builder: Strong communicator, collaborator, and facilitator who easily establishes trust and honesty, and resolve conflicts.
• Persuasive: Skilled at communicating a vision and inspire confidence across diverse stakeholders.
• Equity-Centered: Commitment to advancing justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion (JEDI), and decolonization.
• Adaptable: Self-aware and able to adapt, self-manage and ask for help through stressful, fast-paced, and uncertain environments.
• Organized and Reliable: Skillfully prioritizes and completes tasks in an orderly and timely manner.

Assets

• Financial Management: Experience applying sound operational and finance practices.
• Strong Network: Well connected and respected in the climate action ecosystem.
• Nonprofit Experience: Experience working in nonprofits and/or serving on Boards.
• Bilingual: Proficient in written and verbal French.

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Compensation and Perks

• Flexibility: flexible work schedule and unlimited personal days.
• Vacation: 3-weeks vacation, 1-2 weeks off during holidays, and additional YCL paid days off.
• Health & Wellness: comprehensive health benefits, monthly wellness activities with the team, and 8 paid sick days.
• Professional Development: 35 hours of paid time and $500 for professional development discretionary spending.
• Travel: Paid travel to conferences around the world—from the UN Headquarters in NYC to COP conferences, LeadingChange in Vancouver, and more.

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Equal Employment Opportunity Policy

Youth Climate Lab is an equal opportunity employer. Youth Climate Lab is committed to equal employment opportunity, affirmative action, and to encouraging a diverse and inclusive work environment. We are committed to recruiting, hiring, developing, and promoting YCL members and employees without discrimination or harassment. We believe that having staff who have different lived experiences and who are from different social locations is vital in demonstrating a commitment to equitable representation. Equal opportunity and inclusion are essential to Youth Climate Lab's mission and values.

Youth Climate Lab does not discriminate in any area of recruitment and employment work including compensation, benefits, hiring, promotions, and terminations. We believe and are committed to treating all YCL members and employees with respect and employment actions should be based on job-related factors. Employment actions must not be based on race, colour, religion, creed, gender (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, marital status, gender identity or expression, national origin or ancestry, genetics, age, disability status, protected veteran or service member status, citizenship status when otherwise legally able to work, or any other characteristic protected by law.

Youth Climate Lab is dedicated to making accommodations during the hiring process, at the request of a candidate. If you require accommodations at any stage of the hiring process, please indicate it in your application or by emailing recruitment@youthclimatelab.org.

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About us

Youth Climate Lab is a youth-for-youth organization founded in 2017 to support and strengthen a generation of leaders in shaking up the status quo of climate inaction. It has since worked with 30+ partners to design, pilot, and scale innovative experiments projects that have reached thousands of young people combating climate change in more than 77 countries.

Mission

We enable and mobilize youth to co-create a just, climate resilient future.

Vision

We ensure youth are recognized as essential, active participants in climate decision-making, no longer facing barriers to meaningful participants or experiencing tokenization.

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Approach

Our Radical Collaboration Principles are how we accomplish our mission and vision. These principles inform all the work we do, including: the design of our programs, communication campaigns, and partnerships. Recognizing that a more just, climate resilient future is most effectively accomplished through partnership, we are always looking for co-collaborators whose values align with ours.

1. Youth-first: We prioritize the diverse needs and efforts of youth to ensure as many youth as possible can participant in climate action.
2. Creative: Creativity is a powerful way to process, learn, unlearn, and heal in the midst of the climate crisis. Complex, ambiguous problems often require imaginative solutions.
3. Inclusive: Accessibility and care are central to how we support youth. Participating in climate work is challenging and often requires youth to volunteer outside of school or work responsibilities. We need everyone to engage in the climate movement and be compensated fairly for their contributions.
4. Disruptive: Climate solutions are most effective when they address the root causes of climate change, moving beyond the status quo. This requires collective action which fosters resilience, community, and tenacity.
5. Catalytic: To strategically address gaps in youth participation within the climate action ecosystem we amplify existing initiatives, and when we recognize a need that is not being met, we create new, innovative ways to collaborate and take action.
6. Equitable: We recognize that climate change has disproportionate impacts on equity deserving communities. As a settler-led organization based in Canada we seek to leverage our privilege to support and amplify frontline perspectives and approaches to the climate crisis.