Senior Director of Field Education

Position Purpose

Teton Science Schools is a mission driven nonprofit organization that connects people, nature, and community through place-based education. Through immersive outdoor learning experiences across the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, TSS helps students, educators, families, and partners build curiosity, leadership, scientific understanding, and a stronger connection to place.

The Senior Director of Field Education provides strategic and operational leadership for TSS’s Field Education programs, also known as the Outdoor Learning School. This position leads programming across multiple campuses and ensures that educational quality, participant experience, staffing, financial performance, safety, and operations remain aligned with the mission and strategic direction of TSS.

As the senior leader for Field Education, this position develops long term department strategy, leads and mentors a high performing leadership team, and represents Field Education in organization wide planning and decision making.

Responsibilities

Strategic and Organizational Leadership

• Lead the vision, strategy, and long term direction of Field Education in alignment with the TSS mission and strategic plan.
• Represent Field Education in organizational leadership, planning, policy development, and decision making.
• Translate organizational priorities into clear department goals, operating plans, and measurable outcomes.
• Identify opportunities to strengthen, expand, and evolve outdoor education and place based learning programs.
• Collaborate across TSS to coordinate people, programs, finances, facilities, and shared resources.
• Participate in an on-call rotation and provide support during program emergencies or disruptions.

Program Quality and Impact

• Ensure Field Education programs provide high quality, mission aligned learning experiences.
• Guide the development, evaluation, and continuous improvement of curriculum, instructional practices, and participant experience.
• Establish clear expectations for educational quality, program impact, and partner satisfaction.
• Ensure programming reflects TSS operating standards, educational philosophy, and commitment to inclusive learning environments.

Team Leadership and Development

• Lead, mentor, and support Field Education directors and other department leaders.
• Build a collaborative leadership structure with clear roles, accountability, communication, and shared priorities.
• Develop leadership capacity through coaching, feedback, professional development, and succession planning.
• Partner with Human Resources and department leaders to strengthen recruitment, onboarding, training, retention, and employee development.
• Promote a department culture grounded in trust, service, accountability, collaboration, and continuous learning.

Operations and Financial Leadership

• Provide oversight of Field Education operations across campuses and program locations.
• Ensure effective systems are in place for scheduling, logistics, transportation, equipment, enrollment, risk management, and program delivery.
• Evaluate department systems and workflows to improve consistency, efficiency, and scalability.
• Develop and manage the Field Education budget in partnership with Finance and department leaders.
• Maintain accountability for revenue, expenses, staffing models, program margins, and overall financial performance.
• Use program and financial data to guide decisions related to pricing, capacity, investment, and resource allocation.

Partnerships and Program Growth

• Develop and maintain strong relationships with schools, community partners, funders, agencies, and other stakeholders.
• Evaluate existing partnerships and identify opportunities to strengthen or expand strategic relationships.
• Partner with Marketing, Communications, Development, and Registration to increase awareness, demand, enrollment, and program access.
• Identify new audiences, program models, and markets that align with the TSS mission and organizational capacity.
• Represent Teton Science Schools at appropriate community, regional, and national events.

Qualifications

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent combination of education and relevant professional experience required.
• Wilderness First Responder, CPR, and AED certification, or ability to obtain within an established timeframe.
• Demonstrated senior leadership experience in outdoor education, environmental education, experiential education, nonprofit programming, education, or a related field.
• Experience leading a large or complex department across multiple programs, locations, or operating environments.
• Demonstrated success developing and mentoring directors, managers, and multidisciplinary teams.
• Strong understanding of educational program design, instructional quality, participant experience, and program evaluation.
• Experience developing and managing significant operating budgets and connecting financial decisions to program strategy.
• Demonstrated ability to build long term vision and translate strategy into effective operations.
• Strong relationship building, communication, facilitation, and decision making skills.
• Experience managing institutional partnerships and representing an organization with external stakeholders.
• Ability to navigate complexity, establish priorities, and lead through organizational change.
• Commitment to place based education, outdoor learning, and the mission of Teton Science Schools.
• Commitment to building inclusive work and learning environments and continually developing cultural competency.

Preferred Qualifications

• Advanced degree in education, nonprofit leadership, environmental studies, business administration, or a related field.
• Experience leading residential, seasonal, expedition based, or outdoor education programs.
• Experience overseeing programs with multiple revenue streams and complex staffing models.
• Experience working in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem or a similar rural and outdoor operating environment.
• Familiarity with risk management practices related to outdoor, residential, or experiential education.

Working Conditions and Physical Requirements

• Ability to work in office, campus, residential, and outdoor program environments.
• Ability to spend extended periods outdoors in changing weather and environmental conditions.
• Ability to travel between campuses and program locations.
• Ability to work occasional evenings, weekends, or extended hours to support programs and events.
• Ability to carry a backpack or program equipment weighing approximately 20 pounds for extended periods.
• Ability to operate TSS vehicles and meet organizational driving requirements.