buildOn

Trek Director

Bronx, NY
Full Time
Trek
Manager/Supervisor

Location: New York City or Stamford, CT

Travel: Up to 50% travel both in the US and to buildOn partner countries

Hours/FLSA: Full Time/Exempt

Schedule: Monday - Friday, Weekends for Trek Events

Salary: $85,000 -$95,000


Interested applicants must submit their resume and a cover letter.

buildOn is a global nonprofit that unites people through service and education to ignite opportunity (buildon.org). Service builds leaders. We mobilize communities in low-income countries to build schools. American youth transform their own communities through service and change the world by helping build these schools.
 

The Opportunity:
The Trek Director leads buildOn’s immersive international service-learning program – Trek. buildOn Trek, which is rooted in solidarity, brings U.S. students and buildOn supporters together with underserved communities to build a school. The program is thoughtfully designed for participants to immerse in a rural community while exploring buildOn’s Constructive Leadership Principles, which include:  Courage, Empathy, Passion for the Possible, Resilience, and Solidarity.

The Trek Director oversees the full lifecycle of Trek experiences, from participant recruitment and pre-Trek preparation to the in-country Trek experience and post-Trek support and reflection.  

The Trek Director leads a highly skilled global team across multiple countries to ensure Trek participants have a transformational experience rooted in service, solidarity, cultural humility, and safety. 

The ideal candidate is an experienced leader who can balance strategic planning with operational execution, relationship-building, participant engagement, and risk management. Strong communication, cross-cultural competency, and attention to detail are essential.

This position requires frequent international travel and the ability to work flexible hours, including evenings and weekends during Trek seasons.

Key Responsibilities

  • Trek Program Leadership & Operations: Oversee the full planning, execution, and evaluation of buildOn Trek programs, ensuring experiences are impactful, well-organized, and aligned with buildOn's mission and service-learning model. Embed Constructive Leadership principles throughout the Trek experience in partnership with a cross-departmental taskforce. Work with the Operations Team to launch and maintain buildOn's participant preparation portal for seamless Trek onboarding. Utilize post-Trek participant surveys to drive continuous program improvement.
  • Safety & Risk Management: Ensure the safety of all Trek participants by training staff in risk management protocols and maintaining active partnerships with International SOS, the U.S. Department of State, and other risk-management partners. Coordinate emergency response protocols and serve as the primary point of accountability for participant safety across all in-country Trek experiences.
  • Staff Leadership & Development: Lead a team of U.S.-based Trek staff and globally distributed Trek professionals, providing coaching, feedback, and support to ensure Trek experiences are consistently high-quality. Conduct regular field audits and foster a culture of continuous improvement and Constructive Leadership development across the Trek team.
  • Partnership with Development: Partner with the Fundraising team on the Trek schedule for donors, managing logistics and experiences for high-profile individuals. Represent the Trek department with donors in meetings and at special events, serving as a key ambassador for the program.
  • buildOn U.S. Student Recruitment & Preparation: In partnership with buildOn U.S. leadership, lead recruitment efforts to increase the number of buildOn high school students who participate in Trek, with particular emphasis on the Bronx. Lead a team of Trek Specialists to facilitate participant onboarding, orientation, preparation sessions, and pre-Trek training. Develop curriculum rooted in Constructive Leadership principles to ensure a transformational Trek experience for all participants.
  • Financial Management & Administration: Develop and manage Trek budgets, monitor program expenses, and track participation metrics and operational data. Ensure compliance with organizational policies, travel requirements, and international protocols. 
  • Cross-Departmental Collaboration: Partner across departments, including Development, Marketing, Finance, Programs, and Operations, to align Trek programming with broader organizational goals and ensure Trek's visibility and impact are reflected in buildOn's storytelling and fundraising.

Qualifications

  • Deep commitment to buildOn's mission, values, and youth-centered service-learning model.
  • Bachelor's degree required.
  • Minimum 5 years of experience in international program management, youth development, service-learning, or a related field, with a track record of leading student travel or immersive service programs.
  • Demonstrated ability to manage complex, multi-region projects and logistics across diverse teams and stakeholders.
  • Strong leadership, communication, and relationship-building skills, with the ability to work independently and collaboratively in a fast-paced, mission-driven environment.
  • Cross-cultural competency and experience working in international settings.
  • Calm under pressure with sound judgment in risk management and emergency decision-making.
  • Highly organized with exceptional attention to detail.

buildOn is an equal opportunity employer. For more information about buildOn, please visit: www.buildon.org


 

 

Our Commitment to Equity, Diversity and Inclusion

buildOn is committed to building and maintaining an inclusive environment that drives innovation, strengthens ONE buildOn and bolsters a culture where people truly feel valued, heard and respected. buildOn provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color religion, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, marital status, amnesty, or veteran status.

To learn more about buildOn, please visit our website at www.buildOn.org.

Share

Apply for this position

Required*
We've received your resume. Click here to update it.
Attach resume or Paste resume
Attach resume as .pdf, .doc, .docx, .odt, .txt, or .rtf (limit 5MB) or Paste resume

Paste your resume here or Attach resume file

To comply with government Equal Employment Opportunity and/or Affirmative Action reporting regulations, we are requesting (but NOT requiring) that you enter this personal data. This information will not be used in connection with any employment decisions, and will be used solely as permitted by state and federal law. Your voluntary cooperation would be appreciated. Learn more.
Invitation for Job Applicants to Self-Identify as a U.S. Veteran
  • A “disabled veteran” is one of the following:
    • a veteran of the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service who is entitled to compensation (or who but for the receipt of military retired pay would be entitled to compensation) under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; or
    • a person who was discharged or released from active duty because of a service-connected disability.
  • A “recently separated veteran” means any veteran during the three-year period beginning on the date of such veteran's discharge or release from active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval, or air service.
  • An “active duty wartime or campaign badge veteran” means a veteran who served on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service during a war, or in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized under the laws administered by the Department of Defense.
  • An “Armed forces service medal veteran” means a veteran who, while serving on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service, participated in a United States military operation for which an Armed Forces service medal was awarded pursuant to Executive Order 12985.
Veteran status


Voluntary Self-Identification of Disability
Voluntary Self-Identification of Disability Form CC-305
OMB Control Number 1250-0005
Expires 05/31/2026
Why are you being asked to complete this form?

We are a federal contractor or subcontractor. The law requires us to provide equal employment opportunity to qualified people with disabilities. We have a goal of having at least 7% of our workers as people with disabilities. The law says we must measure our progress towards this goal. To do this, we must ask applicants and employees if they have a disability or have ever had one. People can become disabled, so we need to ask this question at least every five years.

Completing this form is voluntary, and we hope that you will choose to do so. Your answer is confidential. No one who makes hiring decisions will see it. Your decision to complete the form and your answer will not harm you in any way. If you want to learn more about the law or this form, visit the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) website at www.dol.gov/ofccp.

How do you know if you have a disability?

A disability is a condition that substantially limits one or more of your “major life activities.” If you have or have ever had such a condition, you are a person with a disability. Disabilities include, but are not limited to:

  • Alcohol or other substance use disorder (not currently using drugs illegally)
  • Autoimmune disorder, for example, lupus, fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis, HIV/AIDS
  • Blind or low vision
  • Cancer (past or present)
  • Cardiovascular or heart disease
  • Celiac disease
  • Cerebral palsy
  • Deaf or serious difficulty hearing
  • Diabetes
  • Disfigurement, for example, disfigurement caused by burns, wounds, accidents, or congenital disorders
  • Epilepsy or other seizure disorder
  • Gastrointestinal disorders, for example, Crohn's Disease, irritable bowel syndrome
  • Intellectual or developmental disability
  • Mental health conditions, for example, depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorder, schizophrenia, PTSD
  • Missing limbs or partially missing limbs
  • Mobility impairment, benefiting from the use of a wheelchair, scooter, walker, leg brace(s) and/or other supports
  • Nervous system condition, for example, migraine headaches, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis (MS)
  • Neurodivergence, for example, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorder, dyslexia, dyspraxia, other learning disabilities
  • Partial or complete paralysis (any cause)
  • Pulmonary or respiratory conditions, for example, tuberculosis, asthma, emphysema
  • Short stature (dwarfism)
  • Traumatic brain injury
Please check one of the boxes below:

PUBLIC BURDEN STATEMENT: According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 no persons are required to respond to a collection of information unless such collection displays a valid OMB control number. This survey should take about 5 minutes to complete.

You must enter your name and date
Human Check*