Executive Director, Philadelphia Outward Bound School

Posted by Philadelphia Outward Bound School on February 28, 2023

Founded in 1992, the Philadelphia Outward Bound School (POBS)’s mission is to change lives through challenge and discovery.  A robust $3.4M nonprofit educational organization headquartered and committed to the City of Philadelphia, POBS engaged more than 8,500 youth and adult participants in 2022 in experiential single and multi-day programs that foster character development, leadership and community service. All programs are designed to inspire participants to realize their true potential and stay in compliance with Outward Bound USA (OBUSA) National Safety Standards. POBS is one of 10 regional OBUSA’s schools and serves Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and northern Delaware from its Philadelphia headquarters at The Discovery Center in East Fairmount Park near the Strawberry Mansion neighborhood. POBS is the only Outward Bound school accredited by the Association for Experiential Education (AEE).

POBS is seeking an Executive Director (ED) with extensive leadership experience, preferably with a background in experiential education and/or youth development, and a proven track record in fundraising and building partnerships.

The ED of POBS serves as the senior staff member holding single point accountability for the successful execution of strategy, mission, vision, operations (i.e., student programming, safety, logistics, and administration), fiscal management and funding development for a $3.4M annual budget, and other functions and policies. The ED is the public face of the organization and responsible for leading a staff of approximately 30 full-time employees and 25 seasonal instructors.

The Executive Director reports and is accountable to the POBS Board of Trustees. The ED works collaboratively with board and staff members to assure the organization is delivering the highest caliber programs that are responsive to regional community needs and demands for the Outward Bound program. As a chartered member of OBUSA, the POBS ED plays a leadership role in collaborative work across the network, and benefits from knowledge and experiences shared among peer EDs.

Full job description and application information.