About the Organization

Heal the Bay stands out as the most recognized environmental nonprofit group in LA for a reason: since 1985, we have been dedicated to maintaining the safety, health, and cleanliness of Southern California’s coastal waters and watersheds, both for people and marine life. Through the combined efforts of education, science, advocacy, and community action, we strive to raise awareness and implement practical solutions to address complex water quality issues.

Every year, we organize hundreds of beach and community cleanups, actively engaging individuals and informing them about the root causes of pollution along shorelines and in their neighborhoods. Additionally, we offer easily accessible water quality data for over 700 beaches along the West Coast, as well as local freshwater recreation sites.

Advocating for stringent water quality regulations is a crucial part of our mission, aimed at safeguarding the health of both humans and the diverse array of animals that inhabit local creeks, rivers, and the Santa Monica Bay.

Moreover, we proudly operate the award-winning Heal the Bay Aquarium at the Santa Monica Pier, inspiring visitors to become stewards of our most vital natural resource: clean water.

About the Role

Under the supervision of the Aquarium’s Associate Director of Programs, the Public Programs Manager will fill the primary role of providing high-quality customer service while creating public educational content and programming, as well as leading public program operations, special events, birthday parties, and retail operations. Leads a team of public programs associates, volunteers, and interns and prioritizes the organization's strategic initiatives through collaborative communication internally and externally.

Essential Job Functions Include:

• Manage public programs team including staff, interns, and volunteers by motivating, coaching, training and developing them towards optimum performance
• Develop skills and oversee special projects of staff, volunteers, and interns related to strategic planning, revenue goals, and program growth
• Oversee the daily operations of public programs during all business hours including admissions, retail, and visitor experience
• Minimize the number and complexity of revenue generating activities. Devote maximum resources to highest ROI drivers
• Listen, understand, and address the needs of our visitors, employees, and volunteers while creating a welcoming environment that supports Heal the Bay’s mission of fostering inclusivity, dignity, and respect
• Create content and exhibit enhancements as needed, as well as managing and leading themed weekends, special events, birthday parties, and general public programs
• Support retail operations through inventory management, ordering, pricing merchandising, marketing, and advertising
• Work closely with the communications team to ensure marketing and communication efforts are integrated and optimized on event, program, and department levels
• Help to increase awareness of Heal the Bay’s mission and visibility for the Aquarium, and be an advocate for our strategic initiatives
• Assist in office management, including supply ordering and maintaining Green Business Certification and Associate of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) best practices
• Oversee the development and use of effective standard operating procedures, implementation, and monitoring programs to ensure that all policies and procedures are appropriately and effectively followed
• Contribute positively to the leadership team and foster a culture of great communication and collaboration organization-wide
• Contribute to maintaining a safe and secure environment for all people and creatures

• Management experience and proven success working as part of a diverse team
• Experience with, or interest in learning about, working with animals and educating about animals, including familiarity with Santa Monica Bay marine organisms and ecosystems
• Excellent communication, customer service, and public speaking skills
• Conversational-level knowledge of at least two languages is strongly preferred, with a preference for Spanish
• Knowledge of major social media platforms (e.g., Facebook, Twitter, Instagram), Canva and/or Adobe Creative Suite
• Collaborative and communicate well with a team
• Work independently with minimal supervision and take the initiative
• Experience working with children and fostering positive learning experiences

Heal the Bay is committed to creating a diverse environment and is proud to be an equal-opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age, or veteran status and we strongly encourage applications from individuals that reflect the diversity of Los Angeles County. 

Heal the Bay complies with AB 1008, the Fair Chance Act, during the hiring process. Once a conditional job offer has been made the candidate will be asked to complete a Live Scan criminal background check. A thorough assessment of conviction history will be considered including the nature and gravity of the criminal history, the time that has passed since the conviction, and the nature of the job the candidate is seeking.