| Position Title: | Program Associate |
| Reports To: | Program Manager |
| Classification: | Full-Time Contractor (Remote, 40 Hours/Week) |
About Mountaintop
Mountaintop International is a nonprofit that builds the inner capacity, or “human infrastructure,” of local leaders worldwide in order for their communities to flourish.
We work with individuals, mission-driven organizations, and public institutions to: 1) build the capacity of values-driven local leaders to deepen and scale their impact and drive systems change; 2) support a global ecosystem of individuals and organizations cultivating human infrastructure; and 3) provide a global platform that helps local leaders develop research, policies, and education initiatives that strengthen their communities’ capacity to drive their own development.
In the spirit of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., whose “Mountaintop” speech called for a locally led movement to stir our global consciousness, we are proud champions of a global revolution that puts people first so that every community can lead its own future.
Mountaintop’s fellowships support the world’s most promising local leaders to deepen and scale their impact in low-income communities. Our Fellows receive: 1) world class leadership training at institutions like the Harvard Edmond & Lily Safra Center of Ethics and NYU Stern Initiative on Purpose and Flourishing; 2) 1:1 mentorship and professional coaching; and 3) ongoing access to funding, visibility, and a global peer network.
Our Team’s Values
Mountaintop strives to uphold the following values on its team:
- Staff well-being. We are adamantly opposed to a burnout culture that sacrifices the health of our team for the sake of impact. We encourage team members to use their paid time off and vacations, avoid emails outside working hours or on the weekends except in emergencies, and prioritize personal check-ins at every team meeting.
- Remote first workplace. Our entire team is remote, and we create a healthy work environment around this structure. Every team member sets their own hours that are transparently shared with the rest of the team. We do not expect people to take meetings in early mornings or late at night, except in emergencies. We focus on results, not constant monitoring of whether someone is online.
- Radical ownership. Every team member is responsible for key performance indicators (KPIs), but they are not told how to achieve them. It is up to the team member to be creative and use their proximate knowledge to come up with the best solutions. There is no micro-management from other members of the team, only collaboration, consulting, and accountability to KPIs.
- Transparency. We are committed to sharing even sensitive information with all teammates, including pay ranges for each position in the organization, our annual budget, and Board of Directors meeting notes. We also own our mistakes transparently on our website.
- Gratitude. Each team meeting, we end with gratitude for someone else on the team. We constantly thank people for their work via email and publicly praise one another in front of Fellows and partners. We strive to recognize every contribution, no matter how small.
- World Class Excellence. We aim to be one of the most operationally excellent organizations in the world, which means we hold each other to the highest standards. We constantly provide clear and kind feedback and coach one another in order to become extraordinary leaders.
What We Look For
No matter the role, we are looking for people who:
- Believe that no work is beneath them and take pride in doing the small things well.
- Genuinely enjoy being part of a team and contributing to shared success.
- Care deeply about execution and follow-through, not just ideas or intentions.
- Take satisfaction in seeing others succeed, even when they do not receive personal credit.
- Are motivated to work hard when inspired by a mission larger than themselves.
- Are energized by a fast-paced, high-performance startup environment. They are comfortable with change, shifting priorities, and a high volume of meaningful work, and they see these conditions as opportunities to take initiative and grow quickly into greater responsibility by consistently delivering results.
- Value regular praise and actively seek out constructive feedback to improve their work.
- Are continuously working to grow personally and professionally.
- Take full ownership of their responsibilities and stand behind the quality of their output.
- Ask thoughtful questions and are naturally curious about how systems work — and how they can work better.
- Bring an entrepreneurial mindset and look for opportunities to improve, streamline, or innovate.
- Are driven by real impact rather than the appearance of impact.
- Are open to new experiences, experimentation, and trying unfamiliar things.
- Are energized by sharing and helping others, even in small ways.
- Are exceptionally reliable with follow-through. When they say something will be done, it gets done — on time and to a high standard — without reminders.
- Are clear communicators within distributed teams. They proactively communicate context, timelines, and constraints so others are never guessing.
- Are culturally grounded and globally fluent. They approach cross-cultural work with humility, curiosity, and respect — especially in lower-income country contexts.
- Are service-oriented. They take genuine satisfaction in supporting others — Fellows, teammates, partners — and making their work easier and more effective.
- Have high standards with low ego. They care deeply about quality and excellence while remaining humble, coachable, and collaborative.
- Feel a strong sense of responsibility for the people we serve and are motivated by making a meaningful difference in their lives. They approach their work with care, empathy, and a commitment to doing things right.
We are building a team where everyone belongs. We value all backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives, and we strongly encourage women and people from underserved groups to apply — even if you do not meet 100% of the qualifications. If you need a reasonable accommodation at any point in the process, please let us know.
Position Summary
In close collaboration with the Programs Team and the Program Manager, the Program Associate will support the end to end coordination, implementation, and continuous improvement of a select number of Mountaintop’s fellowship programs and global community initiatives. This role plays a central part in ensuring the consistent, high quality delivery of Mountaintop’s leadership programs by managing program operations, coordinating logistics, supporting recruitment and outreach, and contributing to workshop and event facilitation. The Program Associate will help create a seamless and meaningful experience for Fellows across the full program lifecycle, from onboarding through alumni engagement.
In addition to program delivery, the Program Associate will support community and alumni engagement efforts by coordinating events, facilitating participation, maintaining accurate records, and strengthening ongoing relationships across Mountaintop’s global network. The role also includes supporting communications initiatives and providing operational and executive support to organizational leadership to ensure effective coordination across priorities.
This is a fast paced, growth oriented contractor role with the potential to convert to an employee position at Mountaintop’s discretion, based on organizational needs and demonstrated impact in the role. The position includes opportunities to manage and participate in person leadership institutes and retreats, including travel as required. The position also includes opportunities to participate in online leadership courses and receive 1:1 coaching from the Mountaintop Advisors Program alongside Fellows. The role is fully remote and full time (40 hours per week).
This is a growth-oriented role intended for individuals who are motivated to take increasing ownership and responsibility over time. High-performing Program Associates may have opportunities to advance into more senior program leadership roles as Mountaintop grows, with expanded scope, leadership responsibility, and significantly higher compensation aligned with those roles.
The Program Associate reports to the Program Manager, who oversees Fellowships and the Global Community, and works closely with the CEO and the broader Programs Team to support Mountaintop’s mission and operational excellence.
Essential Functions
Essential functions, as defined under the Americans with Disabilities Act, may include the following tasks, knowledge, skills and other characteristics. This list of tasks is illustrative ONLY and is not a comprehensive listing of all functions and tasks performed by individuals in this role. It does not imply that all positions within the class perform all the duties listed, nor does it necessarily list all possible duties that may be assigned.
Program Execution and Delivery
- Support the day to day coordination, implementation, recruitment outreach, workshop facilitation, and follow through of Mountaintop’s fellowship programs.
- Manage program timelines, calendars, and operational workflows to ensure all activities are executed consistently, on time, and at a high standard of quality.
- Coordinate logistics for virtual and in person program activities, including scheduling sessions, managing materials, tracking participation, and supporting facilitators and speakers.
- Ensure a seamless Fellow experience across the program lifecycle, from onboarding through completion, by proactively identifying gaps, risks, and opportunities for improvement.
- Support monitoring, evaluation, and feedback collection efforts, including surveys and qualitative inputs, to assess program effectiveness and participant outcomes.
- Contribute to maintaining high program satisfaction and excellence benchmarks, aligned with organizational KPIs related to Fellow experience, learning impact, and overall program quality.
- Collaborate with the team as needed to support program delivery, special projects, and organizational priorities.
- Contribute to continuous improvement by identifying operational efficiencies, documenting processes, and sharing insights from program implementation.
Community Engagement
- Support the planning and execution of community engagement initiatives designed to foster connection, participation, and meaningful interaction across Mountaintop’s global community.
- Work with the programs team to support peer led activities, events, and community engagement pathways.
- Coordinate online community platforms, communications, and event logistics and facilitation to ensure a welcoming, well organized, and high quality experience for participants.
- Track participation, engagement, and feedback data across community activities to inform improvements and support growth while maintaining high standards.
- Work closely with the Program Manager to strengthen community culture, rhythm, and consistency across initiatives.
Alumni Engagement
- Support alumni communications, engagement opportunities, and programming to encourage continued connection and long term participation beyond fellowship completion.
- Coordinate and facilitate alumni events, workshops, and networking opportunities in alignment with annual engagement goals.
- Maintain accurate records of alumni participation and engagement across cohorts.
- Support relationship building with alumni by ensuring timely communication, follow up, and inclusion in relevant Mountaintop activities and initiatives.
Other Activities
- Support content research and idea generation for Mountaintop’s communication platforms and campaigns.
- Perform additional operational or program related duties as assigned in a fast paced, mission driven environment.
Qualifications
Education
We believe that formal academic qualification is not an effective indicator of what a person is passionate about or what they can do. There is no formal academic degree requirement.
Experience
- Required
- 5+ years of full-time professional experience working in leadership development, fellowships, program delivery, education, operations, project management, event management, and/or talent management is required.
- Strongly Preferred
- 10+ years of experience living or working in lower income countries is strongly preferred but not required.
- Preferred
- 2+ years experience working full-time with international organizations in the for-profit, non-profit, or government sector is preferred but not required.
- Valued
- 2+ years experience working full-time with organizations in the leadership development or fellowships space is valued but not required.
- Fluency in French, Spanish, or Arabic is valued but not required.
Knowledge, Skills, and Attributes
- Learning Attitude: You are open to learning, receptive to feedback, and proactive in applying it to improve your work.
- Mission-Driven: You are deeply motivated by Mountaintop’s mission, vision, and values, and are passionate about advancing transformational leadership in lower-income communities. Your colleagues can rely on you to give your best and act in the organization’s spirit of purpose and collaboration.
- Clear Verbal and Written Communication: You communicate effectively in English with a diverse range of stakeholders, including Fellows, hosts, mentors, and event speakers.
- Detail-Oriented: You bring strong project management skills, maintaining a high level of accuracy and organization while keeping the larger goals in perspective.
- Efficient and Reliable: You manage multiple priorities with ease, meet deadlines consistently, and deliver high-quality work in a timely manner.
Benefits
$1,236 USD/month
Paid each month (Mountaintop covers fees). Due to Mountaintop’s budget, this compensation is non-negotiable. Mountaintop cannot sponsor work visas to the United States at this time.
Flexible work hours assuming at least 5 hours/week of overlap with a 8:30am-5pm EST schedule.
Physical Requirements and Working Conditions
This position requires:
- Normal periods of sitting, standing and walking, typically in a home office environment.
- Typing/data entry on keyboard.
- Normal vision and hearing (with or without correction).
- Speaking one-on-one and in a group setting.
- Travel to conferences, trainings, and events via airplane or car (approximately annually).
The majority of work will be performed remotely from a home office. The home office must have a stable, fast Internet connection and be a moderately quiet space. Must be able to participate in events in various geographic locations and weather conditions.
Selection Process
Apply here. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis.
Those who submit an application will be contacted within a few weeks about next steps. The top candidates will be invited to complete a paid trial task (we offer a $20 electronic payment for a 60 minute task to compensate candidates for their time).
Top candidates will then complete up to two 45 minute 1:1 interviews, first with our Program Manager and then with our CEO. Both interviews include questions about personality, behavior, past experiences, and cultural fit, as well as a live simulation of a task related to the role. For the Program Manager interview, there will be a document sent to review 30 minutes before the interview to prepare for the live simulation.
Top candidates will then be asked for three references. After references, Mountaintop will make an offer to the top candidate.
Acknowledgements:
All the above duties and responsibilities are essential position functions for which reasonable accommodation will be made. All position requirements listed indicate the minimum level of knowledge, skills, and/or ability deemed necessary to perform the position proficiently. This position description is not to be construed as an exhaustive statement of duties and responsibilities or requirements and the staff member may be required to perform other position-related duties as requested by their supervisor. This document does not create a contract, implied or otherwise, other than an “at will” relationship.
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Staff Member’s Signature Date
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Manager’s Signature Date