Program Manager, Nourish the Service

Job Title: Program Manager, Nourish the Service

Department: Programs

Location: Remote/Virtual within the continental US

Reports to: Vice President, Programs

Classification: Exempt

Position type: Full-Time Employee

Pay Band: $56,000 - $71,000

Blue Star Families

Blue Star Families is the largest nonprofit dedicated to making military life better for families. Each year, we support over 1.5 million military- and veteran-connected family members through a national network of 300,000+ members and local chapters in communities across the country.

Our mission is simple and bold: We make military life awesome for families. We listen, share, partner, and act to deliver evidence-based, data-driven solutions that work for real people. We’re a lifestyle organization, a friend and neighbor, and a trusted partner. Our approach is collaborative, human-centered, and designed with the whole family in mind.

A Blue Star Family is one with an immediate family member — a spouse, parent, or child — actively serving in the U.S. Armed Forces, including the Guard and Reserves. These families face unique challenges, including frequent relocations, deployments, career disruptions, and isolation. We respond with research-informed programs that create connection, build resilience, and foster a true sense of belonging.

We serve with urgency but build trust over time — because change happens at the speed of trust. Whether we’re driving spouse employment, supporting caregivers, or helping communities welcome military families, we strive for upstream solutions.

Who We’re Looking For:

• Bold thinkers. Fast movers. Smart collaborators. People who want to build, lead, and drive measurable change — and who care deeply about making an impact that matters.

What You’ll Do Here:

• Solve complex challenges with data, heart, and humility
• Build cross-sector partnerships that get things done
• Help military families feel at home wherever they live

If you're ready to work in a high-performance, mission-driven environment — and to make life better for those who serve — Blue Star Families is where you belong.

As a fully remote organization, we rely on scheduled in-person gatherings to foster alignment, collaboration, and organizational culture. This role requires the ability to travel out of town overnight several times per year for staff offsites, planning retreats, and company-wide events. These gatherings are essential for connection, brainstorming, and staying strategically aligned across teams. Participation is required as a core part of the role.

General Description

The Program Manager,  Nourish the Service (NTS)  is a driven, enthusiastic, and organized team member in Blue Star Families’ Program department.  This staff member works alongside the  Associate Director, National Programs and Senior Director, Chapter Relations and is responsible for managing the national program strategy; partnering with Blue Star Chapters, Outposts, and military installations to assist in NTS; and tracking the outcomes associated with all food insecurity initiatives at Blue Star Families. The Program Manager will take a leadership role in the Nourish the Service program overseeing the operations of food distribution events and engaging in upstream solutions to combat the issue of military food insecurity. 

The Program Manager, Nourish the Service also plays an integral part in supporting and managing elements of a broader strategic plan that seeks to increase the access to healthy food, foster resilient communities, and increase financial security in military families across our programming portfolio. The Program Manager is a key stakeholder in raising awareness about the organization and improving the member experience. This position serves as a point of contact both internally and externally for all assigned projects and regularly engages with staff, volunteers, and corporate and nonprofit partners to ensure successful project execution. 

While this role is remote, periodic out-of-town, overnight travel is an essential function. In-person time is critical to how we work — enabling deep collaboration, team alignment, creative problem-solving, and a shared sense of purpose. Team members are expected to travel several times per year for offsites, planning sessions, and company-wide gatherings. These events are essential for contributing to team outcomes, building trust across the organization, and staying aligned in a distributed environment. Participation in these in-person gatherings is a required part of the role and integral to successful performance in our remote-first organization.

Key Job Functions

Program Design and Management

• Lead the design, planning, budget, and reporting of the Nourish the Service program to align with the BSF strategic plan. 
• Establish an SOP (Standard Operating Procedure) for conducting a Nourish the Service Event
• Establish a core member experience specific to Nourish the Service Programs
• Collaborate with the Program Evaluation team to develop a set of deliverables that are in alignment with programmatic goals and the broader hunger relief system
• Collaborate with the Program Evaluation team to ensure that deliverables (e.g. number of people served, lbs of food distributed, etc.) are adequately captured for program participants. 
• Serve as an external representative for Nourish the Service  with non-profit partners, government agencies, corporate partners, and media inquiries.

Program Sustainability and Business Development

• Steward relationships with funders and partners, and collaborate with the Development team, to secure long term, sustainable funding for the Nourish the Service program.
• Steward existing corporate relationships with funders and sponsors supporting Blue Star Families’ food insecurity initiatives (including: execute partnership grants, development of quarterly themed activations,  collaborate on budget, and report on impact.) 
• Recruit and train volunteers and Chapter Program staff to grow and sustain Nourish the Service programming.
• Develop, implement, and iterate measures to grow programmatic engagement.
• Collaborate with Chapters and  vents teams on outreach and marketing materials, contacts, and events as needed.
• Assist in the writing of grant proposals and grant reports to ensure the continued growth of Blue Star Families programming efforts.
• Create content as needed around  food security resources (e.g. SNAP; Market Bucks; WIC; Free and Reduced Meal Programs at schools; etc.) for members and external facing audiences.

• Perform other duties as required.

Required Experience, Skills & Background

• Bachelor's degree or comparable experience., 
• 2-4 years experience managing programs
• Cultural competency with the active-duty military family lifestyle.
• Dynamic leader and facilitator with excellent written, verbal, and interpersonal communication skills.
• Extensive knowledge of program development, management, evaluation, and reporting.
• Ability to work and succeed independently while also managing and supporting team efforts in a geographically dispersed, fast-paced organization.
• Comfortable leading multiple projects.
• Experience managing volunteers.
• Strong technology skills including experience with Salesforce (CRM); Google Docs; and comfortable meeting through conference and web calls.
• Experience working with non-profit partner organizations and with military families.
• Familiarity in writing funding proposals, grant reports, evaluations, and strategic plans.
• Ability to travel out of town overnight several times per year for staff offsites, planning retreats, and company-wide events. These gatherings are essential for connection, brainstorming, and staying strategically aligned across teams. Participation is required as a core part of the role.
• May be required to work nights, weekends, and holidays as necessary to carry out key job functions.
• Organized and able to plan well, adapt to changing situations and solve problems effectively.

Desired Experience, Skills & Background

• Works and communicates effectively with people from different backgrounds, and fosters teamwork.
• Experience working in the food insecurity space is a plus.

More About Blue Star Families

Blue Star Families empowers military and Veteran families to thrive by connecting them with their civilian neighbors — both people and organizations — to create strong communities of mutual support. We believe we're all stronger when we take care of one another.

Our groundbreaking research is raising the nation's awareness of the unique challenges of military family life. With the help of neighbors across the country, Blue Star Families is overcoming the isolation and alienation of frequent moves, deployments, and reduced support from the government. Our innovative programs are solving specific challenges for military families, including fighting economic insecurity with resources that foster spouse career development, creating family strength with rich family programming, and providing critical peer support for caregivers, whose numbers are only increasing.

Blue Star Families is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. 

EEO Policy

Blue Star Families is an equal opportunity employer, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, pregnancy, age, national origin, disability status, genetic information, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.