Position Overview: Ranch Operations & Equine Program Specialist

This multifaceted role serves as the backbone of our equine-centered nonprofit organization, requiring a unique synthesis of hands-on horsemanship, facility management, the ability to learn equine welfare, and strategic program coordination. The position will teach and train the practical skills of daily ranch operations and provide
administrative insight to advance our organization’s mission-driven work with horses and the communities we serve. Core responsibilities will include:
 

Ranch Management & Facility Operations

The individual will maintain comprehensive oversight of all ranch infrastructure, ensuring our facility operates as a safe, functional, and welcoming environment for horses, staff, volunteers, and program participants. This may include managing pasture rotation and grazing schedules to optimize land health and equine nutrition, coordinating
maintenance and repair of fencing, barns, arenas, round pens, and outbuildings, to support both equine welfare and property sustainability.

 

Equine Care & Welfare Specialization

While working with the Director of Operations, the incumbent will be provided with the opportunity to learn advanced knowledge of horse behavior, health, and training methodologies appropriate for therapeutic, educational, or community programming. Daily responsibilities may include overseeing the health monitoring and wellness protocols for our entire herd, coordinating with veterinarians for routine care, emergencies, and specialized treatments, and developing and implementing training programs that prepare horses for their specific roles in our mission work.
 

Ranch Hand & Daily Operations
 

In addition to learning the equine management and program responsibilities mentioned above, this position remains deeply rooted in the physical work of daily horse care. The participants will perform morning and evening feeding routines, barn cleaning, and stall maintenance, assist with grooming, tacking, riding/exercising horses, and preparing
horses for program activities, and conduct daily visual health checks, monitoring for injuries, illness, or behavioral changes. 

Required Qualifications & Attributes

Success in this role requires a desire to learn or maintain practical horse experience across multiple disciplines, the ability to learn facility management and ranch operations, a desire to learn project management skills with the ability to juggle competing priorities, and the physical capability to perform manual labor in all weather conditions. The participants will need to lift 50 pound bales of hay, stand on their feet for long periods of time, mount and dismount from horseback unassisted, and do other physically demanding jobs around the ranch. Strong interpersonal skills are also essential for working with diverse stakeholders including staff, volunteers, board members, program participants, and vendors.