Democracy at Work Institute (DAWI) seeks an energetic, experienced, self-directed and collaborative person to join our dynamic national organization supporting the expansion of democratic employee ownership. 

About the Job

The Operations Manager will work closely with the Executive Director, program staff, operations staff, board members and volunteers, to ensure that everyone in our mostly-remote organization has the tools and supports necessary to do their work well. They will set up, monitor and maintain systems for the Oakland, New York City, and remote offices, ensuring that the Institute’s infrastructure supports effective programs and fundraising and a happy, productive team. 

We are looking for an operations wizard. This position requires an unusual set of skills — technological, systems, and human — and we are seeking someone who really enjoys operations/administrative work and wants to do it for the foreseeable future. If you have a larger picture of how organizations work and what they need, perhaps from working in other nonprofit program or leadership roles, that’s a plus. We are a high-functioning, close-knit staff with a healthy respect for the operations work, and we want to work with a skilled and reliable colleague. This position has potential to grow as the organization grows.

Operations and Systems Administration (45%)

• Manage email and phone inquiries; route to appropriate staffer for follow-up
• Provide IT support for main and remote offices, making sure technological systems are appropriate and functioning to support our team to do their jobs.
• Maintain and support IT hardware and software across the organization
• Support IT troubleshooting and accessing outside support 
• Maintain organized electronic (Box, Google docs) and physical files 
• Support and work with Finance Manager
• Maintain office and program supplies
• Maintain staff travel calendar; assist staff in planning travel. Ensure that standard preparation, debrief and reporting happen for all staff travel events
• Provide operations and logistics support for event planning, including bi-annual national conference 

Executive Administration (20%)

• Manage the Executive Director’s calendar. Support scheduling, meetings, and travel
• Support the administrative and logistical needs of the Board of Directors, mostly meeting scheduling and preparation; some onboarding and offboarding tasks (i.e. coordinate retreats and  Executive Director evaluation, Executive Committee support)
• Work with the ED to assess the organization’s systems needs. Continually synthesize fragmented para-systems. Research, propose and lead new systems implementation

Database Support (20%)

• Manage and perform routine data entry and data cleaning
• Support the collection of metrics and evaluations for annual reporting
• Assist Metrics and Impact Analyst with database design and development

Human Resources Administration (10%)

• Coordinate the hiring committee’s recruitment, interviewing and onboarding for new hires
• Coordinate and support employee offboarding processes
• Maintain employee evaluation calendar and records
• Coordinate annual benefits enrollment
• Collaborate with Member Personnel Committee on policy development and implementation
• Bottom line all HR records/file management, including all contractor and employee files
• Oversee the 360 evaluation process for staff and the executive director. 

Contracts and Grants Administration (5%)

• Manage fundraising and reporting calendar and deadlines; provide prompts and support
• Support Contracts Manager to maintain and organize contracts with clients and vendors, manage client pipeline and prospecting.

Skills and Qualities We Seek

We are seeking someone with strong tech skills, excellent proactive communication habits, and experience developing and supporting systems with real people in mind. 

Required: 

• Basic operations experience: at least 4 years of experience in an admin or operations role. 
• Full competency with basic office tools: Microsoft Office Suite, GSuite, online project management systems, remote file systems, online/remote meeting tools.
• Facility with new technology: you can learn and teach programs to take the organization to the next level of cybersecurity and functionality, and you are willing to approach tech troubleshooting without fear or frustration. 
• Database, data entry and data management experience (CiviCRM is a plus but we can teach you if you know databases generally).
• Strong organizational skills, task-tracking and 100% follow-through on deadlines: you are able to set priorities, manage time well, establish realistic deadlines and meet them consistently.   
• Strong written and oral communication skills across all mediums.

• Initiative and ability to anticipate organizational needs: you can identify gaps, improve systems, and implement effective operations models. 
• Remote work: you like to work independently and can prioritize and execute day to day tasks, with self-management systems in place.

Desired

• Basic budgeting and bookkeeping skills; familiarity with Quickbooks.
• HR and benefits administration experience.
• Passion for social justice, racial equity, small business, and/or labor organizing; willingness to build familiarity with employee ownership and worker cooperatives
• We value emotional intelligence, kindness, and sense of humor. Diplomacy, judgment, and discretion are important in this position.  

About DAWI

The Institute is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit movement-based think-and-do tank that expands the promise of cooperative business ownership to communities most directly affected by economic, social, and racial inequality. We do research and advocacy; we develop tools and new models; we train worker-owners and developers; and we build cooperative development capacity to ensure that further growth in the worker cooperative movement reaches low-income people, people of color and recent immigrants. In all our work, as well as internal operations, we strive to embody our organizational values of Excellence, Equity, Entrepreneurialism, Collaboration, and Human-Centeredness. We are affiliated with the US Federation of Worker Cooperatives, the national grassroots membership organization. All programs integrate USFWC member input and foreground the experience of worker cooperatives.

 

Started in 2013, DAWI is a relatively young organization, and all staffers are expected to help build organizational capacity, including organizational processes and documents. We love our work, and we work hard, but we also strive for work-life balance. We are a small team with extremely low staff turnover. Full-time staff are eligible for membership in the organization after 6 months of employment. Members are eligible to serve on the board of directors, elect two directors, and participate in the strategic guidance of the organization. 

 

We are a remote organization with offices in Oakland and New York. This allows us to have staff all over the country, and to create flexible working hours and locations. It can also be challenging for developing systems, getting buy-in for their use, and maintaining consistency of practice —a key part of this job. All staff are expected to be able and willing to learn and help improve the technological tools for remote working. A certain amount of travel for all staffers is expected and supported. For this position, we prefer someone who can work out of our Oakland office, but we will consider strong candidates from all locations. We are open to contractors.

 

Notice of Non­discrimination

Democracy at Work Institute (DAWI) is committed to a multi-racial and class-diverse staff that reflects the future of worker cooperatives. Women, people of color and others who may be underrepresented at senior levels of the nonprofit workforce are strongly encouraged to apply. DAWI is committed to equal opportunity for all persons without regard to sex, age, race, color, religion, creed, national origin, marital status, disability, or sexual orientation, and any other class of individuals protected from discrimination under state or federal law. It is the policy of DAWI to comply with all federal, state, and local laws and regulations regarding equal opportunity. In keeping with that policy, DAWI is committed to maintaining a work environment that is free of unlawful discrimination and harassment. Accordingly, DAWI will not tolerate unlawful discrimination against or harassment of any of our employees or others present at our facilities by anyone, including any supervisor, co­worker, vendor, client, or customer of DAWI.

 

Compensation and Benefits

$50,000-$65,000 depending on experience. DAWI offers full health benefits coverage for employees, including dental and vision; participation in a 401(k) plan; a generous time-off policy; and a professional development budget.

 

How to Apply

Email a cover letter, resume, and two references to hiring@institute.coop. Cover letters should be addressed to the Hiring Committee and include a 2-3 paragraph statement of interest describing how your skills and experiences qualify you for the position. Include the subject line “Application for Operations Manager position.” All materials should be submitted in PDF format. Deadline to apply: October 25, 2019.