Operations Associate

POSITION SUMMARY

The Operations Associate will support the operations side of the Communities for Just Schools Fund (CJSF). They will provide support to the Executive Director, Chief of Staff, Deputy Director of Development and Director of Narrative and Communications and report to the Chief of Staff. The Operations Associate will partner with these leaders stewarding finance, human resources, culture, internal systems and administration, development, and communications. The Operations Associate will work in coordination with other staff to ensure that the internal operations, culture, management and systems, and coordination across these bodies of work run efficiently.

ABOUT CJSF

Communities for Just Schools Fund (CJSF) is a national collaborative that links philanthropy with the power of grassroots organizing to transform schools. CJSF’s partner network includes 80 organizations across 22 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and Ontario, Canada. CJSF has a current budget of more than $8.5M and is supported by a donor table of approximately 17 foundations and philanthropic donors. CJSF supports grassroots organizing groups of parents, students, educators, narrative producers, arts and cultural organizers, healers and community members coming together to learn about and address specific challenges and build momentum for the transformation of public education and education in the community. CJSF provides a combination of long-term multi-year grants, capacity building and technical assistance, convening, and liberatory education to our partners. Our partners’ education-specific work includes organizing around dismantling the school-to-prison pipeline, ensuring police-free schools, investing in culturally affirming social-emotional learning and mental health supports, liberatory curricula and pedagogy, restorative and transformative justice, parent partnerships, meaningful youth engagement, participatory budgeting, and much more.

CJSF’s long-term, sustained support of its local-, state-, and in some cases national-level organizing partners is grounded in our commitment to ensuring that the education justice movement has the resources and support necessary to build long-term change grounded in abolitionist principles, liberatory education, organizer and community leadership, and removing structural and systemic inequality. Building on a seven-year track record, CJSF has: 1) Moved more than $26 million in core support to partners in the field of education justice since 2016; 2) Encouraged funders to become more equitable and relational in their philanthropic practices; 3) Curated a rich suite of learning opportunities for partners, donors, members, and other stakeholders; 4) Served as a vocal advocate for education justice through federal strategies work, as well as through narrative power-building efforts; 5) Invested in crucial base-building, power-building and network aligning efforts; and 6) Catalyzed powerful policy wins.

Led by a woman of color and with a dedicated growing team of six staffers who work virtually across the country, CJSF is poised to hire an Operations Associate with exceptional administrative, finance, communications, and project management skills. This leader will report to the Chief of Staff, and also provide support to the Deputy Director of Development and Director of Narrative and Communications.

ABOUT NEW VENTURE FUND

CJSF is a project of New Venture Fund (NVF), a 501(c)(3) public charity that incubates new & innovative public-interest projects & grant-making programs. NVF is committed to attracting, developing, and retaining exceptional people, and to creating a work environment that is dynamic, rewarding and enables each of us to realize our potential. NVF’s work environment is safe and open to all employees and partners, respecting the full spectrum of race, color, religious creed, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, political affiliation, ancestry, age, disability, genetic information, veteran status, & all other classifications protected by law in the locality and/or state in which you work.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

The Operations Associate will support the operations side of the house to ensure efficient and impactful internal and external communications, internal coordination between departments, and effective and ease-filled operation of internal systems in the following ways:

Administrative Support (Communications 30%)

• Collaborate with Director of Communications and Director of Movement Partnerships to prepare external communications (e.g. social media, newsletters, blog posts) that celebrate our community organizing partners and the education justice movement
• Co-build and maintain a CRM contact and information database and ensure accuracy of data for various stakeholders of the organization- including updating listservs for partners, donors, peer organizations, communications outlets, and field leaders.
• Collect data from various stakeholders across the organization (partners, donors, grantmakers) to support the presentation of quarterly and/or annual report data in partnership with program associates and directors in Development, Movement Partnerships, TA and Capacity Building, and
• Manage subscriptions for digital and communications platforms that support connection with internal and external
• Maintain of the website, fund newsletter, and support the liaising and acquisition of content from the program associates and directors of various CJSF program departments
• Support the management of social media and other communications platforms in partnership with other program associates and directors.

Administrative Support (Internal Operations, Finance and Contracts & Human Resources 30%)

• Support the Chief of Staff with managing internal operations, staff wide calendars and processes that reflect organizational priorities and major deadlines
• Plan and co-manage the smooth coordination of internal staff-wide communications, activities and processes including staff retreats, annual planning meetings, annual budgeting and planning with the Chief of Staff and Executive Director
• Support the Chief of staff in managing internal operations including staff evaluations and learning, staff development, and other human resources related processes
• Ensure all administrative and operational systems are running smoothly (including expense/reporting systems, project management, organizational calendars, etc)
• Coordinate with all department directors and associates to ensure collective tracking of organizational budgets and expenses
• Liaise with our fiscal sponsor NVF to provide updates, share correspondence, and manage contracts and expenses, and other relevant coordination with our fiscal sponsor
• Manage recurring organizational payments for subscriptions and internal organizational platforms and processes such as a CRM, Slack, Googlesuite, Constant Contact, etc.
• Support with onboarding of new staff to the organization
• Support with the upkeep of organizational manuals and the documentation of organization-wide protocols and practices
• Support the Chief of Staff and senior leadership team to ensure we are a learning organization that embodies our values and constantly improves our practices
• Ensure the continued learning and improvement of organization wide systems, practices and sustainable culture including analysis and implementation of new frameworks such as healing justice approaches and core competencies skills required.

Project Management + Administrative Support (Development Department 40%)

• Provide administrative support to the Deputy Director of Development to organize staff trainings, build and maintain development systems, arrange meetings with donors and funders, and draft correspondence and materials as needed
• Provide project management support to the annual development work plan
• Provide additional donor management and other development related support to the Deputy Director of Development and Executive Director including drafting grant applications and reports, preparing Powerpoint Presentations for quarterly donor meetings, etc.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Strong project management, finance and budget, planning, administrative, and organizational skills
• Strong written communication skills and proven success liaising and providing administrative and operational support to senior leaders
• A demonstrated commitment to advancing intersectional racial justice and equity, building Black/Brown solidarity, and advancing healing and wellness in movement spaces
• Deep understanding of community organizing praxis and theories of change (including base-building, leadership development, & political education)
• Knowledgeable about the power, needs, and unique challenges faced by youth, educator, and caregiver of color-led organizations and of intergenerational and multi-cultural community organizations
• Background in contract and budget management, communications platforms, project management systems, or human resource systems
• Knowledge of and experience with these issue areas addressed by CJSF partners as they relate to racial justice in education: school climate, discipline, and safety; police abolition; culturally relevant-sustaining curriculum and pedagogies; social-emotional learning; queer and indigenous liberation; disability justice; restorative and transformative justice; privatization and disaster

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• 7+ years in nonprofit or philanthropy, human resources, project management, administrative or operational services to senior level leaders
• BA or Masters in related fields including business management, nonprofit management, human resources, or project management OR proven track record and 7+ years experience in communications, human resources, or development
• Spanish proficiency and/or fluency a plus
• Excellent writer and communicator particularly in social justice fields
• Technology savvy with a knowledge of Googlesuite, Microsoft Outlook, Instagram, Facebook, Linked In and other social media platforms or a quick self-learner
• Experience developing or working in CRM database systems such as Salesforce, Mailchimp, Constant Contact, or others
• Experience in human resource management including self or team evaluations and learning for improvement
• Knowledge and experience tracking expenses and managing budgets, subscriptions
• Relevant experience in philanthropy, communications, development or fundraising, and

ATTRIBUTES

• Exceptional attention to detail
• Superb interpersonal and relationship-building skills
• Compassionate and responsive to the needs of our movement partners and other stakeholders
• Sense of humor
• Collaborative worker with strong lateral, upward and downward management skills that produces impactful results
• Self-starter, accountable, and committed to excellence and growth
• Takes initiative, reliable, and consistent follow-through across a varied workload
• Readiness to work independently when needed, to take on new tasks, and to give and receive feedback
• Troubleshooter who always thinks ahead 2-3 steps
• Thoughtful steward of process
• Committed to improvement and takes the lead on building healthy and effective infrastructure with a futurist orientation
• Calm and consistent under pressure

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS

The salary range for this position is $100,000 to $120,000 yearly, commensurate with experience, plus a competitive benefits package that includes health coverage, retirement benefits, paid sick leave, vacation and holidays, professional development support and more. Final offers for the role will be based upon several factors including the position requirements, candidate’s experience level, and capabilities. We offer a comprehensive benefits package that includes 100% employer-paid health, dental, and vision insurance for employees (and their families). Employees are able to enroll in 401k retirement plan and are eligible for a 3% automatic contribution and up to a 3% employer match on 401k contributions. Employees are also eligible for pre-tax transportation benefits. Employees will receive up to 80 hours of health leave, up to 2 days of casual leave, and 20 hours of volunteer leave annually and be able to accrue up to 120 hours of vacation time per year. Employees will also receive 13 paid holidays throughout the calendar year. Employees are eligible for 12 weeks of paid family and medical leave after 90 days of employment.

APPLICATION PROCESS

Application deadline: October 1, 2023. To apply, please send a cover letter and resume, two writing or work samples (for example, a project management template you’ve developed, a fundraising proposal, draft organizational budget with budget narrative, communications materials you’ve written or a list of social media handles you’ve managed), and a list of 3 references with affiliation and description of relationship as one combined PDF to the Communities for Just Schools Fund at info@cjsfund.org. No phone calls please.

New Venture Fund Careers

The Communities for Just Schools Fund is a project of New Venture Fund (NVF), a 501(c)(3) public charity that incubates new and innovative public-interest projects and grant-making programs. NVF is committed to attracting, developing and retaining exceptional people, and to creating a work environment that is dynamic, rewarding and enables each of us to realize our potential. NVF’s work environment is safe and open to all employees and partners, respecting the full spectrum of race, color, religious creed, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, political affiliation, ancestry, age, disability, genetic information, veteran status, and all other classifications protected by law in the locality and/or state in which you are working.

New Venture Fund COVID-10 Vaccination Policy

To center the safety and well-being of its employees, CJSF requires that any employee who is required to conduct in-person activities for their job must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 within four weeks of their start date. This position may require candidates to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Accommodations may be sought and approved in accordance with the law by contacting human resources at HR@newventurefund.org.