Director Of People & Operations

POSITION OPENING

Title: Director of People & Operations

Salary Range: $75,000-$85,000

Job Status: Exempt

FTE Status: Full time

Location: The role is primarily remote, with regular team and all-staff meetings taking place virtually. Some travel to staff gatherings is part of this role.

POSITION SUMMARY

Environmental Leadership Program (ELP) is seeking a mission-focused, seasoned, strategic, and process-minded leader with experience working with an organization in transition and developing a healthy, engaged culture among a group of diverse, talented individuals. As an integral member of ELP’s senior team and reporting to the Executive Director, the Director of People & Operations (DPO) will oversee all administrative and human resource functions of the organization and drive process, policy, and systems change with a lens towards an inclusive and supportive culture. This newly reimagined Director role will work closely with senior leadership on organizational design and development, change management, employee development and training, total rewards, performance management, and employee relations. The DPO must be a leader who is able to help others at ELP deliver measurable results that make the vision a reality. It is essential that the DPO develops and maintains efficient, highly functional systems to effectively advance the organization's work. It is also critical that these systems support the creative spark and values-aligned culture that drives ELP's mission.

ORGANIZATIONAL BACKGROUND

The mission of the Environmental Leadership Program is to support visionary, action-oriented, and diverse leadership for a just and sustainable future. ELP aims to catalyze change by providing environmental and social change leaders with the support and guidance they need to launch new endeavors, achieve new successes, and rise to new leadership positions. We believe in a broad definition of leadership that goes beyond positional power and recognizes that leadership is present and possible at all levels of work in our sectors.

ELP runs three major programs: a National and Regional fellowship program with up to 8 regional and national cohorts annually; the Roger Arliner Young (RAY) Fellowship, a two-year paid fellowship to increase and facilitate conservation, energy efficiency, and renewable energy-related career pathways for emerging leaders of color; and the Doris Duke Conservation Scholars Program (DDCSP) Alumni Network. Once they have completed an ELP program, participants become Senior Fellows and ELP facilitates continued programming and events to connect this growing group of alumni in a number of formal and informal ways, from managing a jobs board to hosting all-community retreats.

ELP is currently transitioning new staff, working towards transparent and reorganized financial structures, updating HR policies, and realigning ourselves with the workplace culture that thrives in our programming - a culture rooted in emergence, equity principles, shared leadership, and autonomy. We're making the changes internally that we wish to see in our focus sectors and in the world.

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES

Reporting to the ED, the DPO will lead all internal operations and will have the following responsibilities:

• Work in partnership with the ED and staff to, steward strategic planning process
• Provide immediate, tangible support to staff in HR and operations, including onboarding and off-boarding, understanding and accessing benefits, and effectively using existing systems for expense management.
• Implement new processes and approaches to achieve strategic plan
• Provide for all staff a strong day-to-day leadership presence; bridging programs and supporting an open-door policy among all staff
• Coordinate the annual operations plan and budget

Human Resources

• Upgrade human resources functions including: training, development, compensation and benefits, employee relations, performance evaluation and recruiting, data security and employee privacy
• Cultivate the values of ELP and embed them within the operational systems of the organization
• Bring a perspective of continuous improvement to broadly explore policies and practices that are consistent with ELP’s mission as a leadership development organization (e.g. salaries and raises, leave structures, staffing models, etc.).

Operations

• Support program directors in driving mission impact through operational improvements within teams and synergies between teams
• Act in an advisory role to support coherent and reasonable organization policy and procedure development across programs
• Manage organizational operational contracts, consultants and software vendors Create and implement a strategic technology and security plan for key IT systems such as Salesforce, Google etc.
• Review all organizational policies annually (e.g. HR, IT, operations) and implement collaboratively with ELP teams/staff

Key Qualifications

As a prerequisite, the successful candidate must be in alignment with the core values of ELP and be driven by the mission. The candidate should demonstrate a passion for breaking new ground to lead social change. Beyond that, we are seeking a candidate that has proven experience in supporting a remote organization and a demonstrated ability to both lead and build the capabilities of a driven, bright, diverse team.

As noted, this is an organization driven by the values of its people, so experience in managing a values-driven organization will be highly prized. Our hope is to give a strong sense of what the skills for this position require; if parts of the below requirements may look a little different for you, we encourage you to apply and be comfortable sharing your experience of transferable skills as well as relevant training and work.

Additional requirements include:

• Past experiences in Salesforce and Google administration a plus
• Proficiency in employee relations, talent acquisition, compensation, benefits, compliance, and the ability to nimbly pivot between high-level strategy and tactical delivery.
• Affinity and proven ability using technology to achieve programmatic goals and mission values.
• Demonstrative experience making data-driven decisions
• Bachelor’s degree in human resources, a related field, or equivalent combination of education and work experience
• A track record of implementing new policies, procedures, and training to advance equity and a culture of belonging, including a personal commitment to ongoing learning and development.
• At least 2 years of human resources or people operations experience
• Experience working with a racially and ethnically diverse staff
• Experience with contract management and vendor management
• At least 8 years of professional experience
• Broad experience with the full range of business functions and systems, including strategic development and planning, budgeting, business analysis, finance, information systems, and human resources.

HOW TO APPLY

Please provide a résumé, along with a cover letter that describes your interest in the position and lists any salary requirements you may have. The preferred start date for this position is September 5, 2023.

ELP pays salaries that are competitive with nonprofits of our budget size and offers generous vacation and medical benefits, retirement plan, professional development funds, health and wellness days, and a sabbatical policy. This position is a director-level role with a salary range starting at $75,000.

We strongly encourage applications from Black and Indigenous people, people of color, immigrants, refugees, people with disabilities, members of the LGBTQIA+ community, as well as individuals from other underrepresented and historically marginalized communities. We recognize the lived experiences and leadership of these individuals as being fundamentally relevant to ELP’s work in advancing our mission. Non-traditional candidates are also welcomed and encouraged to apply.

ELP’S NON-DISCRIMINATION POLICY

ELP is committed to the principles of equal opportunity. ELP’s organizational policies, practices, programs, activities and decisions regarding employment, hiring, assignment, promotion, compensation, volunteerism, internships and other terms and conditions of employment or voluntary service shall not be based on a person’s race, color, sex, age, religion, national origin, mental or physical disability, ancestry, military discharge status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, source of income, parental status, housing status, or other protected status, in accordance with applicable law.