Operations Project Manager

LOCATION OF POSITION: Remote/work from home in the United States, with a preference for a New England/Northeast location. Candidates must be authorized to work in the United States. We are unable to offer visa sponsorship.

SALARY RANGE: $70,000 - $75,000 FULL-TIME salaried position with a competitive benefits package

ORGANIZATION OVERVIEW

An increasing number of Americans – most of whom are women and people of color – are employed in service sector jobs that are marked by low wages, no health care, job insecurity, and lack of training and career advancement opportunities. The SEIU Education & Support Fund tackles these issues by designing and facilitating worker-centered, relationship-based, and accessible education, training and workforce development programs. We serve as a strategic partner to the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), and collaborate with other unions, nonprofit organizations, government agencies, and employers to help workers access good jobs and spark positive social change. Throughout our work, we promote a culture of empowerment that honors experience, culture, diversity, and inclusion.

POSITION SUMMARY

Reporting to the Director of Operations, the Operations Project Manager will play a central role in ESF’s growing operations team, ensuring that major initiatives of this team are designed and implemented effectively and in alignment with the team’s goals and values. ESF staff are almost entirely remote, and this role will be responsible for facilitating strong communication and progress towards goals with remote teams across 3 time zones. Projects in the first year of this role’s tenure will include taking over implementation of a new project management tool (Asana) across the organization, managing the design and development of an ESF intranet, and collaborating with other ESF staff in project management roles to level up project management practices across the organization. The Operations Project Manager will also support other projects within the Operations Department that enable the team to meet ESF’s expanding needs in areas such as internal communications, operating procedures, compliance, and training for ESF staff. ESF is in a period of significant growth, and this is an exciting opportunity for someone who enjoys building systems and practices that support mission driven staff to do their best work.

The ideal candidate will demonstrate commitment to ESF’s mission and values, and is an experienced Project Manager with a passion for creating seamless processes to streamline work and improve collaboration. This person brings precision where details matter most and flexibility where evolving projects require problem solving and creative solutions. Their communication style is welcoming and curious, and they are highly skilled at translating complex processes into clear plans for implementation, monitoring, and communication.

KEY ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Project Management

• Lead cross-functional project coordination such that all stakeholders and contributors are informed and aligned, including participation in existing cross-functional team meetings in order to support management of integrated work plans and joint action.
• Project manage significant initiatives of the different teams within the Operations department (general Operations/Tech, Human Resources, and Finance), supporting their respective directors and/or the COO to reach team goals, often on parallel timelines and involving overlapping stakeholder groups
• Collaborate with ESF Project Managers to create common project management expectations and practices, including creating learning materials, tools, tutorials, and other resources to help the organization improve project management and streamline processes
• Support and coach peers and colleagues to strengthen project management practices and improve the use of project management technology within the operations team and across the organization
• Schedule and convene meetings within and across teams, prepare agendas, capture agreements and action steps, and conduct relevant follow-up to ensure nothing falls through the cracks
• Translate high-level goals into concrete project plans with clear and achievable milestones in Asana, ESF’s project management tool
• Proactively identify possible issues and roadblocks and lead processes to generate and implement solutions
• Consistently monitor projects as they progress and keep project statuses, timelines, and tasks up-to-date, maintaining consistent communication with all stakeholders
• Ensure project progress data is available to all stakeholders, including creating and maintaining high-level dashboards for leadership review

Operations Management

• Train new hires and current staff on existing and new operations processes and initiatives, fostering a people-centered culture where staff feel confident in using the systems they need to do their jobs and comfortable seeking support when they have challenges
• Collaborate with the Director of Operations to identify multi-year priorities for ESF’s operational systems, including ensuring that input from staff is collected regarding what is working and what could be improved in order to inform these priorities
• Collaborate with program staff and others outside of the operations team to accomplish shared goals, facilitating coordinated planning and identifying opportunities for learning and continuous improvement
• Support all departments by serving as a connecting point with the operations team, such as by triaging operations inquiries from ESF staff to the right operations staff, escalating issues that need a higher level of attention, and following up to ensure questions and issues are resolved

• Manage and oversee operations works streams in areas such as internal communications, operating procedures, compliance, and operations workflows
• Provide support for new needs and opportunities that arise within the Operations Department, ensuring that the team can respond to ESF’s evolving needs as flexibly and quickly as possible

• May supervise another staff member

KNOWLEDGE/SKILLS/ABILITIES

• Orientation towards inclusion & accessibility: Able to apply DEI principles and practices in everyday actions and decisions; is an empathetic listener who integrates feedback and learnings into future actions; actions consistently demonstrate strong personal integrity and alignment with ESF’s values

• Project management: Able to plan and execute multiple projects simultaneously across teams, engaging internal and external stakeholders and balancing inclusive processes while meeting deadlines; strong skills in using technology tools to manage projects and streamline workflows
• Comfort managing in all directions: Able to keep a team on track by managing up, down, and sideways; can identify and help to clear roadblocks preventing progress and/or causing delays in the team’s work; is a strong relationship-builder who excels at stewarding effective processes to achieve organizational goals
• Continuous quality improvement mindset: Able to identify issues that others might have missed and accurately diagnose the source of the problem; knowledgeable about CQI processes and their application in an nonprofit operations context; can envision and implement solutions and systems to improve organizational effectiveness
• Effective communication & support: Able to absorb complex information and present it in in a concise and digestible way, including designing and delivering trainings that increase staff comfort with operations topics and projects
• Learning & problem-solving mindset: Is a quick and independent learner who is comfortable acquiring new knowledge, seeking out the information required to answer questions and solve problems, and finding creative solutions
• Organization and adaptability: Comfortable working in a high growth environment where needs and priorities are continuously evolving; able to keep track of and balance many competing priorities and to use independent judgment to adjust priorities flexibly and quickly as new needs arise
• Customer service orientation: Maintains a positive and approachable attitude, builds positive working relationships with internal and external partners, and finds satisfaction in supporting others to do their best work
• Is able to flex hours to support staff across multiple time zones as needed (generally with notice)
• Ability to travel at least quarterly for in-person team meetings

EXPERIENCE/QUALIFICATIONS

• At least 4 years of experience managing complex projects within a nonprofit or public-sector organization
• Significant experience using project management software to effectively move projects forward and track progress along the way; past experience using Asana strongly preferred
• Experience using and supporting teams to use Google Workspace, Slack, Zoom, and other technology tools
• Experience managing the roll-out of new initiatives in a growing organization
• Experience managing processes that involve staff across the organization, including senior leadership, to successfully work together towards a common goal
• Proficiency in Spanish preferred but not required

PAY AND BENEFITS

We offer competitive wages and top-notch benefits, including 100 percent employer paid medical, dental, and vision plans for the employee and eligible dependents; a defined benefit pension plan for retirement; paid holidays, sick leave, and personal days; and 4 weeks of vacation. We are a hybrid organization with co-located and remote staff. We provide a home office stipend for employees who telework, and cell phone stipend (or company-sponsored cell phone) for all employees.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER

SEIU Education and Support Fund is an equal opportunity employer and encourages people from all backgrounds to apply, including persons with disabilities and individuals from historically marginalized identities. SEIU Education and Support Fund celebrates diversity and is committed to building a team that represents a variety of backgrounds, perspectives, and skills, and to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, religion, national origin, citizenship status, disability, veteran status, pregnancy or related condition, or any other basis protected by federal, state, or local law. SEIU Education and Support Fund’s hiring and employment decisions are based solely on a person’s merit and qualifications.