Senior Director, Operations

Summary

Join Jobs for the Future (JFF) as their Senior Director, Operations, reporting to the COO. You will lead and support the management and continuous improvement of JFF's operations, coordinating across various Business Operations teams. This role involves strategic planning, implementation, evaluation, and reporting, focusing on enhancing quality, value, and efficiency. You will act as a liaison between Business Operations and the Solutions Group, ensuring operational alignment. A key responsibility is overseeing the execution of JFF's FY25 Operating Plan. This is a high-impact role requiring strong leadership, data-driven decision-making, and a commitment to operational excellence.

Requirements

• You bring a track record of leading and supporting Business Operations within nonprofit organizations; experience in education or workforce-related sectors or the private sector is a plus (New hires at the Senior Director level at JFF typically bring 15 years of prior professional experience through a combination of full-time, part-time, internship, and/or freelance positions)
• You bring significant experience leading change initiatives and are passionate about operational excellence
• You facilitate environments of open dialogue, candid feedback, and phycological safety to strengthen relationships
• You have experience managing project teams and/or managing people directly or indirectly
• You have prior experience leading initiatives that help teams, functions, and organizations navigate transformative and rapid change and growth including but not limited to workforce planning, annual planning, operating plans and more
• You act with speed and urgency, demonstrate strong problem-solving skills, and lead quality and continuous improvement efforts
• You are an adept relationship builder, agile and able to move at speed, sustaining momentum on projects to ensure JFF can meet its ambitious goals
• You demonstrate effective written and verbal communication skills with experience serving as a champion of change for your organization
• You bring demonstrated capacity to conceptualize, plan, launch, manage multiple complex initiatives simultaneously with clear outcomes and accountability measures
• You are highly skilled at leading in a matrixed and highly collaborative capacity; managing priorities effectively to keep teams focused on results
• You understand and demonstrate equity-centered and inclusive analysis and practice in the way you develop relationships, steward partnerships, and design initiatives
• You excel working collaboratively with a diverse range of decision-makers and have a proven ability to motivate, inspire colleagues and partners and produce exceptional outcomes
• You demonstrate a growth mindset with the ability to create and maintain standards of high performance and accountability, and foster innovation, continuous learning, and improvement
• You are energized by stewarding JFF’s DEIBW values and practices within your day-to-day work, including embracing the differences and celebrating the diversity that everyone brings to JFF and stewarding an organizational culture that embraces diversity, equity, and inclusion
• You have a willingness to travel (up to 30%) to maintain and develop new client relationships and present to diverse audiences and stakeholders

Responsibilities

• Advance the Business Operations strategy and lead change initiatives across the organization
• In partnership with the COO, lead the execution on the refinement of internal structures and ways of working to maximize the performance and impact of the organization
• Act as a change agent and drive organizational excellence by implementing change initiatives and risk management plans to optimize people and processes in support of the organization's strategic priorities
• Implement processes and systems for gathering data and deploying information to inform and improve the work of teams and functions
• Listen actively to multiple sources, asking effective questions that help others clarify and evaluate situations, resulting in better responses and outcomes
• Partner and collaborate closely with colleagues and leaders across Business Operations, Centers, Practices and Solutions Group to ensure effective execution of JFF’s operating plan
• Support the building, scaling, and sustainability of data collection and analysis
• Lead initiatives and drive the Business Operations ability to create, analyze and use metrics and data towards operational improvement
• Develop and manage dashboards and KPIs to monitor progress of operations across the organization
• Perform deep dives into operational data, conducting quantitative and qualitative analyses to identify trends, root causes of issues, and areas for process improvement
• Use data to forecast and prepare for operational needs in support of initiatives like workforce planning, strategy and operating plans, annual planning, etc
• Leverage data-driven insights to recommend and implement strategic operational improvements that will enhance efficiency and productivity
• Deliver powerful results through leadership and execution of multiple, complex projects
• Lead and execute key initiatives in close partnership with the COO, members of the Business Operations team, and others across JFF
• Propose and implement high-impact ideas and creative solutions to accelerate the Business Operations vision and goals; take ownership of ensuring these initiatives move forward effectively and deliver measurable results
• In partnership with the COO, allocate resources and manage priorities effectively to keep teams focused on results
• Integrate diversity, equity, and inclusion into business operations practices
• Establish agendas for key leadership meetings ensuring progress and effective time utilization, and track follow-ups
• Lead key budget management activities aligned with JFF’s strategic goals and priorities
• Model and build a culture of empowerment and accountability for the Business Operations team to deliver on commitments consistently
• Lead special projects in support of the Business Operations team as it relates to team needs and your professional development interests

Benefits

• Gratifying work experience
• Competitive salaries
• Comprehensive benefits program
• Flexibility
• Choice
• JFF has offices in Boston, Oakland, and Washington, DC; employees are welcome to use JFF office space to work in-person or hybrid, or completely remote
• Annual home office stipend to all regular full-time and part-time employees
• Office equipment as needed