Now hiring! Operations Manager

Operations Manager Position Description

Overview

Episcopal Charities is a non-profit organization that functions as the social outreach arm for the Episcopal Diocese of Chicago.  Episcopal Charities currently allocates resources to partner organizations in two ways:  (1) grant-making and (2) the Inner Capacity-Building Program.  Partner agencies receive annual grants from Episcopal Charities and participate in the Inner Capacity Building Program that convenes and facilitates conversations around leadership, spirituality, and emotional well-being through a Fall and Spring Leadership Cohort Gathering, Monthly CEO bimonthly lunches, and one-to-one support from peers and Episcopal Charities’ staff. 

Besides these two functions, Episcopal Charities organizes an annual fundraising event.  In addition to serving as the agency’s primary fundraising vehicle, the event builds community with donors, constituents, and other supporters while celebrating the organization’s philanthropic role in the Chicago community and beyond.  More recently, the trustees and staff of EC have prioritized inclusion while hoping to maintain good levels of fundraising, friend-raising, etc.

In May of 2023, Episcopal Charities began a comprehensive new strategic planning process that will fundamentally reorient the organization to the future.  The new plan, once completed, will be presented to the Board of Trustees for approval at the December 2023 meeting.  While the current grant-making business model has served the organization and the Diocese of Chicago successfully for over 60 years, this strategic planning process, now underway, has the potential to re-purpose the organization – both in mission and in operating model – for years to come.

Episcopal Charities seeks a full-time Operations Manager to provide full administrative support to the Executive Director and the organization as a whole – in the midst of change and as a stabilizing support moving into the future.  While the position requires a full complement of administrative and operations-based skills and competencies, the Operations Manager will demonstrate proficiency with our database, Salesforce, or a willingness to increase competency.  Episcopal Charities prioritizes an organized, motivated, and detail-oriented solution seeker to fill the position of Operations Manager.  The successful candidate has the capacity to think about systems and processes, how to build them, and improve them.  Episcopal Charities, as a small staff team, will value a personality and culture fit as much as any other qualities.

Job Title:          Operations Manager

Reports to:       Executive Director

Location:          Chicago

Status:             Full-Time, Exempt

Duties and Responsibilities 

Executive Assistant

·       Serve as liason between Executive Director (ED) and internal and external partners, institutions, stakeholders, donors, and constituents.

·       Anticipate upcoming meetings by effectively utilizing a personal and organizational calendar; serve as the organizational prompt and coordinator for regular meetings so that all necessary preparations are made within a generous time period

·       Maintain and manage ED calendar setting meetings, appointments, coordinating check-ins with staff, and communicating with multiple parties to schedule events

·       Employ efficient means of setting appointments with groups accurately:  trustees, CEOs of Partners, etc ensuring that the process is seamless and gracious

·       Manage and complete any and all invoicing, expense reports, reimbursements, travel arrangements

·       Be available to solve problems with office and/or computer equipment; contact appropriate support when solution requires it

·       Assist and collaborate with Communications Manager to support effective communication throughout organization.

·       Anticipate general need in terms of administrative support:  think critically about what might make processes and experiences easy and well-organized for participants (including ED).  External partners should be impressed by how simple and pleasant interactions with Episcopal Charities can be.

·       Think creatively about internal processes that will make life easier, processes quicker and simpler, and reduce work time.

Program Support

Allocations:  Non Profit Partner Grants, Strategic Partner Grants, Parish Partner Grants

·       Work with ED and relevant trustees to build and administer a yearly allocations plan:  maintain timeline and workplan; prompt staff and relevant trustees to begin processes as they arise on a month-by-month basis.

·       Ensure meeting reminders, zoom invitations, relevant documents, and emails are sent in a timely manner that give generous time for preparation

·       Create and maintain files on the shared drive, the google drive, and a binder with paper copies of all correspondences between EC and Ministry Partners that pertain to allocations

·       Ensure that all processes around the annual trustee site visits to Ministry Partners are organized, efficient, and well-prepared so that trustees understand their role clearly and are given exactly what they need to fulfill their responsibilities.

Capacity Building

·       Work closely with ED and others to administer the organization’s Inner Capacity Buidling Program.

Liason to Board of Trustees

·       Ensure that all board meetings, committee meetings, task force meetings, and any other meetings related to the trustees are placed onto a Trustee calendar that is both electronic and paper; manage communications to Trustees regarding all relevant dates

·       Organize all logistics for Board and Committee Meetings and provide any and all administrative support in advance of and following such meetings including providing necessary documents to trustees for board meetings; manage bookings, locations, and any catering

·       Work with board president and committee chairs to build and maintain successful infrastructure for record-keeping, filing, minutes, and meticulous follow-up on board action items; maintain a very user-friendly “google drive”

·       Work with ED, other staff, and relevant trustees to create attractive and useful board documents that reflect current branding and aesthetics, eg:  trustee manual, etc.  Ensure that all trustee documents (roster, etc) are accurate and attractive.

·       Learn the functions of a healthy governing board and use “best practices” information from Boardsource or other resources to offer new ideas to the ED and others around organizing and improving the overall life of the board of trustees.

·       Work with ED and others to ensure that trustees have their very best experience as a board member of anywhere they have ever served; go over and above expectations to create meaningful, rich, and satisfying experiences for trustees.

Office Management; Finance and HR Support

·       Anticipate and maintain general office functions, including office supply inventory and ordering

·       Support agency’s technology needs, including system oversight, vendor management and troubleshooting.

·       Act as a liaison with the building management on office needs

·       Support recruitment of staff including coordination and manage HR related tasks with ED and diocesan Associate for Human Resources

·       Assist bookkeeper/Manager of Finance with timely completion of credit card statements and other duties as assigned

Episcopal Charities Events

·       Work closely with ED, and other staff to provide administrative support for EC events

Management of Database and Salesforce Expertise

·       Have competency in the use of our CRM, Saleforce; or, be willing to learn and cultivate administrative proficiency.

·       Relate to Salesforce account managers to advance the work of Episcopal Charities

Education, Qualifications and Requirements

·       Undergraduate degree or equivalency through relevant work experience on year for year basis

·       Enthusiasm for mission of Episcopal Charities

·       Proven track record of follow through

·       Outstanding organizational skills and meticulous attention to detail

·       Ability to prioritize tasks and execute multiple projects simultaneously

·       Ability to work independently, displaying strong initiative in solving day-to-day problems with limited direction

·       Flexible, able to meet changing work needs and demands with a good attitude

·       Absolute commitment to confidentiality, discretion, good boundaries

·       Takes supervisory direction well and responds to criticism in a positive way

·       Team-player, works well with others

Knowledge and Skills

·       Highly proficient with Microsoft Office, including Word, Excel

·       Highly proficient with Google Suite including Gmail, Drive, Docs, Sheets, Forms

·       Proficiency in Salesforce, or, willingness to learn/be trained to level of administrative proficiency

·       Adobe Suite knowledge a plus

·       Excellent web and technology skills and comfortable troubleshooting tech issues

·       Comfortable learning new technical/computer skills as they arise

·       Strong writing, proofreading and verbal communication skills

·       Excellent time management skills

Salary is negotiable, commensurate experience; generous benefit package.  Please submit a resume to info@episcopalcharities.org.  Along with the resume, please send a one-page letter in which you describe what motivates you, what you need to be successful, and the management style that best supports your success.  In addition, please describe how you would offer yourself corrective feedback/coaching if you were your supervisor.  Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.

EC is an equal opportunity employer committed to principles of diversity, equity and inclusion.  EC aims to comply with all application local, state and federal laws prohibiting discrimination in hiring and employment.