Description

CONTEXT AND NEED

Every student in California deserves learning experiences that help them understand the environment, engage with real-world challenges, and contribute to solutions. Yet many students lack access to these experiences. Ten Strands is committed to changing this. We advance environmental literacy and support resilient, climate-ready schools across the TK-12 system by empowering students and strengthening schools to create a healthier future for people and our planet.

As Ten Strands has grown in scope, influence, and operational complexity over the past decade, there is an opportunity for dedicated leadership to strengthen internal systems and drive organizational alignment. The Director of Operations role is designed to lead Ten Strands’ operational infrastructure while facilitating the organizational strategy that will continue to expand its impact.

Ten Strands is a remote-first nonprofit organization with a $2M operating budget based in California. It operates under a shared leadership model led by the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Chief Innovation Officer (CIO). The CEO, CIO, and Chief Development Officer comprise the Senior Leadership Team (SLT). There are currently 14 total staff members.

POSITION OVERVIEW

The Director of Operations is a leadership role responsible for ensuring effectiveness, efficiency, and sustainability across Ten Strands’ internal operations. This position manages all core operational functions, including human resources, people systems, benefits administration, compliance, record management, IT infrastructure, contracting, and operations systems, while stewarding a values-aligned culture and employee experience. The Director of Operations brings financial and business acumen to support the coordination of annual budgeting processes in partnership with the fractional CFO.

Reporting to the CEO and collaborating closely with the CIO, this role partners with the SLT to support the implementation of organizational strategy. The Director provides structure, organizes frameworks and timelines, and facilitates decision-making processes that enable SLT to move priorities forward with clarity and alignment.

This is a new position designed to streamline day-to-day operational and administrative responsibilities while freeing the SLT to focus on strategic implementation of programs, fund development, advocacy, and external leadership. This role does not have any direct reports.

This role may be for you if you are:

• Motivated by operational excellence and streamlined systems. You value clear and codified processes as a foundation for organizational impact.
• A leader and an executor. You understand that accomplishing goals requires both vision and execution, and you can pivot quickly from 40,000 feet to specific details.
• Skilled at leading through layers. You can drive cross-functional impact by building relationships to get things done.
• Committed to a people-focused mindset. You value people and connection through a lens of equity and inclusivity.
• A systems thinker and strategic communicator. You love leading through change and bringing others along by building clear systems and proactively communicating in ways that make things stick.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS
Operations Leadership, Management, and Execution – 40%

• Lead and manage all core operational functions, including strategy and process execution for human resources, people systems, benefits administration, compliance, record management, IT infrastructure, contracting, and operations systems.
• Ensure smooth day-to-day organizational operations by managing internal policies, processes, workflows, and systems to drive continuous improvement.
  Oversee organizational policies and procedures, including management of the employee handbook and development of organizational policy, ensuring compliance with applicable laws and best practices.
• Manage and optimize Ten Strands’ remote infrastructure, including digital filing systems, calendar tools, platform subscriptions, and communication tools. Ensure cybersecurity and IT systems are compliant, secure, and efficient; implement best practices and training as needed.
• Manage benefits program selection and administration to ensure benefits are competitive, equitable, and aligned with organizational values.
• Manage all relationships related to Justworks PEO, including stakeholders for 401(k), healthcare (medical, dental, vision), and benefits, as well as organizational insurance brokers and other vendor relationships.

Organizational Strategy and Effectiveness – 20%

• Facilitate and coordinate internal planning processes with a lens of continuous improvement, clarity, and accountability, including annual strategic planning, goal setting, and organization-wide initiatives.
• Facilitate decision-making processes to ensure tight cross-functional alignment between priorities, goals, and performance metrics.
• Design, implement, and manage internal systems to improve operational efficiency and cross-functional coordination.
• Develop and manage internal processes to track and report on progress toward strategic goals.

Financial and Accounting System Support – 15%

• Serve as the primary internal point of contact between Ten Strands and its external accounting partner Scrubbed, working through a designated Scrubbed relationship manager to facilitate communication and ensure finance and compliance tasks are completed accurately and on time.
• In coordination with Scrubbed, support employee time tracking and coding infrastructure, including FreshBooks management, time tracking systems, and hourly employee timecard support.
• Coordinate the accurate processing of contracts and invoices, and track budgets. Liaise between program staff and Scrubbed to manage Ten Strands’ accounts payable platform Ramp.
• Partner with Scrubbed to ensure on-time and accurate bi-weekly payroll administration through Justworks PEO, including oversight of time tracking systems and organizational PTO policy.
• Review and distribute monthly budget to actual variance reports prepared by Scrubbed from Ten Strands' online general ledger, QuickBooks Online.
• Collaborate with the CEO, budget managers, Scrubbed, and other financial stakeholders to support development of the annual budget.
• Partner with the fund development team to advise on aligned and efficient fundraising operations.

People and Culture – 15%

• Oversee the end-to-end employee experience, including recruitment, onboarding, performance management, and offboarding.
• Manage the Employee Progress Lookout employee performance and development system.
• With SLT, plan and lead staff meetings, on-site retreats, trainings, and development opportunities.
• Design and implement strategies and intentional structures to foster a collaborative and inclusive culture reflecting Ten Strands’ values and commitment to equity. Strengthen employee engagement, culture, and retention.

Stakeholder Engagement and Strategic Activation – 10%

• Lead planning, materials preparation, minute tracking, and follow-up for all board and retreat meetings (virtual and in-person) in collaboration with SLT.
  Support content collection for board reports, organizational updates, and Ten Strands’ annual report.
• Facilitate cross-team communication and information flow between SLT and key internal and external stakeholders.
• Plan and coordinate two in-person staff retreats and one in-person board meeting annually in collaboration with the CEO and CIO.

Requirements

Education and Experience

• 5-8+ years of aligned professional experience in operations, organizational/nonprofit management, public administration, strategy, project management, or related fields.
• Demonstrated experience leading effective HR practices at an organizational level, including familiarity with talent management, compliance, contracting, and California employment law.
• Demonstrated experience in effectively managing multiple operational functions concurrently.
  Proficiency in business and financial systems, budgeting processes, and accounting practices.
• Experience effectively collaborating with senior leadership on strategy and planning, and leading organization-level initiatives.
• Credentials in related functions (Bachelor’s Degree, MBA, MPA, CPA, PHR, PMP) strongly preferred.
• Experience in nonprofit, TK-12 education, and/or mission-driven organizations strongly preferred.
• Passion for environmental literacy and sustainability in education.