NRDC is a non-profit environmental advocacy organization. We use law, science, and the support of 3.1 million members and online activists to protect the planet's wildlife and wild places and to ensure the rights of all people to clean air, clean water, and healthy communities. NRDC was founded in 1970 and our people helped write some of America's bedrock environmental laws, including the Clean Water Act and many of the implementing regulations. Today, our team of more than 700 lawyers, scientists, economists, policy advocates, communications experts, and others work across the United States and the globe from our offices in Beijing; Bozeman, Montana; Chicago; New Delhi; New York; San Francisco; Santa Monica; and Washington, D.C.

NRDC is seeking an Operations Manager to work in the Strategy, Planning, & Operations division within the Nature Department in any of NRDC’s offices.

Position Summary

Reporting directly to the Senior Director, Strategy, Planning & Operations (Senior Director, SP&O), the Operations Manager is responsible for overseeing and coordinating the day-to-day operations of their team’s processes to ensure effective resource allocation, financial management and compliance with NRDC-wide policies and procedures.

The Operations Manager provides formal supervision of the Administrative Coordinators, ensuring effective and consistent resource allocation and expectation-setting. The Operations Manager may engage the team’s SP&O Associate(s) for work related to operations, such as process improvements, workflows, documentation, templates, and change management.

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform the following essential functions:

Oversight of Administrative Coordinators

• Provide day-to-day management to the department’s Administrative Coordinator(s), fostering a positive and inclusive work environment. 
• Set clear expectations, goals, and objectives for Administrative Coordinator(s), provide regular feedback and coaching to support their professional development. 
• Regularly review associates’ workloads, ensuring work is distributed evenly.
• Monitor team performance and productivity, identifying areas of improvement and implementing strategies to enhance efficiency and effectiveness.
• Manage performance, addressing performance expectations, including conducting goal setting meetings and feedback sessions.
• Promote a safe and inclusive environment, ensuring compliance with relevant policies, procedures, and regulations.

Operations Management

• With guidance from the Senior Director, the Operations Manager leads the team’s annual budgeting processes, including gathering data, training on templates and other tools, and preparing reports to drive a consistent system of budget management
• With guidance from the Senior Director, oversee team processes and systems related to day-to-day budget and finance tasks, including but not limited to, grant spending, overseeing the invoicing processes and approvals, overseeing setting up vendors, and matching expenditures to grants.
• Track budget equity alignment to measure resources toward key initiatives, such as resourcing of BIPOC partners, consultants, and racial equity initiatives, or other areas as determined in partnership with the Equity & Community Partnership team.
• Oversee grants management for Sector Grouping or Capacity, liaising with Finance, Development, and team members.
• Work with Senior Director, SP&O to implement methods to communicate goals and activities, such as team retreats, within the team and across the institution.
• Act as point of contact for internal HR, IT, and Workplace processes, reporting, and compliance relating to recruitment, hiring, onboarding, performance management, professional development, office visits, and off-boarding.
• Support the set-up and periodically maintain centralized file management system for department and guidelines for project management workflows, such as Asana.
• Provide train-the-trainers instruction to, or direct training of, SP&O Associates, Administrative Coordinators, and Solves 1-4 individuals on budget, expense, finance tracking, reporting, and other fiscal work to ensure consistent budgeting and tracking throughout the team.
• Create, implement, and maintain processes and process improvement to drive operational efficiency across the team.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams and stakeholders to align efforts and achieve organizational objectives.

The above list of duties is not comprehensive but generally demonstrates the types of matters under this position’s responsibility. Other duties may be assigned.

Minimum Education & Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in a related field or equivalent combination of education and experience required. ·
• Minimum 3-5 years’ directly related experience in project management, operations management, or a related discipline, or equivalent combination of education and/or work experience.

Skills, Abilities, Competencies

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills. ·
• Ability to foster a culture of collaboration, innovation, and continuous improvement within team. ·
• Outstanding problem-solving skills, including the ability to proactively identify obstacles and propose solutions or recommendations to overcome them. ·
• Forward-looking thinker with a multidisciplinary approach to problem solving. ·
• Strong organizational skills and proven ability to manage projects and relationships in a complex/matrixed organizational structure. ·
• Experience successfully managing budgets, including prioritizing and reallocating funds to make the best use of limited resources for strategic purposes. ·
• Deep commitment to incorporating and growing the use of justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion principles in strategic goals, work plans, team culture, and operations. ·
• Ability to effectively train, onboard, set expectations, and give clear feedback to team members. ·
• Demonstrated ability to execute projects involving multiple people and deliverables, and to perform or quickly learn new tasks, systems, and technologies. ·
• High proficiency with Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, Outlook, Power Point). ·
• Strong understanding of NRDC’s accounting and finance systems, legal review/corporate counsel, and budgeting processes, as well as workplace strategies processes.
• Demonstrable alignment and deep commitment to NRDC’s mission and purpose with an ability to communicate this passion to others with a positive and high-energy attitude, integrity, and a commitment to working collaboratively with peers and colleagues. ·
• Ability to travel to NRDC U.S. based or international offices, estimated at less than 10% annually.

The position you are applying for is part of the bargaining unit represented by The Washington Baltimore News Guild (WBNG / The Newsguild-CWA Local 32035).  

NRDC is committed to advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion, both in our work and in our workplace. We believe that celebrating and actively welcoming diverse voices and perspectives is essential to solving the planet's most pressing environmental problems, and we encourage applications from candidates whose identities have been historically under-represented in the environmental movement.  

We are an equal opportunity employer and do not discriminate in hiring or employment on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, marital status, sexual orientation, national origin, citizenship, age, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law. Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.   

We offer competitive salaries, excellent benefits, and a supportive working environment. Salary is based on a nonprofit scale and is commensurate with skills and experience. Internal equity will be reviewed and considered to determine a final offer. For this position, the salary range is $92,000 to $101,200.   

NRDC operates in a hybrid workplace. We offer our team members flexibility and ask them to come into the office to collaborate meaningfully with their colleagues. We call this purposeful presence.  

As a science-based organization, NRDC aims to do our part to help contain the COVID-19 public health crisis. For the sake of health, safety, and equity, we ask that people be vaccinated unless they have an approved medical or religious accommodation or other exemption in accordance with state and local law. We consider a person to be vaccinated two weeks after receiving one full course of a CDC-approved vaccine. In accordance with state or local law, new hires will be asked to attest to vaccination, those wishing to do so may request medical or religious accommodations or other exemptions via NRDC Employee Relations. NRDC treats all vaccine-related data confidentially, in keeping with local, state, and federal laws.  

To apply, visit www.nrdc.org/careers and upload your résumé and cover letter. Please mention where you saw this posting and upload any additional materials that showcase your abilities. Due to the high volume of applications, we will contact only those candidates we would like to interview. Please no phone calls, emails, or in-person résumé drop-offs.  

If you experience technical problems while applying or if you are a person with a disability and need assistance applying online, please reach out to iCIMS Customer Care at 1-800-889-4422.  

For more about NRDC, visit www.nrdc.org.