Position: Associate Director of Operations
Department: Operations
Reports to: Chief Operations Officer (COO)
Categorization: Hybrid In Person
Status: Exempt
Since 2003, The Opportunity Network (OppNet) has been committed to providing students, regardless of background, with the resources and connections necessary to achieve their college and career goals.
Our founding Fellows program supports 1,000 New York City students each year, from the summer after tenth grade to college graduation, boasting a 98% graduation rate within six years. About 93% of Fellows are first-generation college students, and 91% secure meaningful employment or graduate school admission within six months of graduating.
Our Career Fluency® Partnerships program enhances workforce and college readiness for 100,000 students across 20 cities. Our Opportunity Ignited program helps employers with intern matching and training, improving talent pipelines and workplace environments, training over 350 staff in 22 partner firms in its first five years.
The Associate Director of Operations provides strategic and administrative leadership to strengthen the operational infrastructure of the organization. Partnering with senior leadership, this role ensures that systems, processes, and people are aligned to advance the mission and deliver measurable community impact. The Associate Director oversees organizational effectiveness, resource management, and cross-departmental collaboration, driving operational excellence in service of equitable, mission-driven outcomes.
The Associate Director will be a critical partner to the COO in strategic decision-making and operations as OppNet continues to enhance its quality programming and build capacity. The Associate Director of Operations will directly supervise the Operations Manager and the Operations Coordinator.
The candidate will be a mission-driven operations leader who thrives at the intersection of strategy, systems, and people. You bring both a big-picture perspective and a hands-on approach to building the infrastructure that allows an organization to deliver on its purpose. You excel at translating strategic goals into clear operational plans and are energized by improving how teams work together. You lead with curiosity and collaboration, fostering trust and accountability across departments. Whether you’re optimizing a process, mentoring a team member, or analyzing data to inform decisions, you approach each task with a focus on impact, equity, and continuous learning. You believe that strong operations are the foundation of sustainable social change — and you’re committed to helping mission-driven teams thrive through clarity, structure, and shared purpose.
Operations and Administration (55%)
Organization-wide Operations:
Partner with the COO to translate strategic goals into actionable operational plans that align with the organization’s mission and values.
Lead process improvement initiatives to increase efficiency, transparency, and accountability across programs and administrative functions.
Develop, revise, and implement operational policies and guidelines prioritizing equity, inclusion, and alignment with OppNet’s values.
Oversee vendor procurement and contract management by supervising the creation of policies, establishing user-friendly protocols, ensuring vendor diversification, and adopting best practices for centralized ordering.
Manage and maintain relationships with external partners and vendors, ensuring operational activities align with the organization’s strategic goals.
Support the strategic rollout of collaborative relationships with community-based partners to promote the sustainability of the OppNext expansion.
Centralize and manage operational expenses to ensure alignment with OppNet’s financial practices and budgetary goals.
Culture and Engagement:
Collaborate with the People and Culture team to design and implement effective onboarding and offboarding processes that support staff integration and transition.
Oversee organization-wide initiatives to celebrate and appreciate staff, including birthdays, life events, welcomes, farewells, and other community-building activities.
Plan and execute large-scale institutional events such as new hire gatherings, staff retreats, and holiday parties, ensuring these events deliver meaningful employee experiences.
Technology:
Manage organizational technology systems by assessing needs, overseeing platform and application administration, monitoring effectiveness, and recommending improvements.
Lead the development and implementation of processes for employee tech onboarding, ongoing usage, and offboarding in partnership with the Operations Manager.
Collaborate with departmental technology liaisons to evaluate and address technology system needs, ensuring scalability and effectiveness.
Collaborate with the Senior Director of Strategic Initiatives and Impact to develop and maintain practices and standards regarding A.I.
Facilities:
Design and implement facility solutions that align with organizational needs, including optimizing sublet spaces for desk sharing and effective meeting space utilization.
Maintain collaborative relationships with the landlord and building management team to address complaints and enforce space-sharing agreements.
Lead efforts to identify new office space options when necessary, including exploring strategic partnerships with real estate developers.
Cross Department Collaboration (30%)
Team Development:
Mentor and coach the Operations team, fostering their growth through access to learning and development opportunities.
Provide strategic insights and recommendations on growth strategy, data usage, performance management, and leadership dynamics.
Strategic Analysis:
Collaborate with the Research, Evaluation, and Actionable Insights team to establish and maintain knowledge retention systems to securely store and facilitate the retrieval of institutional knowledge, ensuring organizational continuity and collaboration.
Partner with the COO and finance team to streamline staff-facing procedures, identify cost savings opportunities, and optimize processes.
Organizational Learning, Development, and Program Reflection (15%):
Participate in organization-wide learning sessions, working groups, and optional affinity groups.
Attend weekly team meetings, All Hands meetings, All Staff meetings, team retreats, and annual institution-wide retreats.
5 – 7 years of progressive experience in nonprofit operations, administration, or program management.
Demonstrated understanding of the importance of operations within the non-profit environment.
Demonstrated success in leading cross-functional teams and managing complex projects in mission-driven environments.
Strong understanding of nonprofit financial management, compliance, and operational best practices.
Excellent communication, stakeholder engagement, and organizational planning skills.
Proficiency with workflow, data, and collaboration tools (e.g., Asana, Monday.com, Salesforce, Smartsheet, Google Workspace).
Capable of creating partnerships with external partners and advocating for our students.
Availability and willingness to work select evenings and some weekends.
OppNet requires that all employees, including new hires, be fully vaccinated against COVID-19, unless an exemption has been approved.
We take a thoughtful and deliberate approach to generating salary offers that take into account previous work experience, the role you’re entering into, and fairness within OppNet. Fairness is important to us and it is critical that our compensation approach ensures fairness across the organization. Hence, we make every effort to make our first offer our best offer because we want to demonstrate that we value you and your work from day one.
The hiring salary range for this role is $91,833--$95,000 and will be commensurate with experience.
At OppNet, eligible employees can enjoy a comprehensive benefits package that includes medical coverage (health, dental, and vision), an HRA, a Flexible Spending Account, family leave (up to 100% coverage for twelve weeks), life insurance, and retirement benefits. Full-time employees are eligible to participate in our 403(b) retirement benefit program. Additionally, we offer generous time off from work (through a combination of vacation, sick, and holidays).
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Do you meet some but not all of our qualifications? OppNet is an equal-opportunity employer. Even if you may not meet every qualification listed, we strongly encourage you to apply without hesitation. If you believe in our organization’s mission and feel confident in your potential to excel at OppNet, we warmly welcome your application. Our commitment lies in considering a wide range of candidates and valuing various workplace experiences and backgrounds. Whether you are new to the non-profit sector, returning to work after a break, considering a career change, or taking the next step in your professional journey, we are excited to hear from you! We recognize that multifarious teams make the strongest teams, and we encourage people from all backgrounds to apply.