Associate Director of Operations

About the Transformations Community

A Global Commons for Transformative Change: The Transformations Community (TC) connects action-researchers who combine inquiry with action—testing new approaches, sharing learning, and building capacity for just and sustainable futures. With a global community of 6,000+, we convene international conferences, publish widely, and support sustainability initiatives that link knowledge with practice. Here is a video of our most recent gathering, TC25 in Johannesburg.

Role Overview

We’re hiring a hands-on Associate Director of Operations to own TC’s internal operations end-to-end: people operations, portfolio/program management, project systems (ClickUp), fiscal coordination, and organizational rhythms. You’ll turn strategy into clear plans, keep the trains running on time, and help a globally distributed team work smoothly—with smart use of AI tools to streamline workflows.

You’ll report to the Executive Director and partner closely with initiative leads. This is a do-and-lead role: you’ll build light scaffolds, coordinate across programs, and step in directly where needed.

Requirements

Responsibilities

1) People Operations & Team Health

• Lead hiring pipelines, onboarding/off-boarding, and contractor/consultant agreements.
• Maintain role descriptions, SOWs, and a simple performance/feedback cycle.
• Coordinate time tracking, capacity planning, and resourcing across initiatives.
• Steward team norms (async practices, meeting hygiene, documentation, DEI & care).
  

2) Portfolio & Program Management

• Translate strategy into quarterly/annual plans with milestones, owners, and KPIs.
• Run portfolio reviews: risks, dependencies, budgets, and decision logs.
• Stand up light monitoring & learning loops (retros, after-action notes, dashboards).
• Support initiative leads with scoping, critical paths, and go/no-go gates.
  

3) Systems & Tooling (ClickUp Lead)

• Own ClickUp architecture (spaces, templates, automations, permissions).
• Drive adoption, training, and QA so tasks/roadmaps stay current and useful.
• Integrate Google Workspace, Slack, Docs, and basic CRM/email tools as needed.
• Use AI assistants (e.g., templating, summaries, automations) to reduce busywork.
  

4) Finance & Admin (in coordination with fiscal sponsor/finance)

• Track budgets vs. actuals at project and portfolio levels; flag variances early.
• Coordinate vendor onboarding, invoices, and payment schedules.
• Maintain a tidy contracts and compliance library (insurance, MOUs, data policies).
  

5) Org Rhythms & Internal Communications

• Run weekly team syncs, monthly planning/retros, and quarterly OKR reviews.
• Keep a live ops calendar; send crisp written updates and decision notes.
• Ensure key documents (playbooks, policies, templates) are current and discoverable.
  

Who We’re Looking For

Required

• 5–8 years in operations, program/portfolio or project management in a small/medium org or networked environment.
• Proven experience leading cross-functional coordination and delivery (not just assisting).
• ClickUp (or Asana/Notion) power user/admin: you’ve designed structures, templates, and automations.
• Strong people ops fundamentals: hiring, onboarding, contracting, and feedback rhythms.
• Excellent written communication; crisp facilitation; bias to clarify and close loops.
• Comfortable working remotely across time zones; high reliability and follow-through.
• Fluency with AI tools for ops (summaries, drafting, checklists, SOPs, lightweight analytics).
• Background in sustainability, systems change, or research/practice communities.

Preferred

• Nonprofit/fiscal-sponsor or grant-funded project experience; basic budgeting.
• Change-management experience (standing up new systems and securing adoption).
• Light data/BI skills (Sheets, Looker Studio) for simple dashboards.
  

Benefits

Location: Remote (U.S. time zones preferred). Collaborate with colleagues in Colorado, Hawaii, Canada, and Europe (schedule flexibility required).
Type: Full-time (35–40 hours/week)
Compensation: $70,000–$95,000 USD annually

Engagement Type: Independent Contractor

Work Environment & Values: We value clarity, humility, responsiveness, and learning. We build scaffolds that support people as well as projects.

Start Date: Immediate (flexible for the right candidate). Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis, with interviews held shortly.