Operations & Administration Manager

Deadline: Please submit a resume, cover letter, writing sample, and at least three references by Friday, June 18, 2024 for priority review. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.

Law for Black Lives (L4BL) is seeking an exceptionally organized and detail-oriented person to join the organization as the Operations & Administration Manager. This position is a unique opportunity to support the building of a strong organization as we build an emerging radical national network of lawyers, legal workers, and law students, and support our movement and legal field partners across the country, all working towards Black liberation.

Law For Black Lives (L4BL) is dedicated to transforming the legal field by promoting movement lawyering and cultivating a national community of radical law students, lawyers, and legal workers, building the power of local organizing to defend, protect, and advance Black Liberation, and transforming the law to change the conditions of the struggle and defend Black Lives. L4BL is a fiscally sponsored project at NEO Philanthropy.

Through the coordination and provision of legal support, training, mentorship, research, political education, policy and popular education tools, we are building a legal infrastructure that is responsive, action-oriented and collaborative.

Role Description & Key Responsibilities

The Operations & Administration Manager manages our day-to-day internal operations and ensures a smooth functioning organization. The Operations & Administration Manager will work under the direction of the Executive Director to guide the organization in meeting its goals of transforming the law, transforming the legal field, and supporting Black-led base building. Specifically, the Operations & Administration Manager will be responsible for the following key pieces of work:

LEADERSHIP:

• Support L4BL leadership in the implementation of organizational strategy
• Represent the organization to key stakeholders
• Support the Executive Director in identifying and addressing problems and opportunities for the organization’s growth
• Strive to bring the values of Law for Black Lives into practice.

COMPLIANCE:

• Liaison and manage organizational compliance with fiscal sponsor
• Manage the process of organizational transition to 501(c)3
• When appropriate, manage tax and governance counsel to develop and establish tax and governance policies and procedures
• When appropriate, support the Executive Director in developing internal compliance processes to ensure timely and accurate reporting

OPERATIONS:

• Work closely with the Executive Director to develop and implement organizational plans and processes, including staff training.
• Manage operational, HR, and financial policies and procedures
• Improve operational management systems, processes, and best practices across the organization, ensuring cost-effectiveness and appropriateness.
• Manage organizational digital and technological systems, working with staff to troubleshoot issues and concerns.
• Coordinate offices and workspaces.
• Coordinate the organization’s supplies and resources.
• Manage general record-keeping.
• Oversee the Operations and Administration department budget, resources, and the work plans of your direct reports, including the Events & Operations Coordinator.

HR:

• When appropriate, manage external HR support, including fiscal sponsor.
• Manage the interview, onboarding, and transition process, and maintain staff records.
• Manage the staff performance review process.
• Manage internal HR policies and procedures, processes, stipends, and records.
• Coordinate celebration and support.

FINANCE:

• Work with the Special Project Manager to manage the organization’s budget, forecasts, and reporting process, including department budgets
• Manage the purchase and expense approval process, and manage the Events & Operations Coordinator as they coordinate purchases.
• Manage contract, invoice, and payment approval process, and manage the Events & Operations Coordinator as they coordinate contracts and payments
• Manage the reimbursement process and manage the Events & Operations Coordinator as they coordinate reimbursements.

COMMUNICATIONS:

• Keep track of communication metrics and other relevant statistics, and make recommendations for future improved communication to relevant staff.

DEVELOPMENT & EVENTS:

• Support the Development Manager and manage the Events & Operations Coordinator as they coordinate development events, marketing, and thank yous.
• Support the Development Manager in managing the L4BL Store and Membership Boxes.
• Provide logistical support for in-person and digital events, in collaboration with the Project Coordinator, Events & Ops Coordinator, and Special Projects Manager.

STRATEGIC OPPORTUNITIES:

• Assess resource opportunities as they arise, and identify points of leverage, opportunity and alignment.
• Other relevant duties as assigned.

Position: Full-time salaried employee. Overtime exempt.

Compensation: $85,000 - $90,000 commensurate with experience. Through NEO Philanthropy, this position is offered a full benefits package, including 100% medical coverage for the employee and 90% medical coverage for dependents; 100% coverage for vision, dental, life/AD&D, and long-term disability. NEO also offers a 401K retirement savings plan, Healthcare Reimbursement Arrangement (HRA), Medical FSA, Dependent Care FSA, commuter benefits, Employee Assistance Program, other supplemental benefits and paid time off.

Location: This is a remote position, however, some travel will be required

Start Date: August 2025

Reports To: Executive Director

Vaccination Requirement: L4BL at NEO staff are required to be vaccinated against COVID-19. Requests for medical and/or religious exemptions from the vaccination requirement will be considered on an individual basis.

L4BL at NEO Philanthropy is an equal-opportunity employer. We consider applicants for all positions without regard to race, color, religion, creed, gender, national origin, age, disability, marital or veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or any other legally protected status. We strongly encourage black people, people of color, women, LGBTQ people, people with disabilities, and people who have been directly impacted by the criminal legal system to apply

• We believe in using the law for the people and that legal tools should be used to build the power of movements.
• We are committed to the liberation and self-determination of all Black people -- including Black women and LGBTQIA folks.
• We hold ourselves accountable to support movements for Black liberation including organic uprisings. This means following the leadership of movement organizers and taking direction and feedback from our partners.
• We are political. We understand that this work requires political lawyering and explicit partnership with movement activists/organizers.
• We strive to think creatively and collectively about how the law can be used to support movements while respecting activists’ and organizers’ political choices.
• We are unapologetically committed to developing and following the leadership of Black people within the law.
• We believe in the importance and necessity of an agile and radical legal infrastructure that supports liberation movements.
• We believe in actively combatting the elitism, hierarchies, and lawyer-centric tendencies within the legal world.
• We believe in an internationalist approach that draws connections between the struggle for human rights and dignity in Black communities in the United States and across the globe.
• We are committed to continued growth and in the words of Mary Hooks, we are willing and ready to be transformed in service of the work.
• We believe in creating a space that is affirming, healing, transparent, and respectful. We work to ensure that those spaces don’t replicate the kinds of oppression, harm, and trauma that we are working against.