People & Operations Manager (Remote)

The crisis in local news poses a severe threat to democracy and the health of communities. Rebuild Local News believes that in addition to improved business models and increased philanthropy, public policy plays a crucial role.

Rebuild Local News develops public policies to strengthen local news – and then works on the state and national level to pass effective legislation. Our pathbreaking set of policy initiatives, which we advocate for alongside partners, has helped advance effective, First Amendment-friendly legislation in California, Illinois, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York and Washington. Together, these states have established programs directing more than $316.2 million to local newsrooms. We are working in another dozen states. Rebuild Local News also runs the Rebuild Local News Coalition, which unites newsrooms, labor unions, and civic organizations committed to revitalizing local journalism. Collectively, the groups in the Coalition represent over 3,000 newsrooms and thousands of journalists, working together to safeguard the future of local news.

We aim to dramatically increase public support for local news through laws on the federal and state level that help support civically important news while protecting editorial independence.

At Rebuild Local News, human resources and operations are about building and supporting the foundation for a resilient, values-driven team that works together to advance, transformative public policy to support local news. The ideal individual will be proactive, collaborative, flexible, organized and attuned to people-centered leadership. As our People & Operations Manager, you will play a key role in shaping how we support, engage, and grow our distributed staff across the country, and how we all work together to fulfill our mission. You will serve as an important member of the team and support the COO in operationalizing the organization’s vision and strategy, ensuring our systems are effective and scalable and rooted in the missions and values that drive our work.

Your work will span supporting all facets of human resources, organizational culture, compliance management and provide support for internal operations.

This position will have the following core responsibilities:

RESPONSIBILITIES

Human Resources (50%)

• Partners with the Chief Operating Officer to develop, implement, and monitor HR strategies, systems, and procedures.
• Own and continuously improve the full employee lifecycle, including recruitment, onboarding, offboarding, and performance management, ensuring alignment with RLN’s mission and culture.
• Work collaboratively with hiring managers to offer a well-defined hiring process, drafting strong job descriptions and helping them identify and hire strong candidates.
• Serve as a liaison with Professional Employer Organization (PEO) and maintain regular touchpoints to ensure HR needs are met and well coordinated.
• Coordinate with PEO and support COO to administer employee benefits programs (healthcare, retirement plans, etc.) and ensure employees have the necessary resources to enroll, make informed decisions and advocate on behalf of staff to quickly resolve any benefits-related issues.
• Supports staff meetings, staff engagement initiatives, celebrations and appreciation efforts.
• Assist in the planning, coordination and execution of the annual in-person staff retreat.
• Serve as a trusted resource for staff on HR-related matters.
• Provide guidance to leadership on HR best practices, organizational culture, and staff development initiatives.
• Promotes diversity, equity and inclusion in the workplace.
• Maintain accurate HR records and documentation in accordance with regulatory requirements.
• Perform additional HR-related duties as needed.

Operations & Project Management (30%)

• Help track & monitor project deadlines and deliverables for cross-team initiatives
• Recommend procedures to improve efficiencies and streamline processes
• Provide support for end-to-end contractor and vendor lifecycle, including sourcing, onboarding, contract negotiation, billing, renewal, and termination processes.
• Collaborate with internal and external team members to address IT needs, projects and initiatives.
• Help coordinate and execute corporate insurance renewals
• Provide support to COO and Director of Campaigns in creating and managing affiliated 501(c)(4)
• Assist with other projects or initiatives as needed.

Compliance Management (20%)

• Work with PEO to ensure compliance with all local, state, and federal employment laws, regulations, and industry standards.
• Facilitate staff time tracking and coordinate with Finance and PEO to ensure accurate timekeeping and payroll processing.
• Partner with COO to review and update company policies, procedures, and employee handbooks as necessary to ensure consistency, legal compliance and ensure policies are signed by all staff at necessary frequency.
• Collaborate with other Operations team members and Campaigns team on lobbying compliance requirements
• Support state charitable registration process.
• Help identify and assist with other compliance needs as they arise.

QUALITIES & SKILLS:

• Excellent interpersonal skills and situational sensitivity.
• Ability to build trust-based relationships with colleagues in a virtual setting.
• Collaborative team player, with the ability to work effectively with diverse personalities and cross-functionally in a fast-paced, dynamic environment
• Unquestionable personal integrity, fairness, and credibility necessary to gain the trust and commitment of individuals at all levels of the organization.
• Strong organizational, project management and problem-solving skills to navigate complex situations
• Exceptional attention to detail, accuracy and quality, ability to meet deadlines
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• High level of discretion, professionalism, and confidentiality.
• Strong aptitude and curiosity for adopting new technology and tools when warranted
• Ability to and comfort with navigating change and ambiguity effectively
• Comfortable working independently on a fully remote team
• Willingness to travel occasionally for team gatherings or events
• Great sense of humor.

EXPERIENCE & EDUCATION:

Required

• Bachelor’s degree in Operations, Human Resources, Business, or a related field (or equivalent relevant professional experience)
• 4-6+ years of experience in Operations and/or Human Resources
• Knowledge of HR processes, policies, and best practices
• Proven track record at nurturing strong team cohesion and culture in remote and distributed work settings.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office and Google Suite
• Understanding and appreciation of RLN’s mission and the importance of local journalism.

Preferred

• Experience working in a growing, early stage organization
• Experience working in Operations for a 501(c)(4) and/or 501(c)(3)
• Knowledge of lobbying compliance regulations and reporting requirements
• Familiarity with Slack as a team collaboration and communication tool