HR & Operations Assistant

HR & Operations Assistant

About Disability Rights Advocates

Disability Rights Advocates (DRA) is a non-profit, disability rights legal center. We advance equal rights and opportunities for people with disabilities through high-impact litigation utilizing federal, state, and local disability law. With offices in New York City, Chicago, and Berkeley, DRA fights for equal access resulting in dramatic improvements for people with disabilities in all areas of life, including: technology, healthcare, employment, transportation, education, voting, housing and more. With a high success rate for more than 30 years, DRA continues to take on significant and novel cases to achieve a meaningful impact for people with disabilities across the nation.

Full Job Description

HR & Operations Assistant

Position Summary:

Disability Rights Advocates (DRA) seeks a highly organized and reliable Operations & HR Administrator to support the organization’s core internal functions, including human resources, payroll, Board operations, executive support, and office systems.

This role ensures the smooth and consistent execution of essential administrative processes that keep DRA’s operations running effectively across multiple offices. The position requires strong attention to detail, discretion, and the ability to manage a range of interconnected responsibilities with accuracy and follow-through.

The role is based in either DRA’s Berkeley or New York City office and requires in-office work at least one day per week. The HR and Operations Assistant reports directly to the Chief Operating Officer (COO).

Essential Duties:

The following is a summary of essential duties.

Human Resources Administration

• Maintain HR policies, employee handbook, and personnel records in coordination with the COO
• Support recruitment, onboarding, offboarding, and annual performance review processes
• Draft and prepare offer letters and other employment-related documentation
• Process employee status changes and required employment documentation
• Support benefits administration, including enrollments, qualifying life event changes, open enrollment coordination, employee communications, and ongoing recordkeeping
• Maintain accurate and confidential HR records in accordance with organizational standards
• Support tracking of HR compliance requirements, including policy acknowledgments, harassment prevention training, and other required employee trainings and documentation
• Respond to routine employee HR inquiries and route issues to appropriate leadership or vendors as needed
• Assist with emergency response preparation planning and documentation
• Take accurate meeting minutes in union bargaining and labor-management committee meetings

Payroll Administration

• Coordinate semi-monthly payroll processing with the Staff Accountant
• Maintain payroll records and ensure accuracy across multi-state payroll requirements
• Track payroll deadlines, filings, and compliance documentation
• Support payroll setup for new employees and changes to compensation or employment status
• Ensure payroll data integrity and confidentiality

Board & Executive Administrative Support

• Prepare Board and Committee meeting materials, including agendas, packets, and supporting documents
• Attend Board and Committee meetings and take accurate meeting minutes
• Track follow-up items and maintain Board and Committee records
• Provide administrative support to the CEO and COO, including executive calendaring, filing, meeting preparation, coordination, and follow-up

Records, Database & Information Management

• Maintain organized, accurate, and up-to-date electronic files for HR, payroll, Board governance, operations, and donor systems
• Implement and follow consistent file naming conventions, folder structures, version control, and document retention practices
• Ensure secure storage and appropriate access controls for confidential and sensitive records
• Periodically review electronic files and databases to ensure completeness, accuracy, and compliance with internal policies
• Maintain Salesforce donor database, ensuring accuracy and consistency of donor records
• Enter incoming donations and generate donation reports as needed
• Prepare and send donor acknowledgment letters and tax receipts (mail and email)
• Update donor records with meeting notes, communications, and contact information

Office & Organizational Operations

• Support day-to-day administrative operations for DRA’s Berkeley, New York City, and Chicago offices
• Maintain documentation of office policies and protocols
• Coordinate with vendors and service providers to support office operations
• Maintain and update DRA’s SharePoint intranet as an internal resource for staff

Information Technology Coordination

• Serve as administrative liaison with IT service providers and vendors
• Maintain IT onboarding and offboarding documentation, including system access checklists
• Monitor internal IT support requests and route issues to appropriate vendors
• Coordinate staff access to organizational systems in collaboration with IT providers

Other Duties

• Perform additional duties as assigned

Qualifications:

• Minimum of 3 years of experience in administrative, HR support, operations, or office management roles
• Experience supporting payroll and benefits administration
• Experience preparing Board or committee materials and taking meeting minutes
• Strong communication skills, with the ability to produce clear, accurate, and well-organized documentation, including meeting minutes, internal materials, and correspondence
• Demonstrated track record of managing multiple administrative workstreams with consistency, prioritization, and follow-through
• Strong attention to detail and experience successfully maintaining accurate, organized records and systems
• High level of discretion and sound judgment when handling confidential and sensitive information
• Proficiency with HRIS systems, payroll platforms, Salesforce (or similar CRM/database systems), and Microsoft 365/SharePoint

This is a full time, nonexempt position with an hourly range of $30-$40 per hour

DRA is an equal opportunity employer and values a diverse workforce and inclusive culture.

DRA encourages applications from all qualified individuals and does not discriminate in employment opportunities or practices on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, age, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, marital or familial status, veteran status, disability, AIDS/HIV status, medical condition, or any other characteristic protected by law. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, leaves of absence, compensation, and training.

Interested candidates, please send the following to jobs@dralegal.org with “HR & Operations Assistant” as the subject:

• Cover letter
• Resume
• Three professional references

DRA is committed to providing access and reasonable accommodations for individuals with disabilities in all aspects of the employment process. If a reasonable accommodation is needed for the hiring process, please contact HR@dralegal.org with the subject line “Accommodations Request.”

Medical, Vision, Dental, 401(k) and Match, and HSA

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