Operations Assistant

About the Opportunity

826 Boston seeks a highly organized and creatively responsive professional to serve as the Operations Assistant. We are seeking a candidate with a strong command of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) principles and approaches, and will build on the current strengths of the Human Resources (HR) and Operations Department, focusing on the systems that make it possible to promote creativity and innovation in our youth writing programs.

The assistant will also support the HR and Operations Department as they maintain connections across different sites in a way that fosters wellness and an appreciation of our shared work.

This role requires regular in-person hours. Typical hours are: 

• Monday - Thursday 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM (in-person)
• Friday 9:00AM - 5:00PM (virtual with required meeting attendance for all team meetings, professional development, etc) 
• Hours may sometimes include optional alternative daytime, evening, and weekend events

Mission: 

826 Boston is a nonprofit writing, tutoring, and publishing organization where students in grades K-12 and beyond can share their stories, amplify their voices, and develop as leaders in school and in life.

Responsibilities: 

Office Operations

• Support team members to work efficiently, safely, and effectively, finding ways to proactively identify resources and solutions 
• Manage the ordering and stocking of supplies for 826 Boston’s three offices in Egleston Square
• Coordinate the cleanliness and accessibility of 826 Boston office spaces, including supporting the Executive Director with improvements to the space as needed
• Inventory, organize, and maintain technology and electronic equipment at 826 Boston
• Answer office phone calls, take messages and share with team members as appropriate 
• Serve as the point person for vendor management and communication, including scheduling and greeting vendors and providing regular feedback for service improvements 

Admin Support

• Assist with the hiring, onboarding, and human resource management of 826 Boston employees and AmeriCorps service members
• Monitor budget tracking systems and support the Finance Manager with reconciling monthly expenses
• Assist in the management of 826 Boston's Google Workspace and Zoom accounts

Storefront Operations (The Greater Boston Bigfoot Research Institute)

• Maintain an up-to-date inventory of merchandise
• Fulfill weekly online orders 
• Schedule appropriate front-desk coverage when the tutoring center is open to the public and train team members to maintain a welcoming environment in the 826 Boston storefront

Additional Responsibilities

• Provide occasional support to programming as a tutor
• Provide support at outreach and fundraising events, including nights and weekends on rare occasions
• Support Senior Director of People, Operations, and Program Supports with administrative tasks as needed

Qualifications: 

The ideal candidate is a team player with a steadfast commitment to improving the quality of K-12 education, including adopting antiracist/anti-oppressive approaches, with a desire to work in a collaborative and inclusive culture and a passion for youth empowerment through writing and publishing.

826 Boston recognizes that impostor syndrome and the confidence gap might prevent some applicants from applying. Few candidates will have all of the relevant experience listed below, but 826 Boston is committed to assessing candidates with transferable skills and a willingness to be trained for this role.

Skills and experiences: 

• Prior professional or volunteer experience in an administrative or operations role preferred
• Demonstrated commitment to fostering community, building a strong sense of team, and embracing values of diversity, equity, and inclusion 
• Experience with problem-solving and decision-making that will help others be more efficient and successful, including weighing short-term solutions and long-term investments
• Demonstrated organizational, time management, project management, and resource management skills; high attention to detail 
• Knowledge of social and racial justice, intersectionality, BIPoC and LGBTQIA+ history, and historic/current systems of oppression
• Ability to travel between 826 Boston offices and Boston Public School (BPS) partners
• Proficiency in Google Suite required

Compensation

Salary is $40,000 a year. Benefits include generous paid time off (including vacation, sick leave, holidays, and a two-week winter break); health and dental insurance (826 Boston covers 80% of premiums); parental leave; and more.

This is a non-exempt, full-time position that reports to the Senior Director of People, Operations, and Programs. 

826 Boston Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Statement 

At 826 Boston, we honor and actively work toward diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) across our organization. We are committed to centering the voices of the students who we serve, to creating inclusive spaces, and to incorporating feedback from our community into our decision-making processes. Our DEI lens is always evolving through the courageous conversations in which we participate and the relationships that we build through our work and service. We strengthen our cultural competency through experience, training, and feedback, which informs the development of all new organizational practices and goals and the evaluation of all existing procedures.

826 Boston is dedicated to providing a platform for student advocacy through writing and publishing opportunities. In our work and mission, we are committed to dismantling white supremacy culture by recognizing that we are complicit in systems of racism and oppression. We will work to hold ourselves accountable in addressing these harmful structures and behaviors. To learn more about our DEI Action Plans across the organization, please click here. 

About Us

826 Boston is part of a national network of youth writing centers, co-founded by the award-winning author Dave Eggers and educator Nínive Calegari, that were named in GOOD Magazine’s “30 Places We Want to Work.” Since opening in 2007, 826 Boston has delivered its free youth writing and tutoring programs to more than 29,000 students and has been recognized by The Boston Globe as one of the best places in the city to volunteer. 826 Boston’s youth writers have published their work in The New York Times, The Boston Globe, and in numerous award-winning 826 Boston books, including A Place for Me in the World, which was hailed as a “triumph of middle school education” by The Boston Globe. In 2013, the 826 National network garnered the prestigious American Literacy Prize awarded by the Library of Congress.

Salary is $40,000 a year. Benefits include generous paid time off (including vacation, sick leave, holidays, and a two-week winter break); health and dental insurance (826 Boston covers 80% of premiums); parental leave; and more.