The Oakland REACH, Managing Director of Operations

The Oakland REACH, Managing Director of Operations

ORGANIZATION

Inspired by making powerless parents powerful? Are you ready to help students #REACHforMore? You have come to the right place! On any given day, over 50,000 students in Oakland wake up and go to school but only 1% of black children attend a high-performing district school. We are far from making sure all students in Oakland have access to quality instruction.

Enter The Oakland REACH (TOR), a 501c3 organization co-founded in 2016 by Executive Director Lakisha Young, along with a fed-up group of other Oakland public school parents and grandparents. TOR is a parent-led advocacy organization that is empowering parents from our most underserved communities to demand high-quality schools for their children. If you want to be fired up by their energy, conviction, and their success to date, just watch this.

The group’s first cohort started with just 50 parents participating in a fellowship to learn how to demand for more quality schools for their children. To date, almost 400 parents have graduated from this fellowship, and TOR currently offers several other leadership development opportunities in support of Oakland families. In March 2019, TOR had their first policy win, The Opportunity Ticket, which was approved unanimously by the School Board and gives preference to families in failing schools to transition to higher-quality schools. TOR then went on to launch Literacy For All, a campaign led by the parents most impacted by failing schools to increase the literacy of the whole family — including the mamas and grandmamas. In a city where fewer than thirty percent of black and brown kids are reading on grade level, TOR is working to create the opportunity for everyone to become a powerful, lifelong reader.

Because of this organization and fieldwork, TOR was in an incredibly unique position to support the community during COVID19. Within days of the city’s stay-at-home order, the team launched the REACH Relief Fund, raising and distributing over $350,000 in two rounds of emergency cash assistance to over 1,000 families to help pay for rent, utilities, and groceries.

From there, TOR launched its biggest and boldest initiative yet: The City-wide Virtual Family Hub, a one-stop-shop supporting families’ economic survival and their children’s educational success. This first-of-its-kind model to make parents leaders in their children’s education launched in June 2020 with 200 families. Phase Two launched this Fall with more than double the number of students served this summer, and nearly double the number of Family Liaisons.

The Hub has been featured in local, national, and international media from TIME Magazineto KQED, BBC News, CNN, Univision, The San Francisco Chronicle, and more.TOR and its parent leaders are committed to tackling gaps in our education system and shaking up the system that has failed our kids for generations. To learn more about The Oakland REACH, please visit https://oaklandreach.org/.

OPPORTUNITY

The Managing Director of Operations will work closely with and manage the Special Projects Director and Program and Operations Manager while serving as a member of the organization’s senior leadership team, reporting to the Executive Director. This person will oversee finance, operations, human resources, and strategic use of data. They will also support the Executive Director with strategic planning and board management. They will be an exceptional project manager with the ability to multi-task effectively and efficiently. This leader will also understand that The Oakland REACH is not a typical nonprofit organization - it is a hard-charging, intense environment where everyone gives 110% in service of our community’s kids and families. To be successful, someone needs to be flexible in their communication style and be able to interact with a diverse range of people from local community leaders, parent organizers, funders, partners, and public officials. They need to be nimble to ensure what we do keeps the needs of our families at the center. Most importantly, this person will be an essential player behind the scenes fueling our team to ensure that so many more black and brown students attend a high performing Oakland public school than happens today.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Key Responsibilities of the Managing Director, Operations include:

• Finance and Budgeting
  • In partnership with ED, oversee team payroll approval and submission
  • Monitor budget-to actual financial results on a quarterly basis and recommend adjustments as needed
  • Develop and maintain internal accounting controls and procedures
  • Review financial reports and lead our annual budgeting process
  • Oversee grant reporting process including project management

• HR and Talent Management
  • Build and maintain high-quality performance management system for staff
  • Oversee and improve talent management practices across the organization, including systems for hiring, onboarding, and supporting staff
  • Develop and implement a strategy for staff career pathways and professional development offerings

• Operations and Organizational Infrastructure
  • Serve as primary liaison with external development, accounting, and human resources vendors
  • Work with Data Manager to ensure the organization is collecting, using, and interpreting data effectively to guide improved programmatic outcomes
  • Support organizational operations as needed

• Strategic Planning and Project Management
  • Highly skilled at project management, including the ability to develop and execute against large scale project plans as well as develop daily and monthly work plans.
  • Partner with the Executive Director to create and refine the organization’s strategy through 2020; lead the team in setting annual and quarterly goals and executing against them.
  • Support the Executive Director in strategic planning with the board and external partners.

QUALIFICATIONS

In order to fulfill these responsibilities, the ideal Managing Director of Operations candidate will be:

• An accomplished operations leader who has a track record of effective staff management, budget, and human relations work.
• Demonstrated commitment to The Oakland REACH’s mission and programmatic goals.
• Culturally competent and a self-reflective leader who understands the effects of race, class, ethnicity, income, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, and other issues of difference in society and is able to lead direct conversations about them.

• A builder of authentic relationships with parent leaders, community partners, policymakers, funders, and other supporters, able to engage with a variety of individuals in service of the organization’s goals and priorities.

• Experienced in working effectively with other senior leaders and a Board of Directors.
• Skilled in strategic planning, project management, and organization; able to focus on key organizational priorities without losing sight of the details.
• Comfortable overseeing finance, operations, and contract management for an organization of similar size.

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS

This position offers a competitive salary range of $125,000-135,000 and robust benefits including medical, dental, retirement, and monthly reimbursements for cell phone and internet costs. More details can be provided upon request.

TO APPLY

Please submit a resume online at https://bit.ly/2UrozIU. For additional questions about this position or to speak with someone about your interest, please contact Angelica Molero at amolero@edgilityconsulting.com or at 510.575.9635.

At The Oakland REACH, we don’t just accept differences — we celebrate them, support them, and we thrive on them for the benefit of our staff, our mission, and our community. The Oakland REACH is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace. Recruiting staff to create an inclusive organization is a priority, and we encourage applicants from all backgrounds. Candidates are evaluated solely on their qualifications to perform the work required.