Director of Operations

Reimagine What's Possible 

Embrace Boston Inc. is dedicated to forging connections, educating, and energizing communities across traditional borders to foster conditions essential for racial and economic justice. Guided by our mission and vision, we are committed to imagining and realizing the full potential of an inclusive and equitable society. Our mission is to dismantle structural racism through our work at the intersection of arts and culture, community engagement, and research and policy. 

Vision:

We envision a radically inclusive and equitable Boston where everyone belongs, with a focus on ensuring that Black communities prosper, all grounded in joy, love, and well-being. Our vision is for a city that enables all its residents to thrive, free from barriers and rich in opportunities.

Position Overview

The Director of Operations is a trusted organizational guru who ensures the day-to-day machinery of the organization runs smoothly, efficiently, and in alignment with our mission. Reporting directly to the Chief Operating Officer, this role owns the operational infrastructure across HR, IT, Finance, Facilities, Legal, and Knowledge Management — partnering with managed service providers (MSPs) in each domain while serving as the internal owner, translator, and problem-solver.

Core Responsibilities

Finance Operations

• Coordinate day-to-day financial operations including accounts payable, accounts receivable, and budget tracking in partnership with the finance MSP and COO.

• Prepare and monitor budgets; flag variances and present to COO on a regular cadence.

• Ensure timely processing of invoices, vendor payments, and grant-related financial documentation.

• Support audit preparation, 990 filing coordination, and financial reporting requirements.

Facilities

• Manage the day-to-day operations of organizational facilities

• Work closely with the property management 

• Provide regular updates to COO on standard status reports

• Ensure the physical environment reflects organizational values and supports programming and staff needs.

Legal & Compliance

• Serve as the internal coordinator for legal matters, liaising with outside counsel and ensuring timely response to organizational legal needs.

• Maintain a calendar of compliance deadlines (registrations, filings, insurance renewals, contracts).

• Oversee contract management processes including review routing, execution, and archiving.

• Support risk management practices in coordination with COO and legal advisors.

Knowledge Management & Standard Operating Procedures

• Own the organization’s institutional knowledge infrastructure — ensuring critical processes are documented, accessible, and up to date.

• Develop, maintain, and continuously improve standard operating procedures (SOPs) across all operational domains.

• Improve and implement systems that build effective organizational redundancy and institutional knowledge that is accessible and up to date. .

• Champion a culture of documentation and process clarity across departments that boost efficiency and collaboration.

HR Operations

• Serve as primary internal liaison to the HR managed service provider, ensuring employee lifecycle processes (hiring, onboarding, offboarding, benefits, compliance) run smoothly and on time.

• Maintain and improve HR policies, employee handbook, and people operations procedures.

• Partner with COO and leadership on workforce planning, org chart maintenance, and staff communications.

• Ensure individual and team goals are managed to and accounted for.

• Steward the organizational culture, through team-building traditions, habits, and gatherings, while ensuring professionalism, accountability, and discretion.

IT Operations

• Manage the relationship with the IT managed service provider, holding them accountable to SLAs and organizational needs.

• Oversee technology procurement, asset management, software subscriptions, cybersecurity, and user access protocols.

• Serve as the internal escalation point for IT issues and ensure staff are supported with reliable tools.

• Lead evaluation and onboarding of new technology platforms in partnership with department leads.

This position will perform other duties as assigned.

Qualifications

• 5–8 years of operations experience

• Demonstrated experience managing multiple operational domains (for example: HR, finance, IT, and facilities).

• Experience managing external vendors or managed service providers and holding them accountable to deliverables.

• Strong financial literacy, including budget management, A/R, A/P, and basic financial reporting.

• Exceptional organizational skills and attention to detail without losing sight of the big picture.

• Demonstrated skills in planning, organizing and implementing complex activities; 

• Demonstrated successful project management skills; 

• Ability to organize and coordinate projects with multiple components; 

• Experience with professional operational policies and procedure design and implementation;

• Budget management skills, including financial forecasts, performance metrics, and earned income opportunities analysis;

• Ability to coordinate teamwork and work as part of a team; 

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills;

• Excellent attention to detail;

• Demonstrated ability to conduct a risk analysis and suggest risk mitigation options;

• High proficiency with productivity and operational tools (Google Workspace or Microsoft 365, project management platforms).

• Familiarity with digital tools like email management systems (like Klaviyo or Mailchimp), website platforms like Wordpress, presentation like Canva and Googleslides are a plus.

• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills.

Other Duties and Responsibilities:

• Individuals assigned to this position will perform other duties as assigned.

Competencies: 

• Curiosity: Willingness and ability to continuously learn, be curious, adapt to applications quickly, and seek out solutions.

• Participatory:  Work for the team and the enterprise, with a sense of humor.

• Cultural alignment: Understand and use language with purpose, intent, rooted in racial, equity, and justice consciousness.

• Sustainable systems maker: Operate and design for the future of the enterprise, leave it better than you found it.

• Action focused: Ability to prioritize tasks, put in the extra mile to get the job done with attention to details, by deadline.

• Positive and professional: Show up with a helpful attitude in addressing inquiries and projects with professionalism. 

• Proactive: Engage in the excitement to create opportunities and initiative, and take responsibility for the work.

• Flexibility: Bring skills and temperament to work under pressure, and absorb the unexpected; seek excellence, not perfection, and pivot quickly from mistakes. 

Values:

• Love:  We lead with empathy and compassion, cultivating joy-filled relationships where power is shared, difference is welcomed, and wellbeing is paramount.

• Collectivism: We weave our unique gifts and talents together knowing that to change everything it takes everyone.

• BIPOC centric: We center the needs, knowledge, and voices of People of Color, bringing experiences from the margins inward so all can participate fully and benefit mutually.

• Imagination:  We interrogate what is, creating opportunities for innovation and embracing both/and thinking in designing our solutions.

• Seven generations thinking: We set priorities for long-term sustainability and equity, balancing our sense of urgency with respect for the time it takes to realize lasting impact and change.

Working Conditions & Physical Demands:

• Ability to work for long periods of time at a workstation;

• Ability to use a computer monitor and keyboard for long periods of time: and

• Ability to work onsite at least 4 days a week.