Operations & Program Manager

*Please don't apply through LinkedIn. Must email a resume and cover letter as one PDF to hr@newliteraryproject.org by August 5, 2026*

Operations & Program Manager

Organization: New Literary Project (NewLit)

Reports To: Executive Director

Location: Remote-first, Bay Area-based. Day-to-day work is remote, with regular in-person commitments: a monthly team meeting and staffing NewLit events, which concentrate in the fall. Candidates must be based within 25 miles of Oakland, CA.

Position Type: Part-time, non-exempt employee, averaging 20–25 hours per week. Hours flex with NewLit's program calendar which follows the academic calendar (heavier during fall, winter, and spring with event season and fellowship cycles, lighter in the summer). Some evenings and weekends during events.

Hourly rate: $40–45/hour, depending on experience

About New Literary Project

New Literary Project (NewLit) is a small, ambitious literary arts organization that drives impact through prestigious prizes, creative writing fellowships, and high-profile public programs. As a tight-knit team of four core staff members, we champion authors, support educators, and uplift young writers.

About the Role

The Operations & Program Manager is the operational spine of NewLit. In our lean organization, the back office touches everything. Every program cycle, event ticket, philanthropic gift, and shared digital system passes through this desk.

Reporting directly to the Executive Director, you will run the critical infrastructure that allows our programs to run on time, our finances to be handled accurately, and our creative team to do their best work. You will collaborate closely with the Board Chair, program leads, and the communications/external relations team.

This is a high-autonomy role: you will own your systems and processes end-to-end, working independently with oversight and partnership from the Executive Director.

Key Responsibilities

1. Program & Prize Operations

Provides operational support and submission logistics for programs and prizes, including:

●     Jack Hazard Fellowship: Manage applications, compliance, and multi-channel communications with applicants, recipients, and schools. Coordinate payments, host Zoom convenings, track alumni, and lead annual program debriefs.

●     Joyce Carol Oates Prize: Manage logistics for the finalists and recipient including notifications, promotional materials, residency lodging/logistics with partner institutions, and winner transportation and the regional "Roadshow" itinerary.

●     Simpsonistas Anthology: Manage the student submission pipeline. Act as the primary liaison for graduate student fellows and submitters. Coordinate production workflows and manage the distribution of physical copies.

2. Event Production & Logistics

●     Guest Management: Create, track, and maintain accurate guest and invitation lists.

●     Ticketing & Revenue: Process event ticketing, track payments, resolve user issues, and reconcile event revenue with the ED and finance team.

●     Fundraising Integration: Implement active fundraising components during events, such as live pledge drives and donor tracking.

●     Project Management: Maintain and drive the master task list through every event planning cycle.

3. Development & Donor Operations

●     Database Administration: Serve as the primary administrator for Salesforce.

●     Gift Processing: Process all individual donations, maintain impeccable donor records, and generate giving reports for staff and board review.

●     Donor Stewardship: Support donor relations by drafting and executing acknowledgement letters, personal notes, and direct mail campaigns.

●     Grants Support: Provide operational support for grants as needed: tracking deadlines, coordinating submissions, and assembling materials and reports in partnership with the Executive Director.

4. Organizational Operations & Systems

●     System Design: Proactively initiate, design, and build digital systems that increase organizational efficiency.

●     IT Administration: Serve as the primary administrator for Google Workspace.

●     Master Calendar: Manage the central NewLit operations calendar to keep the team aligned and ahead of operational deadlines.

5. Communications Operations

●     Platform Support: Partner with the communications lead on Squarespace back-end operations and newsletter recipient list segmentation.

●     Data Metrics: Extract, track and analyze organizational data to fuel annual impact reports.

Qualifications & Skills

●     Overall Experience: 3–5 years in operations, program or project management, or development/revenue operations. Nonprofit experience is a plus; we welcome candidates crossing over from industry who bring transferable skills (CRM administration, event production, project management) and a genuine commitment to mission-driven work.

●     Deep, administrative-level experience with:

○     Salesforce or equivalent CRM (Required)

○     Google Workspace (Required)

○     Squarespace or equivalent web page management (Highly preferred)

○     GiveButter, Stripe, or equivalent payment processor (Preferred)

○     Greenvelope (Preferred)

●     Systems Thinker: Proven ability to build operational workflows from scratch and improve clunky processes.

●     Proactive Operational Manager: Owns, manages, and makes recommendations for systems improvements

●     Detail-Oriented: Exceptional organizational skills with a track record of managing moving parts across multiple major projects.

●     Collaborative Communicator: Ability to establish clear boundaries, work cross-functionally with creative teams, and handle donor data with high discretion.

How to Apply

By August 5, 2026, please submit your resume and a brief cover letter as one PDF to hr@newliteraryproject.org.