Organizational Description:
Since our founding in 2006, Organizing Neighborhood Equity (ONE) DC has worked tirelessly to advance racial and economic equity in the District by fighting economic disenfranchisement among Black working-class communities in DC. ONE DC builds multi-racial and cross-class solidarity, but we focus our efforts in the majority Black, working class communities in Wards 5, 6, 7 and 8. We build community power through grassroots organizing, leadership development of members, advancing social entrepreneurship and alternative economic models, collective use of resources, and coalition-building in the primary areas of housing, employment, and income inequality.
As a Black-led non-profit, we take seriously the need to bring members of the community that we serve into decision-making and leadership roles. The members of our shared leadership team have lived experience with the structural inequalities that we work to address, and this experience guides our direction and informs the work that we do. Our commitment to building economic independence and community power within communities of color in DC shows up clearly in the decisions we make about how to shape our programming and where to direct our resources.
As a Black and working class-led organization, ONE DC has recently achieved a number of internal and external victories to build our political strength to win racial and economic equity in the District. In 2018, ONE DC purchased the United Black Fund building and spent the last three years renovating it to become the country’s first debt-free Black Workers Center, where ONE DC members and other workers convene to build worker power through cooperative incubation, community work, and political education. As a community steward, ONE DC plan to use the Black Workers Center as a hub for movement-building work and community partnership. In 2020, ONE DC co-founded a citywide organizing partnership to cancel rent for workers who lost their jobs during the country’s first global pandemic in a century. In 2021, ONE DC began its work to strengthen the city’s tenant union community. Now, in over five buildings working with tenant leaders, ONE DC encourages these tenant associations to join the Right to the City, a national network of tenant activism.
Organizationally, ONE DC has practiced a non-traditional governance structure called Shared Leadership Team. ONE DC’s volunteer directors work with ONE DC’s staff to steward and govern its resources and organizational priorities through sub-committees. In 2022, ONE DC’s SLT decided to introduce a management team structure to strengthen our human resources operations, and the financial management. The management team, composed of the Director of Operations (Operations Lead) and the Director of Organizing (Lead Organizer), will strategize staff activities with the SLT, work with ONE DC’s Personnel Committee on staff management, and provide day-to-day staff supervision. As a management team, these supervisors will be responsible for ensuring key responsibilities that fall under certain SLT standing committees and subcommittees are completed collaboratively by staff and members. This position is one of the management team positions.
About the Position:
ONE DC is seeking a creative and dynamic individual with a proven track record to join ONE DC’s management team, as Operations Lead/Director of Operations (including duties of operations organizer, administrative coordinator, finance coordinator).
Responsibilities include:
Finance:
- Anchor and participate in SLT’s Finance Committee (composed of SLT directors including SLT Treasurer who chairs the committee).
- Be ONE DC’s liaison and primary contact with ONE DC’s bookkeeper and accounting contractors.
- Prepare and present financial reports in an accurate and timely manner; with the support of ONE DC’s bookkeeper and Treasurer.
- Clearly communicate monthly and annual financial statements; collate financial reporting materials for all donor segments, and oversee all financial, project/program and grants accounting.
- Oversee and lead the annual budgeting and planning process in conjunction with the Finance Committee, the Treasurer, and staff; administer and review all financial plans and budgets; monitor progress and changes; and keep the Shared Leadership Team, especially the Treasurer and Finance Committee, abreast of the organization’s financial status.
- Manage organizational cash flow and forecasting by preparing, or working with ONE DC’s bookkeeper to prepare, periodic cash flow projections for review by the Shared Leadership Team.
- Implement a contracts management and financial management/ reporting system; ensure that the contract billing and collection procedures and schedule are adhered to, and that financial data and cash flow are steady and support operational requirements.
- Update and implement all necessary business policies and accounting practices; improve ONE DC’s accounting policies and procedure manual.
- Effectively communicate and present the critical financial matters to the Treasurer, Finance Committee and Shared Leadership Team.
- Monitor the day-to-day financial operations within the organization (payroll, invoicing, and other transactions); and work closely with ONE DC’s bookkeeper.
- Coordinate and lead the annual audit process, liaise with external auditors, the finance committee and audit committee of the Shared Leadership Team; assess any changes necessary.
- Participate in strategic data analysis, research, and modeling for the Shared Leadership Team.
- Manage the organization's financial accounting, monitoring, and reporting systems in conjunction with ONE DC’s bookkeeper.
- Ensure compliance with accounting policies and regulatory requirements.
- Lead planning and forecasting activities with SLT and staff to achieve organizational goals.
- Assist SLT to make financial decisions.
- Investigate means to improve financial sustainability.
- Ensure taxes and tax documents are regularly checked and submitted.
- Review and process payments of the organization.
- Maintain an accurate filing and record keeping system for all financial statements and company documents.
- Participate in the execution of changes to procedures, policies, and systems to facilitate expansion, compliance, and scaling of the organization.
- Be an advisor to the Right to Resources Committee.
Administrative:
- Anchor and Chair the SLT’s Administrative Committee, or Co-Chair with a ONE DC SLT Director:
- Invite and ensure this committee has at least 10 to 15 ONE DC’s members on it to ensure the organization’s administrative responsibilities are collaboratively and cooperatively conducted.
- Admin committee needs to provide logistical support to SLT’s committees and organizational work.
- Ensure that member and volunteer recruiting processes are consistent and streamlined.
- Maintain Nationbuilder and make sure staff and volunteers are trained in Nationbuilder. When necessary, identify logistical or procedural recommendations for improvement.
- Coordinate communications for ONE DC including social media, monthly newsletters, the annual People’s Progress Report, and the onedconline.org website (including making sure the website is up to date).
- Ensure all ONE DC’s SLT and staff orientation materials are compiled into hard and digital copies.
- Work closely and transparently with all external partners including third-party vendors and consultants.
- Oversee administrative functions as well as facilities to ensure efficient and consistent operations as the organization scales.
- Ensure annual staff evaluations are completed on time.
- Coordinate or co-coordinate the interns, internships and volunteer staff.
- Collaborate with organizing staff to address day-to-day administrative needs.
- Develop a system or process to ensure staff’s administrative needs are effectively addressed.
- Maintain digital and hard copy files for the organization, as well as for the Personnel Committee and for the SLT in particular.
- Coordinate with the BWWC Coordinator and the property management company about the property management of the Black Workers and Wellness Center.
General:
- Coordinate and host monthly meetings for ONE DC’s Administrative Committee, be a member of ONE DC’s Finance Committee and Audit Committee; and provide support for ONE DC’s Right to Resources Committee.
- Work with the management team to revise and execute ONE DC’s staff orientation and leadership development plans.
- Assist in mentoring ONE DC staff by participating and modeling ONE DC’s organizing model by holding at least three one-on-ones weekly with ONE DC’s primary base members. By the year’s end, successful development of at least 50 ONE DC members, not including SLT directors and staff, is expected.
- Participate monthly in ONE DC’s outreach days led by ONE DC’s Organizing Committee.
- Study and recommend best democratic governance practices from other leading movement organizations like POWER U, OBS, YUC, Dream Defenders, and Sustainable Law Economies about their human resources systems and democratic methods.
Management team responsibilities include:
- Supervise staff in daily work responsibilities; in particular supervise any or all of: the BWWC Coordinator, the Resource Organizer, the Communications Organizer, any administrative interns or assistants, and ONE DC volunteers.
- Serve as a primary liaison with ONE DC’s Shared Leadership Team (SLT) to provide streamlined communication between staff and SLT.
- Provide monthly updates to SLT about staff’s performance, concerns, and organizational work.
- Further develop ONE DC’s human resources and administration operations, enhancing professional development, compensation and benefits, performance evaluation, training, and recruiting.
- Act as liaison between staff and Personnel Committee.
- Hold bi-weekly check-ins with staff; Ensure monthly work plans are submitted.
- Ensure staff evaluations are completed on time (monthly, semi-annually, and annually as appropriate).
- Plan, Attend and when necessary Facilitate staff meetings.
- Provide and/or schedule leadership training for staff.
- Help staff develop leadership training plans and monitor their progress.
- Oversee new staff onboarding and conduct staff orientation
- Support staff’s development and manifestation of ONE DC’s values, mission, and organizational work.
- Work with staff to plan staff retreats.
- Work with SLT to plan annual SLT retreats and complete strategic plans.
- Work with SLT and Lead Organizer to revise and expand SLT’s leadership development process, including a revamp of SLT’s orientation process.
- Support SLT Directors with the recruitment of SLT apprentices and directors.
- Assist in planning and implementation of ONE DC organizational events, such as the Annual Meeting, annual member appreciation, People’s Assembly, People’s Platform, Juneteenth, Emancipation Day, etc.
This position reports directly to ONE DC’s Personnel Committee, the Chair of the Personnel Committee is the Operations Lead’s immediate supervisor.
A successful candidate's Minimum Requirements:
- At least five years of demonstrated finance and administrative operations experience for a non-profit organization. Experience with a base-building organization is a plus.
- Excellent interpersonal skills, with a history of power-building and relationship-building with working-class sub-populations;
- Ability to build unity and motivate others to action;
- Strong history and personal practice of political and personal transformation;
- A disciplined commitment to political education;
- Strong computer and internet skills;
- Excellent emotional intelligence;
- A visionary and strong organizational leader;
- A long history of self-accountability and positive contributions to organizational staff culture;
- Good communication skills, written and verbal; and
- Self-motivated and skilled at working as part of a team.
Additional Qualifications:
- Must be able to attend work in person 5 days a week;
- To ensure leadership continuity, successful candidates should be willing to commit to at least a 3-year involvement in ONE DC;
- Knowledge of Washington, DC issues and organizations; DC residents are strongly encouraged to apply and are given strong preference.
- Learn about and commit to ONE DC’s organizing model;
- Willingness and ability to work with diverse community residents, particularly low-income residents, to address barriers to developing their strength as a community;
- A history of developing successful working relationships with movement organizations;
- Spanish, Amharic, or Chinese language proficiency given strong preference;
- Strong research skills; Eye for detail;
- Ability to work evenings and weekends;
- Creativity and sense of humor;
- A desire to deepen political analysis and learn about the history of social movements;
- A reflexive professional practice and active commitment to self-critique;
- Willingness to engage in honest, though constructive, mindful, and compassionate reciprocal critique of work with teams and other staff.
This is a full-time position. The salary for this position will range from $65,000-$75,000 based on experience. ONE DC offers a generous salary and benefits package. ONE DC is strongly committed to staff development and training. This is an opportunity for an individual to build meaningful relationships with grassroots communities and to be a part of real, concrete social change. People of color, women, LGBTQ and bilingual applicants are strongly encouraged to apply. Visit onedconline.org/jobs for more information.
Please submit resume, list of 3 organizing references, and cover letter (including salary expectations) electronically to [email protected]. Applications will be accepted until the position is filled.