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People and Operations Director

The National Young Farmers Coalition (Young Farmers) represents, mobilizes, and engages young farmers to ensure their success. Since our founding in 2010, we have grown our grassroots network to over 200,000 individuals and partner organizations. We give young farmers tools to become leaders in their communities, building an effective political voice at the local, state, and national level. Together, we tackle the most critical structural and economic barriers that prevent motivated young people from starting and growing successful farm businesses—including access to affordable farmland, student debt, climate change, healthcare, racial inequities, and more. We have won historic investments in beginning farmer training, outreach to farmers of color, and farmland conservation. Our advocacy for a USDA Farm Service Agency microloan resulted in a loan program in every county that has served more than 30,000 farmers.

Young Farmers seeks a People and Operations Director to develop, implement, and manage our human resources strategies and streamline operational processes across the organization. The People and Operations Director is responsible for overseeing the operations team’s administration of human resource programs including, but not limited to, compensation, payroll, benefits, and leave; disciplinary matters; disputes and investigations; performance management; recruiting and hiring processes; staff culture, recognition, and morale; and training and development on HR and operations policies and practices. The People and Operations Director will also work to ensure people, processes and technology are working together efficiently so plans are executed properly and decisions are based on reliable information. The role is both operational and strategic in nature, leading and supporting efforts that deliver organizational effectiveness, a thriving work environment and inclusive culture, and meets the growing needs of the organization through effective talent acquisition and management strategies. The People and Operations Director and their team will also act as key points of contact for our 50+ employees throughout the organization, allowing us to maximize staff engagement, contribution, and satisfaction. The People and Operations Director will report to the Chief of Staff and will serve as a member of the Leadership Team.

Title: People and Operations Director

Reports to: Chief of Staff

Status: Full Time; Exempt

Location: Remote, U.S. Based Home Office (DC preferred)– Applicants must be eligible to work in the U.S.

Start date: May15-July 15 2023

Responsibilities

Human Resources (40%)

Expertly plan, lead, develop, coordinate, and implement equity and feedback centered policies, processes, trainings, initiatives, and surveys to support the organization’s human resource compliance and strategy needs.
Lead human resources approach and supervise the operations team’s administration of human resource programs including, but not limited to, compensation, payroll, benefits, and leave; disciplinary matters; disputes and investigations; performance management; recruiting and hiring processes; staff culture, recognition, and morale; and training and development on HR and operations policies and practices.
Provide support and guidance to management and other staff when complex, specialized, and sensitive questions and issues arise; may be required to execute routine tasks in delicate circumstances such as providing reasonable accommodations, investigating allegations of wrongdoing, and terminations.
Ensure compliance with federal, state, and local employment laws and regulations, and recommended best practices; reviews policies and practices to maintain compliance; and documents in the Young Farmers Employee Handbook.
Maintain knowledge of trends, best practices, regulatory changes, and new technologies in human resources, talent management, and employment law.
Review salary guidelines annually and propose updates as needed to Co-Executive Directors, working alongside the Finance Director, Chief of Staff, and managing consultants to inform an equitable compensation strategy.
Update and implement the staff performance evaluation process in close collaboration with the Chief of Staff and in alignment with feedback from past evaluation processes.
Guide the operations team and consultant’s engagement work including conflict management, values and strategic alignment, and staff or Coalition events (including staff retreats, fly-ins, and Convergence).

Operations and Administration (25%)

Collaborate with operations staff to implement equitable and accessible procedures and technologies that ensure consistent systems and processes, and enable streamlining workflows and operations across the organization.
Participate in the Monitoring and Evaluation Team to coordinate and implement the annual planning process, project management practices and tools, and performance management systems.
Manage physical and virtual office administration including receptionist functions (i.e. virtual doorperson), maintenance requests, and supplies.
Supervise the Information Systems Associated Director in implementing, maintaining, troubleshooting, and training on effective technology and information systems.
Manage workflows for all major organizational events in alignment with operations policies, in collaboration with the event’s planning team, and with specific attention to safety and accessibility.
Identify changes needed to organizational insurance policies, lead decision-making between members of the operations and executive teams, and manage oversees insurance enrollment.

Management and Organizational Leadership (25%)

Serve as a member of the Leadership Team, participating in organization-wide strategy and decision-making, helping to operationalize those decisions, and driving organizational commitments to data-based and accountable decision-making.
Manage operations team including the Culture and Operations Associate Director, Information Systems Associate Director, and (indirectly) the People and Operations Manager.
Directs team’s responsibilities to ensure the operations team meets its annual goals by facilitating weekly team meetings and quarterly stepbacks, supporting team members through regular check-ins, and facilitating opportunities for professional development.
Liaise with the Executive Teams, facilitating decision-making around compensation, benefits, and other structural changes in a way that provides transparency to the operations team.
Advises other managers on management best practices, and consults on conflict resolution and performance management issues as they arise.
Assist the Chief of Staff in the implementation of Management Team expectations, manual, meetings and tools, helping to shape staff experiences at Young Farmers and support the implementation and evaluation of our management philosophy.

Development and Budget Management (5%)

Support grant drafting, submission, and reporting processes as needed by the Development team.
Maintain relationships with funders that support operations work, communicating progress on program implementation and other relevant programmatic updates and milestones.
Work with the Finance Director on annual budgeting process completion and quarterly forecasting, and manage the team’s budget

General Staff Responsibilities (5%)

Serve as a contributing team player who willingly supports organizational efforts in alignment with the strategic plan and models the organizational values.
All staff admin: individually complete time cards and expense reports, attend weekly staff calls, supervisory meetings, team meetings, staff retreats, and other staff social spaces, and participate in providing feedback and executing on annual processes.

Qualifications

This could be the right position for you, if you: (Qualifications)

Have 5+ years of professional experience managing human resources, and professional HR Certification preferred: SHRM-SCP, SHRM-CP, PHR or SPHR
Have demonstrated leadership experience implementing equity and feedback-centered HR and Operations policies and processes
Have an in-depth knowledge and understanding of HR compliance, benefits administration, records retention, HR policies and procedures and personnel management
Have a thorough knowledge of employment-related laws and regulations and an ability to comprehend, interpret and apply the appropriate sections of applicable laws, guidelines, regulations, ordinances, and policies.
Have proactive problem-solving skills, with the ability to multi-task and time manage effectively, and see projects to their conclusion
Have a high level of emotional intelligence with the ability to thoughtfully and accurately assess and resolve complex people issues
Have proven experience coaching managers on best practices and offering strategies and language for providing feedback and enhances performance
Excellent interpersonal, communication, and conflict management skills including active listening and reflection, engendering trust and buy-in, discretion and confidentiality where appropriate, and ability to balance directness and diplomacy

The ideal candidate may also have:

Experience working in a fully remote environment.
Experience or history working with other nonprofit organizations in the food, agriculture, or social justice sectors
Experience supporting HR regulations and compliance across multiple states.
Experience troubleshooting ad hoc operations and technology-related obstacles.
Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
Excellent organizational skills and ability to prioritize tasks and to delegate them when appropriate.
Ability to act with integrity, professionalism, and confidentiality.
Thorough understanding of, or ability to quickly learn, the office equipment, recordkeeping systems, and related protocols used in the organization.
Knowledge and experience of change management best practices in rolling out new initiatives across large groups of employees.
Preference for DC

Schedule and Compensation

Regular full-time exempt employees work 40 hours per week including a one (1) hour paid lunch break each day.
The current salary for this role is $96,000, in accordance with our 2023 Salary Guidelines.
Young Farmers offers a competitive benefits package, health, vision and dental insurance, generous paid time off, paid sick days, personal days, paid family leave, and retirement matching.

How to Apply

Apply by May 4th using the form at www.youngfarmers.org/about/jobs/ to be considered for an interview. Applications without a cover letter will be considered incomplete.

*The job post is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing every activity, duty or responsibility that is required of the employee. Duties, responsibilities and activities may change slightly or be added depending on the needs of the organization.