Michigan Educator Workforce Initiative - Operations Manager

Michigan Educator Workforce Initiative – Operations Manager 

(Must reside in Southeast Michigan; Remote, in-person, or hybrid – with some in-person meetings and events required) 

Who We Are 

Michigan Educator Workforce Initiative (MEWI) is a non-profit that serves as a hub for educator talent. MEWI adopts a “systems-adjacent” approach, working closely with K-12 districts and higher education institutions to design and support innovative approaches to recruiting and developing teachers and school leaders. We are committed to hiring a team that represents the diversity our state offers. 

What We Do 

MEWI is an adaptive organization that plays the roles necessary to foster innovation and long-term, systematic capacity-building in the educator talent space. Depending on the context and project needs, MEWI acts as a “doer”, funder, supporter, or convener. MEWI designs, implements, funds, and supports innovative programs to recruit, develop, retain, and elevate new and veteran teachers and school leaders. MEWI captures insights and learnings from our work to share with systems leaders, policy makers, parents, and community leaders and convenes educators to share best practices, collaborate, and problem-solve. 

What You’ll Do 

As Operations Manager, you will play a pivotal role in supporting the MEWI team to achieve its ambitious goals. You will work closely with other members of the MEWI team, vendors, and external stakeholders to ensure MEWI’s operations are efficient and effective. 

Who You Are 

The ideal candidate for this role: 

• Has an entrepreneurial spirit. This person enjoys working in a fast-paced and ambiguous environment and does not get overwhelmed easily when managing multiple stakeholder relationships. 

• Is self-directed and independent. This person will work independently to build systems from the ground up which requires discipline and focus. 

• Has excellent communication skills. This person is skilled at both written and verbal communication and can adapt communications for different audiences. 

• Is detail-oriented and a creative problem solver. This person anticipates challenges in advance and provides proactive solutions to complex problems.  

• Is a critical and analytical thinker. This person likes to get in the weeds and enjoys analyzing data and translating this data for different stakeholders.  

• Has strong project management skills. This person can manage large, cross-functional projects and programs and is skilled at connecting the dots across functions and teams.  

• Is a team player. This person has strong relationship-building skills and is always willing to jump in and support team members and partners as needed to meet a goal.  

Minimum Qualifications 

• Bachelor’s degree (or higher) from an accredited college or university 

• 3-5 years of work in a similar role that includes project management, operations management, and technology platform management 

• Experience working with multiple vendors to ensure coherent, consistent service to the organization 

• Proficient with technology including the Microsoft Suite, Google Suite, Salesforce, QuickBooks, and Expensify 

• Experience and comfort coordinating and facilitating meetings and virtual presentations 

• (Preferred) Experience working with social media, including posting in professional settings 

• (Preferred) Experience managing or supporting benefits administration 

Responsibilities  

People + Culture 

• Support MEWI’s staff hiring processes, including collaborating with other staff members to produce job descriptions and hiring tasks, managing MEWI’s hiring platform and applicant communications, and leading comprehensive onboarding processes 

• Oversee benefits administration for MEWI staff, including coordinating annual processes, supporting new employee enrollments, and creating and maintaining a benefits knowledge base  

• Manage the administration of company policies, including updating organizational policies as needed and overseeing annual policy agreement processes 

• Support MEWI’s performance management processes, including managing MEWI’s staff evaluation platform, providing guidance and timelines to employees, and implementing a 360-feedback process with accompanying tools 

Stakeholder Management 

• Support MEWI’s vendor management processes, including identifying, vetting, and selecting vendors, producing service agreements, managing invoices and payments, and leading cost/benefit evaluations 

• Support MEWI’s grant management processes in collaboration with Directors of Program, including creating and communicating timelines and requirements of grant processes, producing grant agreements, supporting progress reporting and subsequent grant disbursement processes, and creating and maintaining systems for financial transparency in grant fund disbursements  

• Coordinate MEWI’s Board processes, including establishing annual calendars, codifying and managing a board meeting preparation process, collecting and finalizing board meeting materials, and maintaining board meeting minutes   

• Generate ideas, systems, feedback structures, and supports to benefit all stakeholders of MEWI’s work, including funders and potential funders, potential grantees, media outlets, legislatures, the Michigan Department of Education, research partners, etc 

Internal Structures and Processes 

• Manage and support the team in using MEWI’s technology solutions for operational efficiency, including travel booking, expense management, Microsoft Suite, financial management, and virtual meeting tools, among others 

• Coordinate MEWI team meetings and retreats, including creating annual calendars, planning retreat locations and travel guidance, maintaining calendar invites for meetings and retreats, and preparing agendas and accompanying materials 

• Support MEWI’s internal professional learning structures, including developing an annual “conference strategy,” establishing processes for staff members to share back professional learning to team, coordinating book studies, and monitoring and encouraging within-budget staff spending on professional learning 

• Support the implementation of MEWI’s first customer relationship management (CRM) system, including the procurement, design, and training phases; act as a system administrator, including maintaining timely data, leveraging communication features, and producing data reports and insights in alignment with MEWI’s OKRs (objectives and key results) and other key metrics  

• Execute operations and project management for “brick and mortar” functions of MEWI’s work, including facilities management, in-person (as well as virtual) event management, and mail/package collection with follow-up as needed 

General Expectations for all MEWI staff members 

• Provide excellent customer service to stakeholders in a wide variety of roles 

• Contribute to MEWI’s evolution and expansion by completing special and priority projects as determined jointly with manager and Partners 

• Maintain strong record keeping for federal and state programs and grants 

• Perform other duties as assigned by MEWI leadership and direct supervisor 

Compensation 

This is a full-time role.  The salary range for this position is $86,338 – $107,997. Excellent health, vision, dental, and retirement benefits are also provided. 

Inclusive Hiring Practices 

MEWI is committed to creating a diverse and inclusive workplace. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law.