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Team Summary
Common Ground USA (CG-USA) supports collaboration across differences to address our most significant challenges and to build an America where we can all belong and thrive. As an initiative of Search for Common Ground, we have 40 years' experience in conflict settings worldwide, and know that disagreement is an opportunity to transform conflict into cooperation. It is how we can solve our most challenging problems. We know that most Americans want to overcome the divisions we face in our society. We know it takes courage - and that everyone has a role to play.
Position Summary
The Manager, Strategic Operations serves as a trusted advisor to the Executive Director, ensuring operational excellence, strategic alignment, and seamless coordination across teams. This role combines high-level administrative and strategic and operational support to the Executive Director, ensuring efficiency in daily operations and advancing organizational goals through hands-on execution. The ideal candidate is a proactive problem solver and strategic thinker who thrives in a fast-paced, mission-driven environment.
Key Responsibilities
Administrative Support
- Manages the Executive Director's inbox, prioritizing communications, drafting responses, and directing emails as needed.
- Organizes and manages calendars, schedules, and appointments, ensuring seamless coordination and preparation.
- Coordinates travel arrangements and logistics for in-person and virtual meetings.
- Prepares and reconciles expense reports with accuracy and timeliness.
- Organizes and supports meetings, including scheduling, preparing materials, note-taking, and follow-ups.
- Builds and maintains strong relationships with internal and external stakeholders.
- Drafts and edits correspondence for key stakeholders, including funders and board members.
- Manages office tasks, maintains records, and liaises with vendors to ensure smooth operations.
- Supports the adoption and integration of operational systems to improve team productivity.
- Prepares presentations, briefing materials, and summaries for the Executive Director.
- Organizes all files in the CG-USA share drive.
Strategic Support
- Advises the Executive Director on key priorities and ensures alignment across teams.
- Oversees and drives strategic initiatives, cross-functional projects, and process improvements.
- Monitors organizational performance and optimize workflows for efficiency.
- Leads internal communication, ensuring priorities are conveyed and executed.
- Conducts research and draft reports, briefings, and presentations to support decision-making and strategic initiatives.
Stakeholder Engagement
- Manages and strengthens relationships with funders, and external partners, ensuring seamless communication and engagement.
- Leads meeting preparations, including agenda development, briefing materials, and follow-ups.
- Represents CG-USA in key external meetings and engagements as needed.
Fundraising Support
- Contributes to managing fundraising workflows, ensuring timely execution of donor outreach, grant applications, and funding proposals.
- Collaborates with the development and business development teams to track funding opportunities, deadlines, and reporting requirements.
- Ensures alignment between programmatic priorities and fundraising strategies.
- Tracks grant opportunities on the fundraising dashboard.
- Works closely with Directors to coordinate grant logistics for programming.
Additional Responsibilities
- Provides administrative support to senior staff as needed.
- Completes required timesheets and adhere to organizational policies.
- Performs other duties consistent with the role as assigned.
Contributions
- Tracks news events, media, and social media relevant to the team's priorities.
- Attends events and briefings and synthesizes information for sharing.
- Provides logistical and administrative support for CG-USA programming and events.
- Supports briefings, written products, and strategy development through desk research, copy editing, coordinating sign-ons, scheduling working group meetings, and sharing materials.
- Gathers monitoring and evaluation data, as assigned.
- Ensures information and knowledge are captured in trackers and systems.
- Provides record-keeping support for budget tracking.
- Responds to questions and policy and outreach-relevant requests in a timely and customer-service-oriented fashion.
- Supports the development and execution of organizational initiatives and strategies, including participating in voluntary committees and discussions.
- Other duties broadly align with the above key contributions as assigned.
Qualifications
- BS/BA with a minimum of nine (9) years of related work experience.
- Experience is required in democracy, peace-building, advocacy, or other related fields.
- Experience in executive operations, strategic planning, or a related role
- Strong administrative, organizational, and leadership skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities.
- Proven ability to handle complex organizational challenges and drive initiatives from concept to execution.
- A demonstrated ability to work with teammates, partners, leaders, and constituencies from different backgrounds and viewpoints
- A commitment to working across difference to build a more peaceful and just America, and a commitment to CG-USA and Search values
- A highly collaborative working style
Competency Behavior Indicators (Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities)
- Manages overall strategy and vision. Provides functional and program/project management. Anticipates and plans for needs and takes action accordingly.
- Develops and maintains collaborative relationships with vendors, organizations, professional associations, partners, funders, and CG-USA's network of experts.
- Modifies a planned course of action in response to new information or new circumstances.
- Responds to changing circumstances and expectations readily.
- Articulates CG-USA program goals and objectives within and external to Search. Develops program objectives that reflect broader Search strategies and approaches.
- Provides input for standards across functions globally within Shared Services teams, focusing on a multicultural perspective that considers other cultures, viewpoints, and ways of doing things.
- Overcomes obstacles using ethical practices; formulates and evaluates morally and ethically justified solutions.
- Assesses risks and opportunities to lead decision makers to a favorable outcome.
- Checks the accuracy of one's own and others' work and sets up systematic checks and balances to support content and data integrity.
- Has knowledge of project management tools, including technology as resources for efficiency and reduction of stress.
- Works with employees to set and communicate performance standards that are specific and measurable.
- Anticipates the consequences of situations and plans accordingly.
- Analyzes the costs, benefits, risks, and chances for success in making a decision.
- Provides coaching and mentoring to staff.
- Remain alert and responsive to any safeguarding risks, acquire relevant knowledge and skills that will enable you to promote strong safeguarding practices, understand the safeguarding policy and procedures, and conduct yourself in a manner consistent with the Safeguarding Policy.
Location:
Must be based in the United States, with a preference for the DC metro area.
Working Conditions and Physical Requirements:
Usual office environment conditions; ability to travel at least 20%
Standard work will take place remotely, but will require interfacing and attending in-person events in DC, Pennsylvania, and Texas.
Occasional travel to other US locations will be required
Standard work hours are Eastern or Central time-zone business hours
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Search For Common Ground
Mar 13, 2025 