Operations / Administration Manager, Operations & Program Support
Job Description
About Read Ahead
Read Ahead is dedicated to helping New York City youth strengthen the literacy and
social-emotional skills they need to thrive in school and beyond. Read Ahead’s vision is that our students have the opportunity to unlock their full potential through mentoring relationships based on a love of reading.
Since 1991, Read Ahead has connected public elementary school students with caring mentors from leading corporate and community partners. During weekly virtual sessions, mentors and mentees read together, discuss books and their lives, and engage in fun and educational games and activities. Read Ahead sessions are designed to help children grow their confidence, love of reading, literacy skills, and other skills essential for success. For more information, please visit readahead.org.
With the recent development of our hybrid program and our anti-racism and anti-oppression commitments, Read Ahead has an opportunity to deepen our impact for students. We are committed to ongoing improvement as an organization, and are eager to take bold new steps to create better outcomes for the students, families, and schools we serve.
About the Manager, Operations & Program Support
Read Ahead seeks a full-time Manager, Operations & Program Support who will be
responsible for support in the following areas: office operations, human resources, finance,
technology, program logistics, and organizational growth and culture building. This position may be a great fit for you if you:
- Have experience in and enjoy providing administrative support to team members
- Have strong organizational skills
- Are outcomes-oriented and skilled in holding yourself and others accountable for
executing tasks and responsibilities in a timely and efficient manner - Enjoy completing tasks and checking things off a “to do” list
- Enjoy being the “go to” person when a team member has a question or needs support
- Are passionate about youth development and equity in education and want to contribute to an organization focused on supporting New York City public school students
This is a new position that will report to the Chief of Staff. This is a hybrid position, with
in-person work required in our downtown Manhattan office.
Responsibilities
Office Operations & Support
- Manage the overall operation and maintenance of the RA office in collaboration
with the Chief of Staff, including but not limited to: organizing and maintaining an
office space where staff are motivated and supported to do their best work; and
coordinating with building staff to ensure compliance with all regulations and
procedures as necessary - Perform basic administrative duties such as filing and recordkeeping, printing and
copying, creating labels and mailings, and collecting & distributing mail - Act as the first point of contact for visitors and general inquiries to the RA office, general email inboxes, and organization phone calls
- Manage and oversee the organization-wide calendars, conference room scheduling, and help lead staff-wide events, including holiday parties, end-of-year celebrations, etc.
Human Resources (HR)
- Collaborate with the Chief of Staff to provide HR support , including coordinating
hiring process logistics (e.g. setting up interviews, maintaining personnel files;
coordinating new hire paperwork; and administrative “onboarding” of new staff
and offboarding of departing staff - Communicate important benefits-related information to staff and track related
data internally - Conduct research as needed to help inform Read Ahead policy decisions (e.g.
related to raises, changes or increases to staff benefits, etc.)
Finance - Support with tracking and managing expenses and related documentation
- Deposit checks and share details for internal team so revenue can be tracked
and acknowledged - Maintain files with required documents for annual audit process and other
reporting needs
Technology Organization
- Support the creation and implementation of platform-specific guides (e.g. Slack,
monday.com, Google Suite, Zoom, etc.) designed to help Read Ahead staff
leverage organization-wide technology; train new staff members on Read Ahead
tools and systems during onboarding, and provide training or support as
necessary for the full staff or groups of staff - Oversee the inventory and maintenance of all organization IT equipment and
liaise with vendors for upgrades, repairs, and maintenance as necessary
Program Support
- Support program staff with basic requests and ongoing needs, including:
- Shipping, receiving, and transporting items to and from schools
- Ordering supplies for the program and special events
- Troubleshooting tech access and hardware issues for program staff, ensuring
accurate inventory - Ensure all staff have access to role-specific invitations and information
Organizational Growth & Culture Building
- Recommend structures, systems, and other improvements that will foster more
efficient independent and collaborative work for all Read Ahead staff - Be an active and engaged collaborator in Read Ahead’s organization-wide efforts to advance our DEIB goals; ensure that all operations and processes are aligned with DEIB goals
- Draft staff surveys and share data regarding staff engagement and satisfaction
Preferred Qualifications
- Passion for Read Ahead’s mission
- 1-3 years of experience, preferably in a nonprofit role, with a desire to take on increasing
responsibility and learn all aspects of a dynamic, growing organization - Commitment to anti-racism and equity in your work and communications
- Excellent organizational skills, including the ability to manage time and deadlines
effectively - Ability to manage multiple responsibilities simultaneously and navigate ambiguity with
grace, competence, and a sense of humor - Ability to learn & leverage technology to support team collaboration, workflow, and
efficiency, and/or an interest in doing so - Technical skills: prior experience with Google Suite, including Excel/Sheets; prior work with project management tools (monday.com, Asana) is a strong plus
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills
- Empathetic listener, with the ability to understand multiple perspectives and translate
diverse thoughts into collective action - Highly self-aware and reflective with the ability to give and receive feedback
- Practices a growth mindset, along with a deep commitment to genuine learning and
self-improvement for self and others - Comfort, familiarity and/or interest in working on a small team
We seek to build a diverse staff representative of the communities we serve. Even successful
candidates may not have all of the preferred qualifications indicated above; if you are excited about the role, believe you can successfully fulfill its responsibilities, and don’t have every single preferred qualification, we encourage you to apply anyway.
Hybrid Work Policy
As an organization that partners with New York City public schools, afterschool service
providers, families, corporate partners, and other stakeholders, Read Ahead recognizes that
in-person work is required to achieve our mission.
The Manager, Operations & Program Support will typically work approximately 2-3 days/week in-person to perform essential job responsibilities but may work up to 5 days/week in-person during busy times of the year, with a schedule determined by organizational needs and approved by the Chief of Staff. Essential in-person responsibilities for this role include, but are not limited to: meetings, regularly scheduled in-office days, and events.
In addition to the essential in-person job responsibilities described above, this role also includes other essential functions which may be performed remotely.
Salary and Benefits
Annual salary is $60,000.
Highly competitive benefits package:
- 90% general healthcare insurance coverage (employee pays 10%)
- 100% dental insurance coverage (no cost to employee)
- vision insurance
- $3,000 annual employer-funded HRA
- eligibility to contribute to 403(b) with up to a 3% match by Read Ahead for all employees who are employed on the last day of the calendar year (12/31)
- pre-tax transit program
- pre-tax FSA plan
- 3 weeks (15 days) paid vacation in first year of employment; 4 weeks (20 days) annual
paid vacation after that; vacation accrues monthly - 10 sick days and 3 personal days per year
- Read Ahead is closed between Christmas Eve and New Year’s Day each year and for all
federal holidays
Read Ahead is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We believe in compensating staff members
fairly and take internal and external equity seriously. Given our commitment to equity, Read Ahead does not negotiate salary offers; instead, each salary offer is determined carefully using external and internal benchmarking. You will have an opportunity to discuss benefits in more detail during the hiring process.
