Organization Summary

At TransformEd, we believe that every young person deserves to be supported in the development of their whole self, yet, due to systemic oppression, students from historically marginalized populations often do not have the access they deserve to rich, positive learning environments that foster their development. We believe that the education system is ripe for transformation, to better serve the needs of students, families, and communities. We focus on the school system as the unit of change, partnering directly with school districts in order to support educators and leaders in changing policies and practices to foster whole child development.

Over the past ten years, TransformEd has worked with schools and districts serving over one million students in twenty-six US states. TransformEd’s portfolio includes work with individual schools, districts, networks, and other education support organizations, focused on integrating an antiracist, whole child focus into each system’s work.

Learn more about Transforming Education on our webpage and read more about our organization history below.

Position Summary

Transforming Education (TransformEd) is seeking a Senior Operations Associate who will help manage and support the daily operations of the organization. The Senior Operations Associate will coordinate financial and operational tasks to help sustain the organization. The ideal candidate for this position is someone who has financial management experience, who applies an equity lens to operations, and has a strong desire to analyze and improve operational systems.

TransformEd is committed to building the diversity of our team and creating and maintaining a positive, inclusive workplace culture where all can thrive. We are particularly interested in receiving applications from a broad spectrum of qualified people who represent the diverse backgrounds and experiences of the students and educators in the districts we serve.

Responsibilities

• Coordinate and complete operations tasks including but not limited to:
• Monthly & quarterly close
• Accounts payable
• Accounts receivable (Quickbooks)
• Payroll
• Staff purchases and reimbursements
• Bank deposits
• Annual audit, tax filings, annual reporting
• Liaise with outsourced IT support, payroll team, and accountant
• Manage and maintain Salesforce
• Support the revision of the organization’s approach to growth & development (performance management)
• Support the development of grant and partnership proposals, budgets, and reports
• Support operations projects as needed
• Commitment to TransformEd’s work focused on school districts’ antiracist whole child supports, systems, and structures
• Experience using Salesforce / basic knowledge of Salesforce
• Financial management experience
• Exceptional customer service skills
• Vendor management experience
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Ability to stay organized and prioritize while juggling many responsibilities
• Detail-oriented
• Ability to identify organizational needs for systems and processes through an antiracist, equitable, and inclusive lens
• Ability to leverage multiple perspectives and frames to support the team in problem-solving

Nice to haves

• Quickbook experience
• Grant-writing experience a plus

Core Competencies

All team members at Transforming Education are expected to demonstrate the following competencies in their work, regardless of department, team, level, or functional area.

• Collaboration: Approach work with humility, candor, and integrity. Seek out and value input and feedback from others
• Empathy: Consider others’ perspectives in making decisions or taking actions
• Equity: Develop an ever-deepening understanding of and act on authentic concern for issues of equity, inclusion, and racial justice, particularly as they apply to students and the U.S. education system. Demonstrate self-awareness, social awareness, and cultural humility in all internal and external interactions.
• Growth Mindset: View challenges as opportunities and mistakes as chances to learn
• Project Management: Conduct work in a way that is planful, thoughtful, and intentional. Effectively manage time and resources to successful project completion.
• Communication: Communicate clearly and honestly with colleagues and clients in a way that considers contextual and cultural nuance.
• Adaptability: Nimbly shift focus across tasks, projects, and communication modes and maintain forward momentum in the face of setbacks.
• Evidence: Use high-quality, evidence-based resources. Uplift best practices and curate content from a variety of experts, including researchers and practitioners

Position Details

This is a full-time role reporting to the Director of Operations. Location is flexible, as Transforming Education has a fully remote workforce. Salary is $60,000-$70,000.

Our lean team enjoys people-first benefits including unlimited paid time off, paid parental leave, flexible working hours, 401(k) with employer match, and generous medical and dental/vision benefits (company subsidized at 90% and 100%, respectively).

Application Instructions

Interested applicants should submit a resume to the link below. In lieu of a cover letter, applicants should be prepared to submit responses to the following questions (in 150-200 words, each), and include a writing sample.

1. Why do you want to work at TransformEd?
2. Please describe your prior experience working on finance and operations.
3. Describe a specific way you have integrated a focus on equity, inclusion, and anti-racist practices into your work.

Organization History

Transforming Education (TransformEd) began in 2010 as a set of research projects under the New Initiatives Department at the National Center on Time and Learning. The organization’s early work examined schools’ impact on students’ cognitive and “non-cognitive” skills and on supporting students in developing the “mindsets, essential skills, and habits needed for success in college, career, and life.”

In its initial years, TransformEd invested its resources heavily in assessing students’ social-emotional skills. While this focus offered extensive opportunities to partner with schools and districts, it had the unintended effect of reinforcing systemic racism, oppression, and inequitable instruction. In recent years, we have intentionally shifted away from a focus on measuring student social-emotional skills and towards a focus on building educators’ capacity to change education systems to better support students’ holistic development.

In 2016, TransformEd incorporated as a fully-independent 501(c)3. In 2019, the organization updated its mission to “partner with educators to support school systems in fostering the development of the whole child so that all students, particularly those from underserved populations, can thrive.” This shift reflected an emphasis on the school system, instead of the student, as the unit of change. It also formally acknowledged that a range of other factors beyond skill-building contribute to student thriving, including strong relationships, positive learning environments, and anti-racist practices. Finally, the explicit note about underserved populations was also intended to enshrine a deep belief in the importance of equity and justice in the mission statement.

In 2020, TransformEd developed a new strategic plan in order to focus our work and achieve greater impact. In recent years, we have seen that social-emotional learning and educational equity are too often addressed as separate goals, but we believe the two are inextricably linked. We seek to be field leaders in antiracist approaches to whole child development. This requires a deep understanding of the ways in which positive learning environments, social-emotional development, identity development, and racial justice are interconnected. To support this evolution in our work, we have committed to deepening our expertise in antiracist practices, re-examining the tools and resources that emerged from our earliest work, and refining our internal policies and practices to ensure that we are walking the walk on our vision and mission.