Director of Operations

About Dorchester Bay Economic Development Corporation (DBEDC)

DBEDC is a Community Development Corporation (CDC) and a certified Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI). Founded in 1979, we work to build a strong, thriving, and diverse community in Boston’s North Dorchester and Roxbury neighborhoods. We develop, preserve, and sustain affordable rental and ownership housing. We lend capital to and coach small businesses and prepare job seekers for well-paying sustainable employment. We stabilize tenancies and foster community leadership. We’re focused on equitable development without displacement and providing opportunities for economic mobility.

We are one of Boston’s legacy and most established community development organizations, with an annual operating budget of approximately $11 million and a staff of 30.

About the Role

DBEDC seeks an entrepreneurial, collegial, and innovation-oriented Director of Operations. Reporting to the Chief Executive Officer, the DOO is an integral member of DBEDC’s senior leadership team. The DOO oversees the day-to-day operations of the office, ensuring that it runs efficiently and that all members of the team have what they need to succeed and DBEDC can meet its organizational objectives. The DOO manages the policies and operational infrastructure of the organization, in addition to overseeing DBEDC’s data and evaluation, and communications functions. 

The ideal candidate is self-motivated, has strong project management ability, strong interpersonal skills, strives for excellence, and is comfortable navigating change and ambiguity in a growth culture.  

What you can expect to do in the role:

Operational Oversight 

• Manage policies, systems, resources, compliance, and training for effective office administration, security, safety, technology support, and emergency protocols. 
• Develop, implement, and monitor day-to-day operational systems, processes, and metrics to provide visibility into the goals, progress, and obstacles of key initiatives. 
• Draw on relationships with department heads, external partners, and vendors to make decisions regarding operational activity and strategic goals. 
• Devise strategies for building infrastructure to support the growth of programs organization-wide and implement process improvements to maximize output and minimize costs. 
• Adhere to the company’s policies and standards and ensure that laws and regulations are being followed. 
• Work closely with the Director of People and Culture to engage staff with integrity and to establish and maintain a trusting, inclusive, productive, and rewarding environment, and lead monthly all-staff meetings. 
• Oversee the outsourced managed services providers, enterprise software including Salesforce, Slack, Microsoft platform, hardware management, vendor management, and user support services. 
• Oversee physical and virtual office administration including receptionist functions, safety and accessibility of the office environment and operational support for staff, events, and meetings. 
• Serve as primary contact with building management on maintenance and efficiency.
• Identify, champion, and act on opportunities for improving and implementing organizational processes to maximize efficiency including streamlining and improving technology and integration across teams and applications. 
• Develop and manage an equitable contracting and procurement system.  
• Develop and manage the operations annual work plan and budget. 
• Coordinate with Finance Team around financial operations (payments, deposits, front desk & mail). 
• 2024 priorities: Implementation of Asana for organization-wide project management and continued iteration of Salesforce CRM. 

Leadership

• Liaise with and serve as a strategic thought partner to CEO to set operational goals for DBEDC. 
• Provide managerial direction, lead, motivate, and develop the Operations Team – Communications Manager, Data and Evaluation Manager, and Administrative Coordinator – including goal setting, professional development, and performance evaluation.  
• Provide consistent, ongoing constructive feedback to direct reports to affirm successes and identify areas needing growth. 
• Contribute to overarching organization goals by participating in cross-functional working groups. 
• Lead monthly all-staff meetings. 

Qualifications

• Desire to work at an organization that is committed to racial equity and serves a diverse community predominantly of color, 
• Minimum of 4+ years in a management role directly leading experienced professionals, with demonstrated ability to motivate, empower, and develop others is required. 
• Capacity to creatively solve problems and take initiative to implement solutions. 
• Strong ability to provide and receive constructive feedback. 
• Strong written and verbal communication skills 
• Strong interpersonal skills, diplomacy, and collaborative mindset with a desire to be a proactive leadership team member. 
• Exceptional technology literacy required; broad experience managing technology preferred. 
• Ability to think critically, exercise discretion and sound judgment and handle highly sensitive information with professionalism and unquestionable integrity. 
• Flexibility to adjust to new strategies, procedures, and tasks as the organization evolves. 
• Excellent time management skills and ability to prioritize work and meet deadlines.
• Emotional intelligence with the ability to build strong relationships and garner trust of stakeholders. 
• Must be able to successfully pass a background check. 
• A high level of personal accountability, motivation, nimbleness, and is comfortable navigating change and ambiguity.  

It would be additionally phenomenal if you: 

• Have intermediate fluency in Spanish, Cape Verdean Kriolu, or Haitian Creole 
• Candidates with relevant lived experience and knowledge about Boston’s Dorchester and Roxbury neighborhoods will be given strong preference. 
• Experience leading implementation and iteration of organization-wide software and workflows (e.g. Asana, Salesforce) is strongly preferred. 

Other important details: 

• Don’t be discouraged from applying if you don’t “check all the boxes”. We appreciate the uniqueness of candidates and there is no “perfect" resume!

• Salary range: $100,000 - $120,000.

Studies have shown that compensation disparities have a negative impact on people of color and women due to salary negotiations. DBEDC is committed to ensuring transparency and equity in compensation by posting salary ranges for all job opportunities and determining salary based on skills, experience, and relevant credentials. To ensure we are consistent with our commitment to pay equity, we will make our best offer and will not negotiate compensation offers.

Total Compensation

DBEDC’s total compensation package features an amazing set of benefits that we considered towards the overall compensation, including:

• (5) Generous cost-sharing medical insurance packages for selection and no eligible waiting period. 

• Employer-paid Dental and Vision coverage.

• Flexible Spending Account and Dependent Care Assistance Program

• Short-Term Disability, Long-Term Disability, Life and Accident Death

• Commuter Benefits Program

• Employee Wellbeing On-Demand Services

• Perks at Work Program

• Three personal days

• Five weeks’ vacation

• Fifteen sick days

• Seventeen paid holidays

• Birthday leave

• Five volunteer days

• 403 (b) plan with generous employer contribution

• Flexible hybrid work environment