Senior Operations Lead - TomTod Ideas

Senior Operations Lead

focused on organizational sustainability and systems leadership

TomTod Ideas is a youth development nonprofit that listens to, honors, and advocates for middle schoolers. Yep. You read that right. Middle schoolers and only middle schoolers. We create curricula and programming focused on 11-14 year-olds because we think their perspective is valuable and necessary for the community.

Since 2012 we’ve partnered with thousands of middle schoolers, working to develop a thriving community where middle schoolers lead alongside adults with the tools and resources to make positive change. Using the latest research about early adolescent development, our curricula and programming allow students to explore idea creation through community-focused, developmentally aligned lenses. Using a variety of experiential learning adventures, we connect the energy, imagination, and intuition of middle schoolers with the wisdom, resources, and experiences of adults, equipping middle schoolers with vital skills and empowering them to take action today while setting them up for success tomorrow.

We are seeking a teammate with extensive experience working with organizational strategy, team leadership, and systems administration. Candidates should be passionate about providing leadership in an organization focused on empowering middle schoolers and shifting cultural conversations on youth ability, education, and the common good. The Senior Operations Lead will:

• partner with the TomTod Leadership Core to refine and pursue essential organizational strategies.
• refine and establish systems that build organizational sustainability, including financial oversight.
• guide TomTod in recruiting, retaining, and resourcing a healthy, growing team.

Position Type: Full Time

Salary & Benefits: $70,000 - $74,000 salary depending on experience. Retirement match. Healthcare. Technology provided. Professional development opportunities. Mileage reimbursement. Generous PTO accrual and paid holidays. 

Location: Headquartered in Canton, OH. Active throughout NE Ohio.

How to Apply: Submit a cover letter and resume to jdh@tomtodideas.org.

Application Deadline: Open until position is filled.

TomTod Ideas takes a whole-team approach to diversity, equity and inclusion practices and is an equal opportunity employer. As we seek new team members, we welcome the meaningful contributions you might bring in terms of your education, perspective, race, culture, ethnicity, gender identity, national origin, disability, veteran’s status, age or religion.

TOMTOD STAFF DNA

Any TomTod team member should be:

• a self-starter with high ability at self-discipline and self-direction.
• a team player who readily operates in a collaboration-oriented atmosphere that includes a high level of interaction with a variety of stakeholders (board members, community members, educators, funders, middle schoolers, parents, volunteers, etc.). 
• able to operate in an environment with substantial complexity, balancing multiple tasks simultaneously while prioritizing intuitively.
• focused on building a thoughtful, diverse team culture, with high values on experiential discovery, excellence (not perfectionism), and empowerment.
• a creative thinker, able to solve problems and think creatively about tackling obstacles in a variety of forms and from various angles.
• able to navigate conflict and interpersonal relationships proactively and professionally, balancing empathy and accountability.
• able to efficiently organize, communicate, and delegate tasks, while working alongside teammates and volunteers to see ideas through to completion.
• occasionally available for night or weekend commitments

STAND OUT QUALITIES

Exemplary candidates will:

• have 5+ years operational leadership experience (with particular value placed on mission-driven experiences).
• exemplify a posture of curiosity toward continued learning and development.
• be a skilled communicator, able to navigate multiple mediums with diverse stakeholders.
• display a knack for zooming in & out, navigating the dance floor and balcony with ease.
• have a history highlighting significant personnel development and management.
• possess a strategic approach to project management and delegation.
• demonstrate financial acumen with significant experience managing budgets, allocating resources, and analyzing data to support financial sustainability.

SENIOR OPERATIONS LEAD SPECIALTIES

Organization Systems & Processes

The Senior Operations Lead will:

• report to the Executive Dreamer and collaborate as part of the Leadership Core (alongside the Executive Dreamer and Senior Adventure Lead) on TomTod vision and leadership.
• work alongside the Leadership Core to ensure deliberate attention to and engagement of diversity, equity, and inclusion practices in every aspect of the organization.
• set and implement organizational systems and strategies to drive TomTod’s mission and goals.
• refine and manage effective engagement strategies with programmatic partners, including guiding systems for documenting, contracting, and retaining TomTod programmatic partners.
• refine and guide internal standard operating procedures (SOPs) and full cycle plans (FCPs) through a lens of continuous improvement.
• lead organization-wide systems including office management, IT oversight, and compliance and risk management policies.

Financial Management and Resource Allocation

The Senior Operations Lead will:

• co-develop the annual budget in collaboration with the Executive Director.
• oversee budgeting and resource management, ensuring GAAP-aligned financial practices and industry-aligned best practices while reflecting TomTod’s strategic priorities.
• manage the Finance Director in their core responsibilities (focused on day-to-day bookkeeping, payroll, board reporting, and external finance reporting).
• direct day-to-day organization operations including office space, hardware, password management, and supply ordering, and inventory.

Team Support and Development

The Senior Operations Lead will:

• regularly assess team structure and organizational needs as part of the Leadership Core, providing insight into team alignment with organizational priorities.
• refine and guide hiring policies and processes as organization growth requires.
• refine and guide ongoing development of personnel policies, compensation, and benefits in collaboration with the Executive Dreamer while leading ongoing implementation.
• refine and guide healthy team rhythms and systems including weekly team meetings, team member check-in strategies, and reflective conversations.
• provide support for team members to personally develop, grow in areas of particular expertise, and contribute to broad organizational goals.
• work closely across the organization to build strong synergy for strategic priorities, including being integrally involved in periodic strategic planning and ongoing implementation.
• refine and maintain organizational strategies that prevent tyranny of the urgent while maintaining effective responsiveness.
• strengthen and champion organizational values, furthering internal coherence and external exemplification.

TOMTOD IDEAS CORE INITIATIVES

Classes

TomTod’s school-partnered programming walks students through the ideation process using design thinking strategies and the framework of their own community. Through weekly sessions, TomTod staff and partnering educators lead students through design thinking sprints while complementing existing class curricula, with a focus on critical and creative thinking skills and social emotional competencies. Students participate in a variety of engaging activities, interview community members, research ideas, travel to off-site locations, and use the information and skills they acquire to formulate ideas that serve others. TomTod Classes combine the best of project-based, problem-based, and place-based learning in ways that unlock middle schoolers’ innate altruism.

Clubs

Clubs take middle schoolers beyond the research and brainstorming phase, creating authentic spaces to put communication, collaboration, and project management skills into action. Clubs engage best practices from Youth Participatory Action Research approaches to create opportunities for youth voice in active community conversations.

Camps

Day camps and summer enrichment partnerships invite middle schoolers to explore possibilities and create impactful ideas for their communities. Using a design-thinking-infused approach, campers develop skills including teamwork, creative problem solving, digital literacy, research techniques, interviewing practices, public speaking, and civic awareness. Camps wrap up with celebration events where campers share their experiences and newfound knowledge. Community members and families gather to hear the campers pitch their ideas. Camps can be focused on assets and challenges of particular locales/city centers or more topically focused. All camps use collaborative spaces from partnering organizations (such as park systems, universities, art galleries, and business owners).

Collabs

TomTod’s love of community doesn’t stop at on-the-ground program facilitation. TomTod develops curriculum and provides professional development opportunities for school districts, out-of-school-time consortiums, community partners, and anyone interested in activating opportunities for youth voice in their community context. 

TomTod’s 10 C valuesinformed by Positive Youth Development and Essential Skills research): Caring, Character, Collaboration, Communication, Competence, Confidence, Connection, Contribution, Creative Innovation, Critical Thinking

TomTod’s 5 Core Research Themes: 

Liberatory Design Thinking

Positive Youth Development

Youth Participatory Action Research

Social Emotional Competencies

Essential Skills/21st Century Skills

How to Apply: Submit a cover letter and resume to jdh@tomtodideas.org.