Organizational Development & Operations Director

About this position

Small Economy Works is a social enterprise that works in local contexts deploying training programs and e-learning experiences to catalyze grassroots economic empowerment in communities across Canada. We combine our expertise in entrepreneurial leadership training with cultural hyperlocalization to create learning programs that are  relatable and impactful. 

For the past three years, our work has been focused on remote Arctic communities in Canada, through our local initiatives Inspire Nunavut and Inspire Nunavik. These blended learning programs have empowered hundreds of young people to improve their livelihoods through starting an enterprise, finding gainful employment, or furthering their education. Through a growing team of 10-20 employees and contractors, we are in the process of expanding our entrepreneurial learning program across the Arctic and Canada while simultaneously developing new and innovative e-learning projects. 

We are looking for a seasoned leader to become our Organizational Development & Operations Director,  leading the management and ongoing development of staff, overseeing success milestones for our training and e-learning projects, and overseeing the implementation of our training programs across the Arctic and other parts of Canada. 

This individual will support business results by bringing changes to our internal processes, training, strategy, culture and ways of working. This may sometimes include HR functions such as recruitment, onboarding, succession planning and performance management. With respect to operations, this person will ensure staff have clear direction, supervision, and motivations consistent with the objectives of our project proposals. We are looking for an individual who combines organizational vision and strategic understanding, with hands-on experience in program management and training, ideally in education or programming designed for Indigenous or Arctic communities. This position will report directly to the CEO of the organization.

About your the role’s responsibilities 

People and Culture

• Demonstrate passion and motivation for the organization’s mission and help create an inspiring work environment that guides staff to accomplish project goals and objectives.

• Accountable for building a team of strong managers of various training programs and projects.

Strategic Planning 

• Participate in strategy meetings to contribute to the definition of the strategy for the organization in the medium- to long-term.

• Ensure project design and execution supports the strategic priorities, mission, vision and values of the organization.

• Participate in creating comprehensive plans and strategies related to project goals and objectives, through organizational development and operations approaches. 

• Set and oversee performance goals and measurements. 

• Support admin and finance teams with staying on track with program and project objectives. 

Operations Management

• Plan project needs and assign resources (planning, scheduling, monitoring and reporting).

• Communicate project plans across the team and align team members around the goals to be achieved, project roles and responsibilities, and the tools or working processes that will be used. 

• Ensures staff receives clear direction, supervision, and motivation, consistent with the objectives of the strategic plans.

• Coordinate regular team meetings tracking project status and team needs. 

• Prepare briefs for contractors and other collaborators who might be required for specific roles or projects during project deployment.

• Work with external stakeholders and manage partnerships, negotiate contracts, ensuring accurate and timely delivery.

• Identify training requirements for the team and prepare training sessions for staff.

• Strengthen collaboration and team problem solving.

Organizational Development

• Develop solutions for specific organizational and business problems, align stakeholders to objectives and plan to implement those solutions.

• Create resources, tools, training, and other related products to enable strategy implementation.

• Monitor and continually improve the effectiveness of Organizational Development programs to ensure advancement of organizational strategy and culture. 

• Oversee performance and support development of project leaders.

Internal Process Optimization

• Ensure clear project management processes are in place to manage the program development pathway.

• Train and support the team in the adoption and use of new tools to improve internal processes when applicable. 

• Analyze and share project learnings with the team based on the strategies and activities deployed. 

Qualifications

• 7+ years experience in organizational development, ideally in the space of youth education, entrepreneurship development, online education and/or Indigenous-led organizations. 

• Exceptional organizational, prioritizing and multitasking skills.

• Knowledge of GSuite,Slack, Asana, Miro and/or other project management softwares.

• Solid verbal and written communication skills.

• Strong people management skills. 

• Detail orientated.

• Self-starter and comfortable with complexity.

• Appreciation for diverse perspectives, good listening skills and sensitivity to diverse cultures and perspectives.

Preferred

• Knowledge of and experience of Indigenous and Arctic communities strongly preferred.

• Entrepreneurial learning program experience is preferred. 

• Knowledge of design thinking methodologies and facilitation experience strongly preferred.

• Project Management Professional (PMP) certification is an asset.

Details 

• We have offices in the Arctic as well as in Toronto, but are open to applicants who would be working remotely. 

• The salary range is between $70,000 and $100,000, with a comprehensive benefits package.

• This is a full time position (40/h), initially a one-year contract with the possibility of extension. 

How to apply

Please send your application via the form at www.smalleconomyworks.com/jobs before November 20th at 11:59pm. Only applications submitted via the form will be considered for the position.