People and Culture Director

Remote (U.S. based)

About New Left Accelerator

New Left Accelerator (NLA) is a 501(c)(4) nonprofit that runs capacity-building programs focused exclusively on supporting progressive organizations, movements, and state ecosystems that use multiple legal entities to build power, increase impact, and win. We do this by running a two-year accelerator program, providing technical assistance to progressive power-building organizations, running an election year capacity program called Empower and Protect, and serving as a learning resource and hub for the progressive movement. NLA is dedicated to improving how the progressieve ecosystem supports leaders taking bold steps to build power in key states.

NLA works in partnership with The Capacity Shop (TCS), a 501(c)(3) organization. NLA and TCS center impacted communities in our work. This means we prioritize partnering and collaborating with organizations that center the experiences and voices of marginalized groups at the intersection of race, gender, and class.

To guide our internal practices and partnerships, NLA and TCS developed a set of core values and a theory of change, which includes a commitment to create systemic change; deep collaboration with stakeholders and leaders to build power and sustainability within the progressive ecosystem; and a commitment to equity and work that address systemic oppression.

The People & Culture Director will be working closely with the NLA Chief Operations Officer and the internal staff to mirror NLA values internally and externally with cohorts of organizations led by and organizing in collaboration with Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC), women, and other historically and currently underserved communities.

You can read more about NLA’s work helping to build progressive power in this short description of the NLA three core programs and in the 2020 Impact Report.

The Role

The People & Culture Director is responsible for developing a positive workplace culture and executing human resources strategies in support of the NLA's mission, vision, values, and culture.

Responsibilities

Embed NLA Values in People & Culture

• Engage in continuous learning as to how race, background, and experiences have affected us within systems of oppression, providing loving feedback, and building intentional accountability practices in all of our work

• Ensure our values and anti-oppression principles drive our People & Culture processes and systems — naming power dynamics and working to shift them

• Help NLA do the work of capacity-building differently by dismantling aspects of the dominant culture of nonprofit consultancy that often fail to value the diverse lived experience, expertise, and knowledge of community leaders

• Honor leaders' wisdom; build intentional learning into our external work, internal practices, and partnerships; and co-create innovative solutions to emergent challenges

Hiring Process & Onboarding

• Lead hiring processes, creating job descriptions, postings, setting up interviews and partnering with hiring managers to recruit, hire, onboard and retain new staff.

• Create and manage an effective onboarding program to ensure new employees are welcome and supported, and can be effective in fulfilling their job duties.

People-Centered HR Compliance & Systems

• Lead with an anti-oppressive and racially equitable lens that is mindful of federal, state, and local employment laws and regulations, and recommend best practices in line with people-centered internal policies.

• Lead the management and organization of all human resources related systems, functions, strategies and goals.

• Lead the organizing, electronic filing, documentation and maintenance of all human resources processes, policies and procedures, including the employee handbook.

• Support accessibility, disability justice, and inclusion by encouraging knowledge-sharing, internal staff support, and training on policies and procedures.

• Improve staff wellness benefits, compliance notices, enrollments, changes, terminations, annual plan renewals, and open enrollment process.

• Lead external human resources processes, legal matters, mediation processes, conflict resolution related matters using an anti-oppressive, racially equitable, trauma-informed approach.

• Manage the HR documentation such as generating employee offer letters, collecting new-hire paperwork, documenting exit interviews, etc.

• Keep leadership updated on new developments in HR law, policy, and guidelines.

• With the COO, manage and define the People and Culture budget.

Overall People & Culture Strategy

• Lead the development of NLA’s culture aligned with our values and objectives.

• Develop and execute comprehensive knowledge management and professional development programs that support NLA’s strategy.

• Provide regular coaching and training to all team members to advance their leadership, management, project management, and team development skills.

• Ensure that there are knowledge repositories, systems, training, and mentorship opportunities.

• Ensure practices exist to support regular feedback between supervisors and team members.

• Cultivate and guide the professional growth of the team by establishing and maintaining thoughtful opportunities to learn, grow, and receive constructive feedback.

• Lead development of staff engagement programs, including organization-wide and department-specific staff retreats and meetings, performance management, and annual employee engagement surveys.

• Design human resource growth strategies, roles, job descriptions, staff development and knowledge management plans that are aligned, impactful, and support the development of the NLA team.

• Respond and investigate employee complaints and grievances.

• Design and administer annual staff reflection and feedback process.

Minimum Qualifications

• Strong commitment to progressive values and NLA’s mission and organizational values that center racial, gender and economic equity and justice

• A passion for and basic understanding of the importance of electoral politics in impacting the lives of Americans

• A minimum of 5 years of human resource experience, with at least 2 years in an organizational management/ human resource leadership role for a growing organization

• Experience evaluating and supporting the development of a values-based organizational culture

• At least 2 years of internal coaching and/or staff training experience (e.g. conflict resolution)

• Experience leading in a hybrid or remote work environment

• Experience in benefits management including vendor contracting, enrollments, COBRA, and workers compensation audit experience, as well as other forms of analysis and reporting

• Strong written, verbal, and interpersonal communication skills

• Exceptional attention to detail

• Willingness to learn and ask questions, and the desire to encourage others to do the same

• Ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously and prioritize tasks accordingly

• Ability, and willingness to work in and contribute to development of an emergent environment of a growing start-up nonprofit where systems and process are often developed and staff must be emergent and creative to meet evolving needs of growing organizations and programs

• Ability work at a computer for multiple hours and work independently

Desired Qualifications

• Experience working to transform traditional HR practices to be more values-based and people and culture centered

• 8 years+ of human resource experience

• At least 4 years of coaching and training experience

• Experience in creating knowledge management systems

• Work experience in campaigns or progressive organizations that intersect with elections is desired

• Demonstrated experience with confidential information is a plus

• Experience with payroll

• Experience working in a non-profit, with political campaigns, independent political organizations, 501(c)(4)s, movement building, compliance or finance in multi-entity organizations, mission-driven organizations, and/or fiscal sponsorship

• Experience working with organizations that are centering diversity, equity and inclusion and developing/maintaining systems that increase internal and external operations that support racial, gender and economic justice

• Sense of grace and humor in the face of challenges

Compensation

This is a full-time, exempt position with a salary range of $95,000 - $100,000. New Left Accelerator aims to offer competitive salaries commensurate with experience and geographic location, along with a benefits package that supports our employees’ overall well-being.

How to Apply

Your application packet should include a resume and a 1-page cover letter, which answers all of the following questions:

• How would your previous experience contribute to your ability to develop and maintain systems and policies that result in a positive and values-based workplace culture?

• How have your work and lived experiences prepared you to be effective in a progressive environment that centers racial, gender, and economic equity and justice?

• And can you tell us about a time when you noticed an issue of inequity in the workplace, and how did you go about addressing it, regardless of the outcome?

Timeline: We are opening up the application process in June 2023. We will begin to review applications as they are received, and we will keep the application open until we begin interviewing. We will have a primary round of phone screens, and then panel interviews will be conducted online by zoom video conferencing. Our ideal start date would be by August 2023, but will be determined with the final candidate.

New Left Accelerator is an equal opportunity employer that values diversity. We do not discriminate in employment based on any individual’s race, socioeconomic status, national origin, color, disability, religion, gender, age, marital status, criminal background or arrest record, sexual orientation or gender identity and encourage all candidates to apply.