Associate Director of People & Operations

Overview of Watson Institute:

Watson Institute powers transformative Fellowships in partnership with leading corporations and foundations to support highly promising entrepreneurs and leaders from underserved backgrounds. The Fellowships provide proven entrepreneurship and leadership skills training, committed mentorship, community development stipends, long-term Alumni support, and access to a global community of peers, mentors, and opportunities.

In partnership with Google, JPMorganChase Foundation, Walmart.org, Wells Fargo, Ford Philanthropy, SAP, Truist Foundation, BMO, Comcast, Western Union, and several private foundations, Watson Institute’s programs will reach over 2,400 rising leaders this year.

Alumni of Watson Institute’s Fellowships have raised over $190 million, created over 2,300 paid jobs, and impacted over 11 million people around the world through initiatives they have helped lead. 93% of Watson Institute alums are employed, continuing their education, or building a venture. 85% of Watson Institute Alumni use a skill they learned while in a Watson Institute-powered program up to 12 years later. Watson Institute’s Alumni have been selected to Y Combinator, the Echoing Green Fellowship, and 11 have been named to Forbes’ 30 under 30 lists. Alums continue their education at Harvard University, New York University, and Princeton University, among others. 

Associate Director of People & Operations - Mission Statement:

The Associate Director of People & Operations designs the systems, policies, and team resources that enable Watson Institute to become the highest performing team our employees have ever been part of in the social impact sector. This role transforms complex growth periods into clear policies, scalable processes, and beautifully designed resources that strengthen our culture and empower our team to do their best work.

Associate Director of People & Operations – Role:

Designing People Systems & Strategy - 50%:
Lead the research, design, and implementation of systems, policies, and resources that enable Watson Institute to become the highest performing team our employees have ever been part of in the social impact sector:

• As Watson Institute continues to grow, proactively research emerging best practices and evaluate leading approaches to develop thoughtful, scalable systems, policies, and resources that strengthen our team.
• Think strategically about Watson Institute’s future growth by anticipating the people and operational priorities that growth will create and building scalable systems to support it. Approach growth as something to prepare for and enable, with a solutions-oriented mindset, ensuring our policies, processes, and resources can sustain the organization as it evolves.
• Lead high impact organizational initiatives including professional development planning, management training, workplace culture decks, and other strategic priorities as Watson Institute continues to grow. 
• As Watson Institute continues to expand its contractor workforce, help define what an exceptional contractor experience looks like at Watson Institute by creating a gold standard approach to how we engage, support, and collaborate with contractors while appropriately recognizing the unique nature of their engagement.
• Partner with leaders across Watson Institute to identify operational challenges, research innovative solutions, and translate these solutions into practical systems that enable our team to do their best work. 
• Approach every project with the mindset that excellence is found in the details, producing work that is thoughtful, polished, and ready for organization-wide implementation.
• Design clear, polished, and visually compelling systems, guides, playbooks, and other resources using Canva (or similar graphic design platforms). 
• Translate strategy into execution by developing clear project plans, establishing timelines and milestones, coordinating cross functional implementation, and embracing a GyShiDo Master mindset (which is the art of productivity and getting your stuff done) to ensure every initiative moves from idea to reality.

Team Culture & Engagement - 20%: 

Design meaningful experiences that strengthen connection, collaboration, and culture across Watson Institute's globally distributed team:

• Lead the planning, coordination, and execution of Watson Institute's All Team Meetings, creating engaging experiences that foster collaboration, strengthen relationships, and reinforce our culture.
• Partner with the CEO & Founder and COO & Co-Founder to design and facilitate Town Hall Meetings that engage our team in organizational strategy, celebrate milestones, and create opportunities for meaningful dialogue and shared ownership of Watson Institute's future.
• Design and coordinate team engagement initiatives that strengthen community, celebrate our principles, and create opportunities for employees to volunteer and make an impact within their local communities and the communities we serve.

Special Projects - 30%:

Partner closely with members of the People & Operations Team to support high priority initiatives that are critical to Watson Institute’s growth. Whether it is sourcing candidates, evaluating applications, conducting exploratory calls, leading interviews, or stepping into other special projects, embrace Watson Institute's full court press mentality by showing hustle, grit, and a willingness to go the extra mile to help the team succeed.

*New responsibilities may develop as the position evolves.

Requirements

Culture Add:

In order to thrive as the Associate Director of People & Operations at Watson Institute, a candidate must:

• Eager to join a team with extremely high standards for quality and excellence, recognizing that demonstrating excellence in partnership building is a direct path to scaling impact and achieving outsized results.
• An exceptional eye for visual design. You enjoy spending time in the details with words, style, formatting, and talking points in order to make the most compelling product possible. 
• Detail Oriented: You are meticulous and have excellent organizational skills. You are especially attuned to spotting mistakes or inconsistencies in writing and external communications. You take pride in completing your work accurately and on schedule. You have a knack for project management and a love for work plans and checklists. You cringe at missed steps and you are the first to identify a typo or formatting error.
• Intentional: Your working style is about creating order and planning ahead. You think systematically and excel at establishing elegant processes.
• Results-Driven: You bring an eagerness to grow and to roll up your sleeves and contribute. You have a go-getter attitude and a drive to solve all sorts of problems, no matter the size or shape. When you take on a responsibility, you find a way to see it through to the end.
• High Integrity: You will be asked to make sensitive and critical judgment calls, and as such, you are known for your integrity and you take that reputation seriously. You always choose to make the right decision versus the easy decision. You know what information is sensitive, and you will protect it accordingly. You are comfortable escalating issues and holding your ground when you think it’s the right thing to do for the organization and mission.
• Systems-minded: Demonstrated experience in building and implementing systems. You are comfortable designing, testing, improving, and smoothly running systems and processes. This could be any system that involves inputs from or serves multiple people and requires consistent and accurate functioning.
• Communication Style: Based on a story from Watson Institute’s early days, ‘Come to the Window’ represents the principles of our communication including:

• Obligation to Dissent: If you disagree with a decision or direction as an organization, you are expected to bring attention to this challenge because true leaders believe dissent is an obligation.
• Disagree and Commit: To complement Obligation to Dissent, there are times when we need to Disagree and Commit. Once all concerns and criticisms are shared, the course of action must be committed to by all involved.
• No Drama: We prioritize purpose and don’t involve ourselves in the drama created by backroom chatter, hearsay, and unnecessary focus on issues that do not place impact first.
• Go to the Source: Our culture is defined by direct, honest, and frequent communication. We expect team members to ‘go to the source’ of concerns by speaking up, communicating frequently, and taking issues directly to the individuals involved.

Candidate Profile:

Top candidates should demonstrate:

• A deep-seated passion for Watson Institute’s mission to develop innovators, leaders, and entrepreneurs to solve the toughest challenges facing the world. 
• Be undaunted by switching between projects and disciplines on any given day.
• Believe that when work is done with excellence, the magic is in the details.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills. 
• A systems-oriented and highly organized approach to work.
• A natural curiosity and resourcefulness to research unfamiliar challenges, evaluate best practices, and identify the highest quality systems and solutions to strengthen our team.
• A passion for designing and leading engaging internal presentations and team sessions that strengthen our culture, foster connection, and inspire excellence.
• A love and talent for designing polished, visually compelling decks, policy documents, and resources using Canva (or similar graphic design platforms).
• Mandatory skills: Research mastery, email wizardry, rapid follow-up, and Canva (or similar graphic design platforms). 

Benefits

Benefits:

• Competitive base salary according to experience: $80,000.00-$90,000.00.
• Annual Happiness Fund that increases with time and seniority.
• Unlimited vacations (3 weeks required vacation time per year).
• Healthcare benefit via Thatch (ICHRA provider), where employees have the option to apply this amount towards their choice of medical plans, with the option to add vision and dental plans.
• Automatic 3% contribution to your retirement account.

The Vitals:

• The Associate Director of People & Operations is a full-time commitment and reports to the COO & Co-Founder.
• The Associate Director of People & Operations position can work remotely, but should be based in PA, GA, FL, ME, DC, SC, or MD.
• We accept applications on a rolling basis until the position is filled. 
• We are hoping for the selected candidate to begin as soon as possible, with flexibility based on candidate availability.
• We use E-Verify to confirm the identity and employment eligibility of all new hires.