Administration and Operations Associate

caleja; California (MO); Hybrid; USD 42,000 - 54,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Vacation time

Wellness leave

Paid holidays

Medical, dental, vision insurance

Job summary

California Environmental Justice Alliance (CEJA) is seeking an Administration and Operations Associate to streamline internal processes across finance, HR, IT, and administration. This role supports staff with IT triage, reimbursements, onboarding, and event coordination in a fast-paced nonprofit setting.

The position is full-time, non-exempt, 32 hours per week, with eligible benefits and potential overtime. Strong organizational skills and proactive service orientation are essential for success.

Qualifications

• Associate or bachelor's degree in business administration preferred; equivalent experience will be considered.
• Minimum 2–3 years of experience in an administrative, operations, HR or coordinator role.
• Prior experience supporting HR processes, financial systems, or IT coordination is desirable.

Responsibilities

• Operational Process Development and Coordination between finance, HR, and administration to improve efficiency.
• Manage credit card reconciliation, invoice payments, and reimbursements, including health benefit invoices.
• Coordinate IT support requests and maintain IT equipment inventory; liaise with Ntiva.
• Coordinate recruitment details for postings and onboarding using BambooHR and job boards.
• Assist in event planning and logistics for CEJA staff meetings, retreats, and congress events.
• Oversee lobbying compliance records and assist with year-end audit processes.

Skills

Organizational Skills

Communication

Microsoft Office

HRIS & BambooHR

Box & Slack

Financial Ops & Reconciliation

Education

Associate or Bachelor's degree in business administration or related field

Tools

BambooHR

BOX

SLACK

Excel

Job description

The California Environmental Justice Alliance (CEJA) is a statewide, community-led alliance that works to achieve environmental justice by advancing policy solutions. We unite the powerful local organizing of our members in the communities most impacted by environmental hazards – low-income communities and vulnerable communities– to improve environmental health by creating comprehensive opportunities for change at a statewide level. We have seven core members and three partners across California: The Asian Pacific Environmental Network; Center for Community Action & Environmental Justice; Center on Race, Poverty, and the Environment; Central Coast Alliance United for a Sustainable Economy; Communities for a Better Environment; Environmental Health Coalition; Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability; People Organizing to Demand Environmental & Economic Rights; Physicians for Social Responsibility- Los Angeles; and Strategic Concepts in Organizing and Policy Education.

The Administration and Operations Associate serve as a central point for the organization’s day-to-day operational functions. This role is responsible for developing, documenting, and coordinating internal processes that enable financial, human resources, and administrative functions to flow seamlessly across the organization. The Operational Coordinator ensures staff are well-supported through responsive IT triage, efficient reimbursement processing, organized event coordination, and structured onboarding and off-boarding support. This position requires a highly organized, proactive professional with a service-oriented mindset and a commitment to operational excellence.

FLSA Classification: Full-time (32 hours per week), Non-Exempt/Hourly. Eligible for full-time benefits and eligible for overtime (hours worked over 8 hours a day and/or 40 hours per week).

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Operational Process Development and Coordination: Serves as the connection point between finance, HR, and administration to ensure that processes are integrated appropriately and flow seamlessly for staff. In partnership with HR and Operations Director - design, document, and continuously improve internal operational workflows and processes to enhance organizational efficiency.
  Maintain up-to-date process documentation, standard operating procedures (SOPs), and operational guides.

• Financial Management for Credit Card Reconciliation, Invoice Payments and Reimbursement Processing: Maintains accurate record keeping for all CEJA’s external invoice payments and internal reimbursement processing.
  Process all staff reimbursement requests, including medical, travel, and mileage reimbursements, in a timely and accurate manner.
  Process all external invoice payments, including medical benefit invoices, consultant invoices, and other CEJA invoice processing in a timely and accurate manner. Maintain accurate health benefit invoice reconciliation spreadsheets.
  Process all staff credit card receipt submissions for compliance and reconciliation. Supports Director of Finance and Administration with annual audit tasks.

• IT Support Coordination: Serve as CEJA’s primary internal point of contact for IT support inquiries and issues.
  Triage incoming IT requests, gather necessary information, and submit tickets to the organization’s IT support partner, Ntiva.
  Maintain an internal log of recurring IT issues and communicate trends to leadership for proactive planning.
  Assist in the coordination of IT equipment setup and recovery during onboarding and off-boarding processes.
  Maintain all CEJA office and home office equipment inventory lists and documentation for new equipment purchases.

• HR Recruitment and Onboarding/Off-boarding Support: Partner with the HR and Operations Director to coordinate details for recruitment for new positions and execute structured onboarding experiences for all new employees.
  Coordinate all recruitment details for each job announcement to career webpage in BambooHR and other online job boards, and groups.
  Work with HR and Operations Director and hiring manager for all recruitment scheduling and candidate screening review processes.
  Serve as a welcoming first point of contact for new team members, ensuring a smooth and positive onboarding experience.

• Administrative Event Planning Support: Assist in the planning and coordination of all CEJA’s organizational events, including all-staff meetings, staff retreats, Congreso, Spring Lobby Day, and leadership retreats.
  Support pre-event logistics, including registrations, venue coordination, catering, IT setup, communications, and on-site or virtual facilitation support.
  Serve as the main administrative on-site logistical support person for each event.

• Lobbying/Electoral Compliance Record-keeping: Oversee all federal, state, and local lobby and campaign compliance for staff lobbying hours, expenses and payment processing.
  Track and update staff lobby records; work with staff and Directors to ensure all lobby work is accurately recorded, and expenses are tracked accordingly.
  Submit C4 lobbying reports to Beyond Impact for payment via NetSuite.
  In collaboration with the Director of Finance and Administration, make adjustments and complete end-of-the-year audit as instructed by Beyond Impact.

• HR Benefit and Payroll Support: Assist HR and Operations Director with benefit and payroll administrative tasks to ensure all benefit and payroll processes are seamless between the administrative team and the staff.
  Assist with annual benefits open enrollment, including communicating timelines and instructions to staff, tracking completion to ensure accurate enrollment.
  Support payroll processing by collecting, verifying and submitting timesheets, tracking PTO and leave balances and reporting any discrepancies to HR and Operations Director.

QUALIFICATIONS:

Education & Experience

• Associate or bachelor's degree in business administration, Organizational Management, or a related field preferred; equivalent experience will be considered.

• Minimum 2 - 3 years of experience in an administrative, operations, human resources or coordinator role.

• Prior experience supporting HR processes, financial systems, or IT coordination is highly desirable.

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities:

• Strong organizational skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities and deadlines simultaneously.

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills; able to interface effectively with staff at all levels.

• High proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, Outlook) and comfort working within cloud-based platforms and databases.

• High proficiency in HRIS and other Operational systems – experience with BambooHR, BOX, and SLACK is preferred.

• Demonstrated ability to develop or improve administrative processes and document procedures clearly.

• Detail-oriented with a high degree of accuracy in data entry and record keeping.

• Ability to handle sensitive and confidential information with professionalism and discretion.

• Service-oriented, collaborative team player with strong interpersonal skills.

• Self-starter is capable of working independently while knowing when to escalation or seek guidance.

WORKING CONDITIONS:

Working Environment: This position is primarily performed in a remote work/office setting in the state of California with regular computer use. The role may require occasional lifting of office supplies or equipment up to 20 lbs.

Travel Requirements: The position is expected to participate inregulartravel, about 8 times per year, mostly in California. Examples include the following engagements: CEJA’s Congreso (August), Spring Lobby Day (May) and End of CA Legislative Session (September) all held in Sacramento; annual 2–3-day staff retreat; annual 1-2 programmatic retreat along CEJA members and staff. Based on availability and need, represent CEJA in various conferences, trainings, or in-person partner meetings.

Physical Requirements: This position requires prolonged sitting at a desk and working on a computer, as well as occasional standing, walking, bending and reaching.

BENEFITS:

CEJA offers a generous benefits package, including an excellent orientation program;Generous wellness and vacation time off:

• -Vacation (10 to 25 days per year)
• -Wellness Leave (12 to 18 days per year)
• -11 paid holidays
• -2-week paid winter break (December 19 through January 1)
• -Paid medical, dental, vision insurance, life insurance and medical reimbursement plan (100% of the full insurance premium for qualified employees)
• -Monthly reimbursement for cell and internet usage
• -401(k) retirement plan- CEJA contributes 4.8% towards the plan
• -$2000 professional development allowance
• -Offering of a two-month sabbatical after seven years of continuous employment.
• -CEJA is currently piloting a 32-hour, four-day work week, during which staff work Monday through Thursday.

Research suggests that qualified women, Black, Indigenous, and Persons of Color (BIPOC) may self-select out of opportunities if they don't meet 100% of the job requirements. We encourage individuals who believe they have the skills necessary to thrive to apply for this role. We are most interested in finding the best candidate for the job, and that candidate may come from a less traditional background. CEJA may consider an equivalent combination of knowledge, skills, education, and lived experience to meet minimum qualifications.

The California Environmental Justice Alliance is an equal-opportunity employer. CEJA provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation, and training.