Associate Director Of Operations

Transformationscommunity; Gauteng; Hybrid; ZAR 1 172 000 - 1 592 000; Full time

Job summary

An organization for transformative change is seeking a hands-on Associate Director of Operations to manage internal operations, including people operations and program management. The ideal candidate will have 5–8 years of experience in operations and be a ClickUp power user. This full-time position offers remote work with a salary range of $70,000 to $95,000 annually. You will coordinate a globally distributed team using AI tools to streamline workflows and help implement strategic plans.

Qualifications

• 5–8 years in operations, program/portfolio, or project management.
• Proven experience leading cross-functional coordination and delivery.
• ClickUp power user or admin; designed structures and automations.
• Strong people ops fundamentals; hiring and onboarding experience.
• Fluency with AI tools for operations.

Responsibilities

• Lead hiring pipelines, onboarding, and contractor agreements.
• Translate strategy into quarterly and annual plans with KPIs.
• Own ClickUp architecture and drive adoption.
• Track budgets vs. actuals and coordinate vendor invoices.
• Run team syncs, planning meetings, and maintain a live ops calendar.

Skills

Operations management

Program/portfolio management

Fluency with AI tools

Cross-functional coordination

Excellent written communication

Tools

ClickUp

Google Workspace

Slack

Job description

About the Transformations Community

A Global Commons for Transformative Change : The Transformations Community (TC) connects action-researchers who combine inquiry with action—testing new approaches, sharing learning, and building capacity for just and sustainable futures.

With a global community of 6,+, we convene international conferences, publish widely, and support sustainability initiatives that link knowledge with practice.

Here is a video of our most recent gathering, TC25 in Johannesburg.

Role Overview

We're hiring a hands-on Associate Director of Operations to own TC's internal operations end-to-end : people operations, portfolio / program management, project systems (ClickUp), fiscal coordination, and organizational rhythms.

You’ll turn strategy into clear plans, keep the trains running on time, and help a globally distributed team work smoothly—with smart use of AI tools to streamline workflows.

You’ll report to the Executive Director and partner closely with initiative leads.

This is a do-and-lead role : you’ll build light scaffolds, coordinate across programs, and step in directly where needed.

Collaborate with colleagues in Colorado, Hawaii, Canada, and Europe (schedule flexibility required).

Responsibilities

1) People Operations & Team Health

• Lead hiring pipelines, onboarding / off-boarding, and contractor / consultant agreements.
• Maintain role descriptions, SOWs, and a simple performance / feedback cycle.
• Coordinate time tracking, capacity planning, and resourcing across initiatives.
• Steward team norms (async practices, meeting hygiene, documentation, DEI & care).

2) Portfolio & Program Management

• Translate strategy into quarterly / annual plans with milestones, owners, and KPIs.
• Run portfolio reviews : risks, dependencies, budgets, and decision logs.
• Stand up light monitoring & learning loops (retros, after-action notes, dashboards).
• Support initiative leads with scoping, critical paths, and go / no-go gates.

3) Systems & Tooling (ClickUp Lead)

• Own ClickUp architecture (spaces, templates, automations, permissions).
• Drive adoption, training, and QA so tasks / roadmaps stay current and useful.
• Integrate Google Workspace, Slack, Docs, and basic CRM / email tools as needed.
• Use AI assistants (e.g., templating, summaries, automations) to reduce busywork.

4) Finance & Admin (in coordination with fiscal sponsor / finance)

• Track budgets vs. actuals at project and portfolio levels; flag variances early.
• Coordinate vendor onboarding, invoices, and payment schedules.
• Maintain a tidy contracts and compliance library (insurance, MOUs, data policies).

5) Org Rhythms & Internal Communications

• Run weekly team syncs, monthly planning / retros, and quarterly OKR reviews.
• Keep a live ops calendar; send crisp written updates and decision notes.
• Ensure key documents (playbooks, policies, templates) are current and discoverable.

Who We're Looking For

Required

• 5–8 years in operations, program / portfolio or project management in a small / medium org or networked environment.
• Proven experience leading cross-functional coordination and delivery (not just assisting).
• ClickUp (or Asana / Notion) power user / admin : you've designed structures, templates, and automations.
• Strong people ops fundamentals : hiring, onboarding, contracting, and feedback rhythms.
• Excellent written communication; crisp facilitation; bias to clarify and close loops.
• Comfortable working remotely across time zones; high reliability and follow-through.
• Fluency with AI tools for ops (summaries, drafting, checklists, SOPs, lightweight analytics).
• Background in sustainability, systems change, or research / practice communities.

Preferred

• Nonprofit / fiscal-sponsor or grant-funded project experience; basic budgeting.
• Change-management experience (standing up new systems and securing adoption).
• Light data / BI skills (Sheets, Looker Studio) for simple dashboards.

Location

Remote (U.S. time zones preferred).

Type

Full-time hours / week)

Compensation

$70,–$95, USD annually

Work Environment & Values

We value clarity, humility, responsiveness, and learning.

We build scaffolds that support people as well as projects.

Start Date

Immediate (flexible for the right candidate).

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis, with interviews held shortly.