Sr. Director of Operations

This position is on-site in Santa Ana, CA 70% of the time and can be remote approximately 30%.

ABOUT HOPE BUILDERS: Hope Builders is a nationally recognized workforce development agency that empowers young people with the mentorship, job training and life skills needed to transform their lives and achieve enduring personal and professional success. Through a holistic program model, Hope Builders works to address barriers that prevent young adults from securing upwardly mobile employment in healthcare, construction, and child development pathways. Career technical education is coupled with soft skills, employability, and 1:1 coaching to ensure trainees are prepared to meet employer expectations. Job placement is facilitated through Hope Builders Career Connections (HBCC), a social enterprise venture which operates as a staffing agency. For more information, please visit

POSITION SUMMARY: The Senior Director of Operations serves as a strategic partner to the Executive Director with responsibility for advancing key priorities across HR, finance, facilities, and IT. In addition, this role works closely with the leadership team by supporting the translation of strategy into action, enhancing the flow of internal communication, and managing high-value special projects. The Senior Director of Operations operates as an extension of the Executive Director, supporting decision-making by the board and leadership team, and managing critical initiatives in HR, finance, facilities, and IT with the goal of fostering a high-performing, people-centered organizational culture.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:

Business Operations

• Oversee the intersection of HR, finance, facilities, and IT and program delivery for HB and HBCC; Facilitate cross-functional coordination between departments and teams to ensure are well supported; Manage daily back-office operations in a manner that allows the Executive Director to prioritize fundraising and performance management efforts
• Support leadership team efforts to ensure alignment between program, operations and broader organizational priorities, including strategic goals and financial targets.
• Support financial planning processes, including forecasting and scenario analysis.
• Provide management support for Assist the Executive Director and fractional CFO with cross-functional coordination between HR and accounting teams
• Actively oversee all aspects of facility leasing and property management and ownership including execution of an annual maintenance and capital improvement plan; Ensure the efficient use of facilities and infrastructure
• Maintain proactive management of IT and cybersecurity infrastructure through strategic vendor relationships
• Develop, implement and provide oversight for an AI utilization policy/strategy for the organization

People & Culture Leadership

• Provide leadership for HR and operations team with the goals of fostering a responsive, service-oriented approach that ensures practices are equitable, consistent, and aligned with organizational culture.
• Work with the HR & Operations Manager to ensure onboarding and training for new hires is effective in clearly establishing organizational goals, individual deliverables in service to those goals, and relevant standard operating procedures, process maps and workflows
• Lead the design and implementation of performance review process that emphasizes growth, feedback, and continuous improvement at all levels of the organization.
• Partner with the leadership team on organizational design, staffing strategy, and succession planning to support long-term sustainability.
• Cultivate strong employee engagement through intentional communication, recognition, and opportunities for connection and feedback. Champion a people-centered culture that reflects the organization’s values, promotes belonging, and supports staff to thrive.

Special Projects/Project Management

• Manage high-value projects with key strategic partners that require coordination across multiple functions and departments
• Support process improvement efforts by facilitating improvement plans for projects identified by the leadership team.
• Support and/or facilitate cross-departmental collaboration to ensure alignment and accountability.
• Support organizational planning cycles, including annual and quarterly goal setting.
• Work with the Senior Director of Development in preparing for high-level meetings, presentations, and external engagements involving the Executive Director and Deputy Director.

Internal Communication & Board Relations

• Develop and implement internal communication strategies that promote transparency and alignment.
• Ensure consistent messaging across teams and leadership.
• Support Executive Director communications, including staff updates, presentations, and organizational announcements.
• Coordinate internal weekly to annual meetings for leadership, management, and all staff including meeting agendas, materials and required reports, minutes/meeting notes, follow-up for action items, and status updates
• Support communication between the Executive Director and Board of Directors through timely and high-quality communication with board members.
• Coordinate board meetings, including agenda development, materials preparation, and follow-up.
• Support governance best practices and board engagement strategies.

QUALIFICATIONS AND CORE COMPETENTCIES:

• Bachelor’s degree required; advanced degree (e.g., MBA, MPA) a plus.
• 5-10 years of progressively responsible leadership experience, ideally in a nonprofit or mission-driven organization.
• Demonstrated experience operations, executive team support, and project management.
• Demonstrated experience in data utilization to guide planning and decision-making
• Demonstrated initiative, leadership, tenacity, and commitment to continuous improvement
• Strong understanding of nonprofit governance and board relations.
• Financial acumen and experience working with budgets and organizational performance metrics.
• Exceptional communication and interpersonal skills, and ability to influence people at all levels.
• Competent and confident in technology utilization, data management systems, web-based applications, and technology in the workplace

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS – Comprehensive compensation plan provided including:

• This is a full-time position
• $120,000-130,000 salary range related to experience and education
• Robust medical, dental, and vision benefits plans
• 401(k) retirement plan with employer match
• Generous vacation time accrual
• Hybrid work schedules available with minimum 70% in-person expectation

STATEMENT ABOUT POSITION:

This job description is not intended to be all-inclusive, and employee will perform other reasonably related job duties as assigned by immediate supervisor or other management as required. It is not intended to be construed as an exhaustive list of all responsibilities. This organization reserves the right to revise or change job duties as the need arises. This job description does not constitute a written or implied contract of employment. Employment at Hope Builders may be terminated at will by the employee or Hope Builders at any time with or without cause and with or without notice.