OVERVIEW
To view the position description in its entirety, please visit: https://nbss.edu/
The renowned North Bennet Street School (NBSS), an esteemed Boston institution where the time-honored tradition of fine craftsmanship remains a vital influence on the City’s culture and economy, seeks an empathetic, collaborative, and operationally minded Senior Director of People & Operations to complement the senior management team. This role is best suited to a leader with the administrative abilities needed to integrate organizational strategy and vision into the business operation and culture.
America's first trade school, NBSS is a welcoming institution recognized both nationally and internationally for learning excellence. Its spacious, 64,000-square-foot facility is located in Boston’s historic North End neighborhood, the community in which it was originally founded 140 years ago. Today, the school continues to bridge opportunity and demand by training the next generation of traditional tradespeople using time-honored methods and skills while also creating rewarding, life-long careers. NBSS offers a range of accredited and non-accredited courses including professional career training programs, skill-building classes and experiences, public programs, exhibitions, community partnerships, and more.
Reporting to the President of NBSS, the Senior Director’s purpose will be to build up the culture and infrastructure necessary to promote a thriving, highly engaged, and productive environment at NBSS, reinforce collaboration and integration, and ensure that the School’s fiscal/physical resources and culture make it possible for faculty, staff and students to do their best work.
The Senior Director will serve at the heart of the institution as a strategic partner to staff and faculty with an eye towards cultivating a positive and inclusive workplace with strategies that deeply connect employees to the School’s vision, mission, and business goals. Further, they will strengthen employee support systems; partner closely with the President, Provost, and department heads to implement the School’s new strategic plan; and guide a team of three direct reports as well as external business partners for Human Resources and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.
NBSS seeks a seasoned professional with creativity, enthusiasm, self-motivation and energy. They should be able to quickly contribute in a meaningful way as a highly effective and engaged partner to senior leadership. The ideal candidate will be comfortable leading and sustaining change and embody a sophisticated sense of social justice with an appreciation for fostering diversity, equity and inclusion in all activities.
SELECT RESPONSIBILITIES
Given the breadth of priorities and the need to build new systems and infrastructure that will take time to design and implement, the following responsibilities will be sequenced and introduced over a period of time consistent with the timeline of the institution’s strategic plan.
STAFF & FACULTY DEVELOPMENT
● In partnership with the President and Provost, establish and direct processes, procedures, and policies in all areas related to the School’s people including employee relations, compensation, benefits, professional development, performance management, recruitment, onboarding, orientation, training, and retention.
OPERATIONAL LEADERSHIP
● Lead the work of the operations team comprising three direct reports (Directors of Finance and Facilities & Technology, Front Desk Manager) in addition to their staff and student workers.
● Manage administrative workflows with a focus on the needs of the whole enterprise: preparing agendas and leading staff meetings, developing a central school-wide calendar of events, assessing office space and offering recommendations for full utilization of the building, including revenue generating opportunities such as space rental for events.
● With the Director of Facilities & Technology, oversee risk management including health & safety and emergency response protocols; lead the Title IX team in partnership with the Provost.
ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
● Partner with the President, Provost and Director of Finance to complete a faculty and staff compensation analysis and develop a multi-year plan for growth in this area.
● Evaluate the pandemic’s impact on the institution’s culture, particularly the impact that working from home has on equity, building capacity, and growth opportunities.
● Partner with the President to evolve the organizational chart in line with the current strategic plan while also considering future opportunities and challenges.
DIVERSITY, EQUITY & INCLUSION
● Lead diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts by serving as the liaison for staff, chairing the faculty-staff DEI committee, holding a seat on the Board DEI committee, and functioning as a key contact to the School’s DEI consultant, Gwen Cochran Hadden.
● Provide tools and education that build cultural competency; continue cultivating an inclusive work environment that supports employee growth and establishes belonging among all community constituents.
SELECT QUALIFICATIONS
● Significant, high-level management experience, including seven to ten years in an administrative or project management role, either within a nonprofit, corporation, or the public sector, that is accustomed to providing high level service and influence.
● Conversant and experienced in human resources, operations and systems.
● Track record leading execution against an already-defined strategy; able to serve as a bridge from the institution’s current state to future state.
● Highly developed diplomatic and consensus-building skills; straightforward, proactive, and metric-driven; one who shares information readily and professionally.
● Gravitas paired with the professional integrity and ambition to effectively represent and promote NBSS externally at the highest levels and internally as a surrogate for senior leadership.
● Lives the principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion with the ability to express these through day-to-day work.
● Contagious high energy and willingness to “roll up sleeves” to execute on both the day-to-day and the strategic level; self-motivated and proactive; exhibits warmth and compassion in dealings with others.
APPLICATION INFORMATION
To express interest in the position, please submit application materials consisting of a resume and letter of interest to nbss@pearlstreetcollective.com. Co-Founders and Managing Partners Adele Mezher and Maeve Clifford are leading the search.