Business Operations Associate

Steppingstone Foundation Inc.•Boston, MA

just now•$60,000•Hybrid

About The Position

Join a mission-driven team supporting and empowering future college graduates! Who We Are At Steppingstone, our mission is to prepare students from under-resourced communities to access, navigate, and graduate from college. Through the Scholars Program in Boston, we provide academic, social-emotional, and college readiness programming from as early as fifth grade and continuing through college graduation. Through the National Partnership for Educational Access (NPEA), we connect the people, practices, and innovations essential for eliminating barriers to college and career success. Who You Are The Business Operations Associate role is a strong fit for a detail-oriented, service-minded professional who thrives in dynamic environments and takes pride in keeping an organization running smoothly behind the scenes. In this role, you will independently drive day-to-day operations across frontline support, office management, internal communications, IT coordination, and finance-related processes—ensuring staff have the tools, information, and environment they need to do their best work. The ideal candidate is highly organized, proactive, and collaborative, with strong customer-facing skills and a commitment to supporting the team in service of Steppingstone’s mission. Start Date: Immediate Salary: $60,000

Requirements

Demonstrated commitment to educational access and success
2+ years of experience in an operations, administrative, or support role
Experience across the various functional areas named as essential functions of the role above;
Demonstrated success in:
Customer service or frontline support
Engaging with staff and external stakeholders
Strong technical skills and general comfort with technology;
Proficient in Google Workspace
Basic Excel skills for entering and organizing data (e.g. for technology asset management);
Experience with related technologies, such as finance/accounting systems.

Nice To Haves

Prior work experience in a nonprofit or educational organization
5+ years of experience in an operations, administrative, or support role
Associates or Bachelor's Degree in a related field such as:
Business Administration
Finance
Operations Management
Coursework or certifications in Project Management or Business Operations
Experience with Quickbooks and Bill.com
Intermediate Excel skills for analyzing data;
Experience with Asana

Responsibilities

Frontline Support
Serve as the initial point of contact for callers and visitors (including Scholars, families, donors, vendors, & others), addressing inquiries and providing assistance as needed; provides effective customer service to callers, visitors, and staff;
Serves as a source of general knowledge regarding Steppingstone events, meetings, program calendar, policies, etc.;
Maintains an accurate log of visitor information.
Office Management
Oversee daily office operations, including supply inventory, equipment maintenance, and facility management;
Implement and maintain office policies and procedures to enhance efficiency and ensure compliance with local health, safety and building codes;
Ensure all office equipment is functioning properly (e.g., printers, copy machines, conference room equipment) by performing proactive, regular audits; act as main contact for both staff and vendors for all office equipment; coordinate regular maintenance and repairs of equipment; this includes but is not limited to: copiers, postage machine, and drinking water;
Manage inventory of office supplies; Monitor and order office supplies while managing cost;
Create and execute a system for receiving mail/package/deliveries and routing it to the intended recipient;
Act as liaison with building management and serve as the main contact for building and facility-related issues, coordinating maintenance and repairs as needed;
Ensure office space is sanitary and safe for all staff and visitors; serve as the main contact for janitorial service providers; participate in regular sanitizing of frequently used office common areas;
Support the implementation of new technology and tools to enhance office efficiency;
Maintain accurate records of space usage, maintenance requests, and repairs;
Foster a positive work environment through office aesthetics and amenities;
Gather feedback from employees regarding office space and work conditions;
Implement initiatives or improvements to the space that enhance employee morale and engagement;
Implement and maintain office policies and procedures to enhance efficiency and ensure compliance with local health, safety and building codes.
Internal Communications and Knowledge Management
Draft, compile, and send various components of the communication strategy as needed; this includes staff communication related to office-wide procedures and events;
Ensure all staff calendars, including holidays and kitchen duties, are kept up to date and are effectively communicated with staff;
Foster an environment where employees know what information is available to them, understand how to find it, and are encouraged and incentivized to utilize the knowledge-sharing tools that are in place; develop communication and training programs to raise awareness of knowledge management initiatives and encourage participation.
Create and maintain Operations-focused knowledge management resources (e.g. operations content on SteppingZone).
Support the effective implementation of the knowledge management operating plan; this includes working within and across teams to ensure content owners are producing/updating content according to the knowledge management plan.
IT Support
Coordinate with Netlogix as needed to facilitate effective IT support;
Maintain an accurate inventory of tech equipment for all equipment stored on site; ensure on-site tech equipment is in working order by performing periodic audits;
Manage and troubleshoot office technology (e.g. conference room technology, internet routers, etc), escalating to technology vendor as needed;
Develop and maintain accurate documentation and support materials to help employees utilize org-wide/office technology effectively;
Provide additional tech support as needed, potentially including: managing the system for loaning tech equipment to staff (when assigned laptop needs repairs, etc); assisting in maintaining software licenses;
Coordinate with the People Operations Manager and Netlogix (Steppingstone’s 3rd party IT vendor) to set up systems access and technology for new hires, orient new hires to the office, and provide information about basic office procedures and expectations;
Collect technology and other Steppingstone assets from staff members who are leaving the organization;
Finance Operations
Ensure timely and accurate entry of accounts payable transactions into Quickbooks, via Bill.com;
Make deposits; create and share check copies/documentation as appropriate;
Work collaboratively with the Finance Manager on all finance-related responsibilities.
General Operations Support
Support visits and meetings by meeting with team members to understand needs, and support with general meeting/visit coordination, room set up, clean up, and tech;
Maintain organized paper and electronic files;
Create and maintain accurate, detailed, internal process documentation for this role;
Run local errands as needed to execute the responsibilities of this position, e.g. going to the post office.