Director of People & Operations

Immigrants Rising

3h•$110,000 - $120,000•Remote

About The Position

The Director of People & Operations is a new position that will provide strategic and operational leadership for Immigrants Rising’s people, culture, and organizational infrastructure. This role is responsible for building and stewarding equitable, compliant, and scalable systems that support staff performance and wellbeing, organizational health, and mission impact during a period of growth and increasing complexity. As a senior organizational leader that will sit on the Executive Team, the Director will partner closely with the Executive Director and cross-functional leadership to translate Immigrants Rising’s values into consistent people practices, strong internal systems, and clear accountability structures. The role balances strategic leadership with hands-on execution, ensuring the organization has the policies, processes, and supports needed to sustain a high-performing, mission-aligned team. This position carries responsibility for people operations strategy, compliance, performance management systems, internal operations, and contributing to organization-wide planning and decision-making.

Requirements

7–10+ years of experience in people operations, human resources and organizational operations.
Demonstrated experience leading people strategy and HR systems in a growing, complex, remote organization.
Strong working knowledge of employment law, HR compliance, and risk management.
Proven ability to coach and support senior leaders and managers.
Exceptional judgment, discretion, and ability to navigate sensitive and high-stakes situations.
Exceptional project management skills and the ability to handle complex, multifaceted projects resulting in measurable outcomes in a dynamic environment.
Strong systems thinker with the ability to balance empathy, structure, and accountability.
Commitment to equity, inclusion, and justice-centered organizational practices.
Experience in conflict resolution/transformation, grounded in practices that honor relationships and community.
Someone who can grasp the subtleties and nuances of complex issues and identify patterns in challenges. Someone who can lead insightful, pragmatic, equitable, and sustainable ways to tackle common challenges and produce positive change.
A skilled people manager and leader who models integrity, accountability, trustworthiness, and empathy with deep self-awareness and emotional intelligence.
Highly skilled and open to giving and receiving constructive feedback on communication efforts and able to implement suggestions to improve future interactions.
Thoroughly committed to Immigrants Rising’s mission and vision.
Deep passion and commitment to immigrant rights with a personal connection to the undocumented experience.
Expected to attend organizational fundraising events and relay key information from interactions with potential donors and funders to fundraising staff, represent the organization professionally and in accordance to organizational values.
Eager to learn and develop new skills.
Adaptive to changing circumstances.
Demonstrates strong active listening skills, with the goal of understanding the perspectives, needs, and concerns of others before responding.
Demonstrates awareness and respect for cultural differences in communication, ensuring inclusivity and avoiding miscommunication.
Participates in organization-wide efforts to bolster organizational health, address implicit bias, inequitable practices, structural inequities in the workplace, and infuses equity & inclusion skills and principles to programs and external work. Pursues personal and professional learning and development opportunities.

Nice To Haves

Experience in nonprofit, advocacy, or mission-driven organizations.
Experience supporting teams with immigration-related considerations or other complex leave and accommodation needs.
Familiarity with HRIS platforms, payroll systems, and performance management tools.
Experience supporting organizations through periods of growth, transition, or restructuring.

Responsibilities

Set and lead a cohesive people and culture strategy that advances Immigrants Rising’s mission, values, and equity commitments.
Design and oversee performance management frameworks, including goal-setting, feedback practices, cycles, and maintaining a culture of feedback, evaluations, and corrective action processes.
Serve as a trusted thought partner to the Executive Director and Directors on people leadership, team dynamics, and organizational health.
Coach and support Directors and senior managers in managing performance, navigating difficult conversations, and building strong teams.
Ensure consistent, fair, and transparent application of people policies across the organization.
Oversee all HR functions, including hiring, onboarding, offboarding, classification, compensation practices, benefits administration, and employee relations.
Interpret and apply employment policies, including leave, accommodations, and immigration-related time off, in alignment with legal requirements and organizational values.
Partner with legal counsel, HR consultants, and Operations staff to ensure compliance with federal, state, and local employment laws.
Identify organizational risk related to people operations and proactively design systems to mitigate exposure.
Maintain and continuously improve the employee handbook, policies, and internal documentation.
Provide strategic oversight and implementation for internal operations systems, including HRIS, overseeing payroll, performance tracking, and internal workflows.
Ensure operational systems support organizational growth, audit readiness, and funder compliance.
Lead continuous improvement of internal processes to increase clarity, efficiency, and cross-team coordination.
Partner with Executive Director, CFO and Operations colleagues to align people systems with budgeting, forecasting, and organizational planning.
Take ownership of People & Operations budgets in partnership with the Executive Director and program leads, ensuring responsible planning, forecasting, and resource alignment.
Monitor organization-wide operational expenses, including vendors, consultants, HR systems, payroll, benefits, insurance, and software platforms, ensuring financial sustainability and alignment with priorities.
Support audit preparation and compliance efforts related to HR, operations and internal controls, maintaining clear documentation and strong organizational practices.
Serve as a core member of Immigrants Rising’s Executive Team, contributing to organizational strategy, decision-making, and change management.
Partner with Directors across programs to align people systems with programmatic and advocacy goals.
Model Immigrants Rising’s values and leadership principles internally and externally.
Support fundraising efforts by ensuring strong operational readiness, accurate budgets, and grant compliance in partnership with the Executive Director and Development team.
Represent the organization in high-level external meetings, funder conversations, and public forums as needed.
Support board engagement by providing program updates, analysis, and strategic recommendations.
Help translate executive- and Board-level decisions into effective internal implementation.