Operations Coordinator

COWLITZ INDIAN TRIBE • Ridgefield, WA

9d • $31 - $41 • Onsite

About The Position

The Cowlitz Economic Authority (CEA) builds a diversified, resilient economy for the Cowlitz Indian Tribe through the growth and support of tribal enterprises and business initiatives. The operations coordinator provides administrative, project, reporting, and operational coordination support across CEA’s holding company structure and non-gaming businesses, including Q’anápsu LLC and Cowlitz Tobacco Outlet. This role assists leadership by organizing information, tracking assignments and timelines, coordinating operational workflows, maintaining records, supporting reporting needs, and helping ensure follow-through on priorities, policies, and process improvements. Gaming operations managed by CTGA are out of scope for this role.

Requirements

• Associate’s or Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Operations Management, Public Administration, Finance, Economic Development, Organizational Leadership, or related field; equivalent lived or professional experience may be considered.
• 5 years of experience in operations coordination, administrative coordination, project coordination, business support, economic development support, or related experience.
• Experience working for a Tribal government, Tribal enterprise, native-led organization or Indigenous community.
• Experience managing multiple projects, priorities, and stakeholders simultaneously.
• Experience supporting, documenting, and maintaining operational processes, policies, procedures, trackers, or reporting systems.
• Experience organizing budget, invoice, purchasing, financial, or operational performance information for review.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite, reporting tools, and business management systems.
• Must possess and maintain a valid driver's license.
• Must comply with all applicable tribal, federal, state, and organizational policies and requirements.

Nice To Haves

• Bachelor’s degree preferred.
• Retail operations experience preferred.
• Experience supporting multiple business entities, departments, or a holding company structure.
• Experience working in economic development, enterprise development or business incubation environments.
• Experience with strategic planning and organizational performance management.
• Experience with budgeting, forecasting and financial analysis.
• Experience operating in a regulated industry (e.g., cannabis, tobacco, alcohol) with familiarity in compliance requirements and licensing processes.
• Project coordination, administrative coordination, or project management training preferred.

Responsibilities

• Provide operational coordination support across CEA business entities with a focus on consistency, efficiency, customer service, safety, accountability, and timely follow-through.
• Track operational performance metrics, organize data, identify trends, and prepare summaries for leadership review.
• Assist with developing, updating, distributing, and maintaining policies, systems, procedures, and tracking tools that support operational consistency and accountability.
• Assist with organizing operational budget information, invoices, purchasing documentation, and reporting materials to support forecasting, resource allocation, and financial performance reviews.
• Coordinate operational special projects identified by the CEO, Chief of Staff
• Coordinate implementation tracking and administrative follow-up for assigned strategic plan priorities.
• Maintain administrative dashboards, trackers, reports, and executive summaries that support CEO and Chief of Staff updates to Tribal and General Council, board members, and enterprise leadership.
• Collect, organize, and summarize administrative, operational, and financial information to support timely decision-making, reporting, and follow-through.
• Organize and summarize information to support leadership evaluation of new business opportunities.
• Support the preparation and administrative maintenance of business plans, operational plans, implementation timelines, and related planning materials.
• Coordinate operational readiness planning for new or expanded enterprises, including early-stage planning, site coordination, implementation timelines, staffing assumptions, vendor needs, compliance requirements, and transition planning.
• Support start-up, expansion, transition, and post-acquisition integration activities for new and existing enterprises, including staffing needs, vendor and service coordination, site readiness, reporting structures, and operational handoff planning.
• Support operational coordination with Tribal departments, community organizations, vendors, consultants, and external partners as directed.
• Track and document potential operational efficiencies, risks, and revenue opportunities for leadership review.
• Assist with developing, documenting, updating, and maintaining standard operating procedures (SOPs) across CEA enterprises.
• Support policy development and implementation to ensure consistency, where possible, across business entities.
• Coordinate operational systems, workflows, meeting follow-ups, and process improvement tracking.
• Collaborate with HR, Finance, IT and leadership to support organizational alignment, operational planning and consistent implementation across CEA enterprises.
• Identify opportunities to standardize or integrate operational software systems across entities in partnership with IT, reduce redundancy, and improve cross-entity reporting capability.
• Support vendor management, contract administration, and procurement processes.
• Ensure operational documentation, records, and reporting systems are maintained and organized.
• Support compliance with Tribal, federal, state, and local regulations applicable to business operations by coordinating documentation, calendars, checklists, and follow-up items.
• Monitor adherence to organizational policies, procedures, and internal controls.
• Coordinate operational audits, inspections, compliance reviews, and document requests as needed.
• Track operational risks, issues, and mitigation follow-up items for leadership review.
• Promote a culture of safety, accountability, and continuous improvement throughout the organization.

Benefits

• Schedule flexibility is required based on enterprise operations, site needs, meetings and project demands.
• Reference checks, education and employment verification.
• Federal, state, and/or tribal criminal history and sanction checks including fingerprint verification.
• Must successfully pass a pre-employment background investigation and UA test.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Education Level: Associate degree