Senior Associate, Operations and Project Management

MILKEN INSTITUTE•Santa Monica, CA

6d•Hybrid

About The Position

The Programmatic Fundraising team in the Business & Program Development department is seeking a Senior Associate, Operations and Project Management. This position will support the team’s event logistics coordination, operations, key reporting and deliverable tracking processes, data management, and other project management processes to support team goals. The Senior Associate, Operations and Project Management role is a key strategic and operational partner to Programmatic Fundraising leadership in the Business & Program Development department. This role strengthens the team’s ability to execute complex, high-visibility projects by driving project management excellence, enhancing internal coordination, and ensuring consistent communication across teams. The Senior Associate will help shape and maintain the systems, processes, and best practices that enable the Programmatic Fundraising team to deliver high-quality work across the Institute’s portfolio of Pillars and events. The incumbent will be highly independent and proactive to understand the unique needs of the department--identifying interdependencies and determining appropriate actions to manage workflows to keep the department on-task and on schedule. With a solution-oriented approach, the candidate will collect, analyze, and synthesize information and recommend best practices for both team and cross-departmental projects. Through the role, the position will interface and work closely with department colleagues as well as Global Programming, Events, Communications, Pillar, and International teams.

Requirements

Bachelor’s Degree required; Minimum of 2 years’ experience in project management, operational, or chief-of-staff role in a complex, fast-paced environment.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with ability to synthesize information and coordinate across teams.
Must be intrinsically motivated with an excellence orientation; understand that no task is too big or too small.
Comfortable working in a demanding, fast-paced organization with evolving processes; flexible and able to adapt to new situations as the business demands.
Creative problem-solver who can design and implement workable solutions

Nice To Haves

Proficiency with project management tools and systems such as Salesforce and Airtable a bonus.

Responsibilities

Develop and manage project timelines and operating plans for the Programmatic Fundraising team in partnership with the Business & Program Development Project Management team.
Coordinate internal resources across teams and time zones to support seamless project execution and alignment with Institute-wide priorities.
Ensure required reporting is set up for accurate tracking and execution of revenue goals and other deliverables.
Devise detailed, best-practice project management plans, and communicate the plans for execution as well as monitor plan progress.
Take ownership of internal and external communications to ensure requirements are known and deadlines are met.
Monitor progress against project plans, identify risks or bottlenecks, and recommend solutions to keep work on track.
Lead post-project and post-event diagnostics to identify lessons learned and opportunities to strengthen processes.
Serve as a central point of coordination for internal and cross-team communications related to project requirements, deadlines, and deliverables.
Ensure stakeholders have the information, context, and resources needed to execute responsibilities effectively and stay on schedule.
Duties as assigned.
With oversight from Programmatic Fundraising team leadership, support overall team operations including team meetings, agendas, trainings, and other needs as relevant.
Translate strategic direction from team leadership into actionable plans and clear communication for colleagues.
Support Programmatic Fundraising team leadership in advancing departmental priorities, improving operational systems, and fostering a culture of collaboration and accountability.
Support Programmatic Fundraising portfolio data management needs, as relevant.
Duties as assigned.