Associate Director of Operations

About the Transformations Community

A Global Commons for Transformative Change : The Transformations Community (TC) connects action-researchers who combine inquiry with action—testing new approaches, sharing learning, and building capacity for just and sustainable futures. With a global community of 6,000+, we convene international conferences, publish widely, and support sustainability initiatives that link knowledge with practice. Here is a video of our most recent gathering, TC25 in Johannesburg.

Role Overview

We’re hiring a hands-on Associate Director of Operations to own TC’s internal operations end-to-end : people operations, portfolio / program management, project systems (ClickUp), fiscal coordination, and organizational rhythms. You’ll turn strategy into clear plans, keep the trains running on time, and help a globally distributed team work smoothly—with smart use of AI tools to streamline workflows.

You’ll report to the Executive Director and partner closely with initiative leads. This is a do-and-lead role : you’ll build light scaffolds, coordinate across programs, and step in directly where needed.

Responsibilities

1) People Operations & Team Health

• Lead hiring pipelines, onboarding / off-boarding, and contractor / consultant agreements.
• Maintain role descriptions, SOWs, and a simple performance / feedback cycle.
• Coordinate time tracking, capacity planning, and resourcing across initiatives.
• Steward team norms (async practices, meeting hygiene, documentation, DEI & care).

2) Portfolio & Program Management

3) Systems & Tooling (ClickUp Lead)

4) Finance & Admin (in coordination with fiscal sponsor / finance)