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Upturn Seeks an Operations Associate

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  • Location: Remote (United States)
  • Timing: Applications are due by April 3, 2025. We're ready for this hire to start as soon as possible.

About Upturn

Upturn advances equity and justice in the design, governance, and use of technology.

We believe technology should advance justice, not amplify racial, economic, and social inequities. Without focused attention, technology can reinforce systemic injustices found everywhere in our society.

We drive policy change by combining rigorous research with deliberate advocacy. Our approach to technology and justice is informed by a broad range of perspectives and experiences, including computer science, social science, law, and policy. We strive to ground our work in community and lived experiences.

We partner with a strong and growing network of local and national advocates, litigators, organizers, academics, and policymakers to ensure that our work is grounded, collaborative, and actionable.

Some of our recent work includes:

  • Developing regulatory proposals to rein in workplace technologies, together with workers’ rights advocates.
  • Critiquing portable tenant screening reports as a meaningful way to mitigate the burden of rental application fees.
  • Partnering with legal services attorneys to fight systems that cut people’s government benefits.
  • Documenting the dangerous expansion of U.S. law enforcement’s use of forensic tools to search people’s mobile phones.
  • Urging the Biden-Harris administration to address algorithmic discrimination through executive and agency actions.
  • Advocating for civil rights law to recognize a duty to search for and implement less discriminatory algorithms.

Upturn is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in Washington, DC. Learn more about our work at https://www.upturn.org.

About the Position

This Operations Associate position is responsible for executing and supporting Upturn’s internal operations and human resources, which currently includes the following assignments:

  • Administering employee benefits, including health, dental, vision, and disability insurance; tracking and administering paid time off; and maintaining other benefit programs.
  • Executing recruiting and other personnel processes, including onboarding, offboarding, staff reviews, professional development, and regular compensation reviews.
  • Leading office administration and logistics, including coordinating workplace technology, administering office space, and supporting travel logistics and in-person events.
  • Developing team culture and practices, including managing remote communication and collaboration infrastructure, and coordinating team-building activities and staff celebrations.
  • Supporting operations activities owned by others, including financial administration, internal policies and practices, budget development, filings and compliance, disability accommodations, communications, fundraising and grant management, operations department planning, and Board of Directors support.

In this position, you will work closely alongside another Operations Associate and report to the Director of Operations.

You will join a growing organization that is caring, collaborative, and principled. We will actively invest in your professional growth through training, feedback, and support. We are committed to building an inclusive, flexible, and welcoming workplace. We have a transparent culture and strive to include our entire staff when making major strategic decisions.

Work location

Upturn is based in Washington, DC, but is a remote organization. We will hire a qualified candidate who is work-authorized and can work remotely from anywhere in the United States, with occasional travel. Currently, the majority of our staff is based in the DC area, along with several colleagues based elsewhere. We are committed to working collaboratively to create an equitable workplace, no matter your location. We will provide office space to staff who desire to work from an office in DC or elsewhere in the United States.

Compensation and benefits

The salary for this position begins at $75,000. For more details, see our compensation policy, which includes a description of roles and responsibilities at Upturn.

We provide a generous and comprehensive benefits package, including health, dental, vision, and disability insurance; a 403(b) retirement plan with a 10% employer contribution; open paid time off and flexible work hours; a monthly transit benefit for DC-based employees; employer-sponsored medical and dependent care FSAs; a monthly home office reimbursement; a paid sabbatical after five years of full-time work; and an annual professional development fund.

About You

We seek candidates with at least two years of relevant work experience in nonprofit operations. Specific experience with human resources and employee benefits is a plus. We’re looking for someone who is:

  • Aligned with Upturn’s mission. Your approach centers human needs and you understand intersectional equity.
  • A clear communicator. You can clearly explain nuanced policies, and can make clear asks and follow up when needed.
  • Organized and detail-oriented. You can multitask, track deadlines, and manage your time effectively.
  • A proactive problem-solver. You can independently seek out answers and help us adapt to new operational needs.

We welcome applicants from a broad range of backgrounds, especially those with lived experience related to Upturn’s work. We strongly encourage applications from people of color, women, LGBTQ+ people, people with disabilities, formerly incarcerated people, and people most impacted by systemic injustice.

Hiring Process

Applications are due on April 3, 2025.

At a minimum, the hiring process for this position consists of the following stages:

  • Application form
  • 30-minute interview (round 1)
  • 30-minute interview (round 2)
  • Reference checks

We will make our application and interview process as transparent and accessible as is reasonably possible for applicants. Not every applicant will move on to each stage of the above process; we will update candidates about their status as quickly as is reasonably possible.

We will work with candidates to provide reasonable accommodations during each stage of this process. Please email join@upturn.org to request an accommodation or ask about our hiring process.

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