OBJECTIVES OF THE TLC
The Operations Manager will be a fundamental contributor to the goals of the TLC. In its first two years of growth, the TLC aims to:
Meet fundraising goals and milestones, especially those related to funding innovation via industry working groups.
Convene working groups related to core facets of circularity in the textiles and apparel industry.
Develop a healthy, thriving network of representatives across the textile life cycle.
Help apparel businesses realize cost savings involved in making the shift to circularity.
Influence policy makers to make policy changes that favour circularity within textiles.
Generate at least 4 knowledge products that will be shared back to the system.
Enable participants to complete at least 80% of collaboratively set success criteria.
Level the playing field by offering affordable circular strategy workshops to those who don’t get have strategies in place, with Community Education Grants to increase access to those with financial barriers or without funds for their own sustainability departments.
Produce and refine adequate administrative structures to build on this work into the future.

WHAT THIS CONTRACT POSITION OFFERS:
Experience. You will work closely with experts in the field of waste prevention, circular economy, social labs, collaboration, facilitation and textile diversion. Exposure. This project will bring in a vast network of movers, shakers, supporters from the non profit, for profit and government sectors. You will be brought in at a turnkey level to connect with this network. You will need the social skills to build and maintain relationships!
Impact. You’ll be able to see your work and its impact in the world with tangible outcomes.
Onboarding. During the first five weeks of your position you will have both structured and informal mentorship from TLC contractors to come up to speed on the program’s operation and your role.

RESPONSIBILITIES
As Operations Manager, you will be taking a leading role in the production, coordination and administration of the TLC’s core business operations, including the following:
Strategy and Project Management
Develop a 30/60/90 day work plan at the beginning of the position;
Lead the continued co-development of overall business strategies, goals and above stated objectives of the TLC;
Manage day-to-day administrative work of running the project, such as team, task and project management, booking meetings, and taking notes;
Coordinate recruitment of Workshop and Working Group/Lab participants, sponsors, contractors, researchers, partners, and volunteers;
Administrate and organize internal documentation, maintaining and managing file hygiene within the TLC’s shared Google Drive;
Convene meetings of the Expert Advisory and Governance Oversight Panels;
Assist in preparing quarterly activity reports for the Panels;
Assist the TLC Partners in securing panelists, as needed.
Bookkeeping and Target-Setting
Assist with budget tracking, bookkeeping and the development of good accounting systems for the TLC and its possible innovation projects.
Fundraising
Coordinate efforts to fulfill fundraising targets, including:
Conducting scans for grants;
Assisting and coordinating grant writing;
Develop sponsorship materials and pitches;
Assist in developing budget portions for grants being submitted;
Coordinate with the team on identifying and researching new funding avenues;
Other emergent tasks related to fundraising that may be required, in cooperation with the TLC’s panelists and other contractors.
Relationship Building and Team Oversight
Build on, develop and maintain strategic partnerships for the TLC;
Assist facilitators with coordination tasks to produce effective events, either in person or online;
Oversee the hiring of interns; assist in managing interns during their temporary positions to offload administrative tasks;
Contribute to a positive and proactive culture within the TLC team.
Research and Communications
Contribute to the Communications Coordinator’s efforts translating industry knowledge into well framed and well articulated website and communication material;
Coordinate research efforts performed between Lab sessions and gather necessary information from participants;
Administer Requests for Proposals as they emerge in the Lab;
Set up and maintain an up to date Customer Resource Management (CRM) system to maintain key relationships and transparency of project delivery.
This is a fit for you if you are:
Detail oriented, self-confident, and very organized;
Someone who gets things done, able to effectively manage time and multiple tasks;
Comfortable working in a fast paced, entrepreneurial environment with deadlines;
Able to take direction from emergent processes and can pivot easily;
Creative and able to think long term and big picture;
Passionate about social responsibility; environmental sustainability, collaboration and regenerative business models;
Proficient working in Google Drive file formats (Sheets, Docs, Slides) and handling databases and tables in Microsoft Excel or equivalent;
An excellent communicator who has done your own personal work. You have a talent for reaching out to people, conveying ideas, inspiring change and bringing everyone on board;
Able to and competent at working remotely, from home or otherwise.
Experience Requirement
We prefer that you have at least 2-5 years related experience in operations or project management, consulting, business development, customer service, fundraising and/or grant writing.

It’s a bonus if you have skills in:
Articulating and troubleshooting sustainability challenges;
Funrdaising and grant writing;
Social innovation labs;
Marketing + business strategy;
Concept + opinion writing;
Proposal writing skills;
Facilitation and public speaking skills;
WAVE and other accounting and budgeting online platforms
ZOOM or other online convening platforms.
Diversity
As part of our dedication to diversity, equity and inclusion, SPEC and The Leverage Lab are Equal Opportunity Employers. Individuals seeking to apply to this role are considered without regards to race, ethnicity, color, age, sex, religion, national origin, ancestry, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, genetic information, physical or mental disability, registered domestic partner status, caregiver status, or marital status.

Compensation:
The total anticipated salary for this contract is between $50,000—$60,000 (dependent on experience and qualifications) on an annual basis. A portion of this amount is already secured, with the remainder contingent on additional fundraising. The Operations Manager will be partly responsible for coordinating fundraising activities to secure the remainder of their contracted salary, with assistance from members of the Lab Team.
Time Commitment: The project may require more or less hours per week throughout the year to meet project deliverables. The contractor should anticipate to be working on this project between 25 and 30 hours per week over approximately 50 weeks per year.
Duration: This contract is for an initial period from September 2021 to December 2022. There is potential for extending the contract, depending on the project’s outcomes after this first year, long-term trajectory and successful fundraising.
Compensation Includes: Optional support for professional development opportunities e.g. proportion of course fees, on a case-by-case basis.
Start Date: This position begins immediately. We are open and flexible to creative salary, start date, and work schedule proposals for the right candidate.

Application:
To apply for this position, please submit your resume and a cover letter to Oliver Lane at oliver@spec.bc.ca by September 8, 2021.