Now Hiring: Our First Operations Director

Late last year, we announced an exciting step forward in the evolution of our program: we are partnering with our friends at the Brooke Owens Fellowship to hire our first ever full-time (or full-time-ish) employee! We are thrilled to find a highly intelligent, highly motivated new leader, who will work closely with our executive teams both to run our current Fellowships and to help us develop and execute plans for new things.

We are now accepting applications for the Operations Director who will help us run and grow both of these Fellowship programs. Please read below to learn about the role and how to apply.

To Apply: Please send your resume and cover letter to us at hiring@brookeowensfellowship.org. While there is no strict application deadline, we aim to begin the selection process immediately, so we encourage you to contact us as soon as possible.

Job Title: Operations Director

Job Location: Washington, DC; Denver, CO; Los Angeles, CA; or remote.

Salary: $60,000 - $75,000 per year.

Benefits: As our first full-time employee, you will help us define our benefits package. We have budgeted for this to be a humanist and inclusive package that includes health insurance, a retirement savings plan, parental leave, and more. Flexible working hours may be possible to accommodate your individual needs.

Eligibility: Open to all US citizens, US nationals, those lawfully admitted for permanent residence into the US (i.e. current green card holders), and those lawfully admitted into the US as refugees or granted asylum under 8 U.S. Code § 1157 - 1158.  

Our organization exists specifically to create a more inclusive industry that celebrates and values diversity, and that goal certainly applies to our own team. We firmly believe that having a team of diverse humans working together increases our capacity to effect change and to fulfill our mission. We welcome people from all walks of life into our team and strongly encourage people of color, LGBTQ+ individuals, veterans, and people with disabilities to apply.

Start Date: Between April 4 and July 1, 2022.

About Us: The Brooke Owens Fellowship was created in 2016 to serve both as an inspiration and as a career boost to capable young women and other gender minorities who, like Brooke, aspire to explore our sky and stars, to shake up the aerospace industry, and to help their fellow people here on planet Earth. It offers paid internships and mentorship for exceptional undergrad women and gender minorities in aerospace. The Patti Grace Smith Fellowship was created in 2020 to empower Black excellence in aerospace. It does so by providing extraordinary Black students with their first work experience in the aerospace industry, personalized mentorship and a cohort of similarly driven and talented young Black people pursuing aerospace careers. 

With these programs, we help our Fellows connect with like-minded peers to build a community and network that is passionate about aerospace and that will support them as they start their careers. Our Fellows are exposed to companies, non-profits, and government employers that offer the best possible mix of development opportunities, company purpose, workplace culture and leadership style. 

Our two Fellowship programs are operated as projects of a single, registered 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization. For more information, please visit brookeowensfellowship.org and pgsfellowship.org.

About the Position:

In this position, you will help us continue to build on an excellent foundation by managing these two highly esteemed programs within the Aerospace industry, with the goal of transforming the way diverse workers and leaders are recruited, selected, trained, and empowered. You will make a long-lasting impact through interacting with the founders and executive team, students who earn positions in our Fellowship, the companies that employ them, and the industry. In this position, you will further the legacy of Brooke Owens and Patti Grace Smith by paving the way for dozens of talented young professionals from under-served communities every year to begin full-time jobs in aerospace.

This year-round position will be to manage and execute the day-to-day operations and implementation of the overall strategy for both programs which is essential to enabling the longevity and success of the Brooke Owens and Patti Grace Smith Fellowship programs. 

Your Mission:

While both fellowships have some similarities and overlap, each has its own strategic plan, vision, and functionality. It is our hope that you can foresee synergy between both fellowships while also individualizing the needs of each fellowship. 

• Report to the leadership teams of the Brooke Owens and Patti Grace Smith Fellowships

• Generate and manage a year-round operational plan and budget 

• Lead the implementation of the strategic plan 

• Identify potential areas of growth and spearhead new projects 

• Manage back office functions, ensuring compliance with all laws and regulations

• Manage logistics of the relationships with our host companies and partners

• Lead fundraising efforts, including grant-writing, 501(c)(3) filings and IRS reporting, and fund-receiving compliance

• Lead PR and marketing strategy and efforts from pre-production to post-production of content that resonates with our audiences

• Assist, integrate, and ensure consistency across alumni-led efforts  

• Act as a champion of diversity, equity, and inclusion 

• Perform other related duties as requested

Key Requirements:

If you want to join us, you’d better have all of these…

• The ability to work effectively in collaboration with diverse groups of people;

• An action-oriented, entrepreneurial, adaptable, and innovative approach to business planning;

• Excellent interpersonal and multidisciplinary project skills;

• Excellence in organizational management, with the ability to set and achieve strategic objectives, and manage a budget;

• Proficiency with the fundamentals of financial management and filing taxes for non-profits;

• The ability to coach, manage, and develop high-performance volunteers;

• Strong written and verbal communication skills;

• A belief that diversity, equity, and inclusion is imperative to the success of the aerospace industry;

• The ability and willingness to thrive in a fast-paced, rapidly changing work environment;

• The ability to thrive as a one person team;

• The ability to work nights and weekends during key times of the fellowship (Note: our executive teams are fully employed during the day and often meet outside of business hours);

• Familiarity with our key software tools (Google Drive and Squarespace) or with superior alternatives;

• Experience planning and coordinating virtual and in-person events such as summits, conferences, and banquets;

• A driven, highly-motivated nature and a commitment to improvement;

• Proof of US-approved COVID-19 full vaccination status, unless otherwise exempted by an approved reasonable medical or religious accommodation.

… and ideally, you’d have some of these, too.

• Strong marketing, public relations, and fundraising experience with the ability to engage a wide-range of stakeholders including international partnerships;

• Grant writing experience;

• Non-profit management experience;

• Fluency in key social media platforms and other avenues for connecting with students and young professionals;

• Certification in DEI training (such as Safe Zone, Implicit Bias, Microaggression etc.

• Proven experience effectively leading and scaling a performance- and outcomes-based organization and staff;

• Past success working with a leadership board, with the ability to cultivate existing Board Member relationships;

• Clear understanding of the key vocabulary and concepts of the aerospace industry, or a proven ability to quickly master similarly technical content;

• Enthusiasm for highly engaging but also highly demanding projects;

• Ability to work under pressure and with ‘on the spot’ priority situations in a quick and effective manner; and

• Willingness and ability to travel if required, potentially including international travel.

The Brooke Owens Fellowship and Patti Grace Smith Fellowship are equal opportunity employers. We are committed to fostering an environment free from any form of unlawful discrimination. Discriminatory actions are strictly prohibited and we are committed to engaging in affirmative action measures to ensure against discrimination. It is the policy of the Brooke Owens Fellowship and Patti Grace Smith Fellowship to promote a positive program of specific practices designed to ensure equal opportunity without regard to race, sex (including breastfeeding and conditions related to breastfeeding), color, creed, gender, religion, marital status, registered domestic partnership status, age, national origin or ancestry, physical or mental disability, special disabled veteran status, veteran status, medical condition, genetic characteristics and information, sexual orientation, gender (including gender identity and gender expression), parental status, political affiliations, military service, family care leave status, or any other consideration made unlawful by federal, state or local laws. All such discrimination is unlawful. This policy governs all aspects of employment at our organization, including hiring, assignments, training, promotions, compensation, employee benefits, employee discipline and discharge, and all other terms and conditions of employment.