Director of Executive & Board Operations

Remote (Boston, MA)

The Director, Executive & Board Operations will play a critical role in supporting the CEO and the Development & External Affairs team during a time of organizational growth and at the start of a significant, multi-year fundraising effort. Reporting to the Vice President of Development & External Affairs, and collaborating closely with the Executive Office, this role will oversee all activities and communications related to Board affairs and Board management. This will include Board meeting preparation, committee support, and other engagement activities as needed.

The ideal candidate will be a skilled relationship and project manager with experience managing up and across, alongside expertise in distilling complex strategies and data for sophisticated stakeholder audiences. The candidate will leverage their excellent written and verbal communication skills and be adept at translating content into different formats (e.g., Google slides, one-pagers, emails, talking points, etc). This is a stimulating and rewarding role for someone who loves to connect people and ideas in service of organization-wide impact. The Director will be a collaborative, service-oriented individual with strong relationship management instincts, attention to detail, and high levels of discretion. Upstream celebrates and fosters an inclusive work environment and encourages people of all identities, perspectives, and backgrounds to apply.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

Supports execution of strategic priorities for Board engagement and development with members of Upstream’s General Operating Committee and key organizational leaders.
Serves as primary clearinghouse for communications to the Upstream Board of Directors
Serves as supporting point of contact for all Board members to facilitate their relationship with and support of Upstream.
Provides project management support for Board and committee meetings, coordinating internally and externally, to ensure Board meeting materials are prepared and delivered on time and with excellence.
Ensures that all relevant notes, minutes, and next steps are captured and communicated, as
appropriate, with internal and external parties.
Leads Board recruitment process in partnership with the CEO and other stakeholders; serves as staff liaison for the Nominating Committee.
Co-leads on Board meeting logistics and Board meeting experience with Senior Executive
Assistant.
Partners with the VP of Development & External Affairs on all matters relating to Board giving and fundraising.
Provide project management support for the Development and External Affairs team and Office of the CEO, as needed.

Required Education, Experience, Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

Upstream celebrates and fosters an inclusive work environment and encourages people of all identities, perspectives, and backgrounds to apply.

8-12 years relationship management and project management experience (development, political fundraising, philanthropy, for-profit investor relations, or similar) with increasing levels of responsibility
Exceptional written and verbal communication with capability of distilling complex content for sophisticated audiences into a variety of formats (talking points, presentation decks, grant reports/proposals, correspondence, etc.)
Exceptional project management ability with skills in managing up and sideways on multiple competing and evolving priorities
Understanding of relationship management processes, pipelines, fundraising reporting, and tracking mechanisms within a CRM environment
Skilled communicator and listener
Demonstrated ability to operate with a high degree of urgency, self-motivation, focus on goals, and commitment to high-quality work
Team player and strong individual contributor
Keen attention to detail and ability to exercise discretion
Comfort in an internally facing role, as well as with external audiences
Commitment to Upstream’s mission and to mission-driven work
Ability to effectively deliver and receive both positive and constructive feedback
Proficiency with Salesforce, Google and Microsoft Suites; experience with project management software tools like Asana are desirable
Sense of humor
Upstream USA’s COVID-19 Vaccine Policy requires employees to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 unless a medical or religious exemption is approved. As a condition of employment, newly hired employees must provide proof of their COVID-19 vaccination.
All Upstreamers must be able to attend work-related in-person meetings and functions as needed.
In our hybrid work environments, there is a basic expectation that our Upstreamers will ensure that their work from home setups will have reliable access to phone and Internet to ensure connectivity to their teams.
At Upstream we gather for moments that matter for training, teaming and connection. Our teams come together for occasional in person meetings and organizational retreats. As part of our hybrid work practices, this travel expectation will be applicable for all Upstreamers, even those based remotely.

Travel Requirements

This role will require up to 10-25% of business travel (dependent on whether the applicant is physically in the Boston, MA area). All Upstreamers can expect a minimum of 8 days of business travel per year to attend two annual organizational retreats. Members of the Development and External Affairs team will also be expected to be in person in Boston for 2 days each quarter.

Upstream Benefits

Upstream USA offers a comprehensive benefit package including medical, dental, vision, life insurance, long and short term disability, 401K with a match, generous vacation, personal, sick and holiday time off, parental leave, professional development, a fitness and cell phone allowance for all full time employees and part time employees who work a minimum of 24 hours per week.

Hiring Range

The hiring range for this role is $111,508 to $145,000. Final offers for this position will be based upon several factors including the scope of the role, market compensation analysis, position requirements, candidate’s experience level and capabilities, specific candidate geographic location, internal pay equity considerations and will be made within the parameters of Upstream USA's compensation framework and philosophy.

Hiring Process

Candidates who advance in our preliminary review process will have an opportunity to discuss the position, their employment background and lived experience with a member of our talent acquisition team by telephone. Those who advance to subsequent steps in our interview process may participate in up to three rounds of meetings by Zoom or in person and in a thought exercise/case study assignment. Each round could consist of multiple meetings with various Upstreamers.

At Upstream, we embrace diversity. We nurture it and we thrive on it because it benefits our organization, our partners, and our community. Our goal is to attract, develop and retain exceptional people, and to create a work environment that is dynamic, rewarding and enables each of us to realize our potential. Upstream is committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, genetic information, gender identity or Veteran status. We also consider qualified applicants regardless of criminal histories, consistent with legal requirements. If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation, please let us know. Learn more about working at Upstream, our values, and our commitment to Equity, Diversity and Inclusion. Upstream USA participates in E-Verify.

Upstream Headquarters

2 Oliver Street, Suite 402, Boston, MA 02109

Be advised that we do not ever conduct hiring interviews via text or email. Please protect yourself by learning more about our hiring practices and common red flags to look out for.