Resilience Force is hiring for a Special Assistant!

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About Resilience Force

Preparing for climate change is among the most significant national imperatives of our century. We know that the next climate disaster can come the day after tomorrow. In order to prepare, we need a million-people strong resilience workforce. Resilience Force exists to build, train, and protect the skilled and at-scale workforce that can make all US homes and families climate-resilient. We work with a multi-racial workforce that includes the undocumented migrant and US-born workers, especially Black, brown, Native American, rural, and young people.

Resilience Force has its roots in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, helping to protect workers in the Gulf Coast. Over the last seven years, we have carried those lessons forward–pulling together unusual suspects for a fresh conversation about how to turn disasters into openings for renewal. Resilience Force works with government, corporations, homeowners, and community members to ensure workers can be trained and deployed effectively and safely for this critical work. You can learn more about our past successes in the New York Times (article), the New Yorker (article with audio available), and NowThis (video with audio & subtitles).

As an organization we are rapidly scaling up in scope and size, from a young entrepreneurial environment towards a long term, sustainable entity–we have a strong and growing set of stable funders, government partners, and more. Our team has to be flexible to respond to the many, real-life challenges that are presented to us and the communities we are working in partnership with. Working at Resilience Force will require emotional intelligence and compassion to tackle these hard problems as well as a desire to grow out our internal culture and structures.

About The Role

Resilience Force is seeking a Special Assistant who will serve as a liaison, strategic thought partner, and advanced administrative and relationship support for the Executive Director. This role requires an excellent sense of prioritization, strategic communication, and discretion. Supporting Resilience Force in this position requires superb attention to detail as a high-level manager of work flow across the organization, executive scheduling, correspondence, travel, event planning, and logistics.

A successful candidate for this position can track both routine and immediate priorities to support the work of the Executive Director in a rapid response environment. They will work independently and exercise best judgment with the ED’s goals in mind in a manner that is well-organized and responsive to feedback. They are cognizant of the intersection of inequalities which makes the impact of natural disasters worse for poor, Black, Brown, rural, and Native American communities and are committed to supporting the work to make disaster relief more equitable and communities more resilient. The Special Assistant plays a key role in fostering a healthy and constructive office that can efficiently lend itself to support the needs of a growing organization committed to community centered disaster relief. You should apply if you are excited to help nurture the growth of Resilience Force, and have a passion for supporting workers’ rights and remedying inequitable recovery from disasters caused by climate change.

Resilience Force is proud to be a racial and social justice oriented organization and we reflect this commitment in our staff, including at leadership levels. We want to continue to cultivate a positive, inclusive workplace culture where all can thrive. We are particularly interested in receiving applications from a broad spectrum of qualified people who represent diverse backgrounds.

The Special Assistant can expect to..

• Provide executive support at a high level, regularly anticipating the ED’s needs, assessing priorities, and acting efficiently and quickly to keep projects moving.
• Coordinate the ED’s schedule with internal teams and external stakeholders
• Manage meeting preparation, note taking, and follow up for key meetings
• Draft correspondence and materials for the ED
• Serve as main point of contact and first response for inquiries and requests
• Arrange travel and event logistics, sometimes traveling with the ED

Responsibilities

Executive Management

• Proactively keeps track of Executive Director’s short-term, long-term, and emergent priorities; enhancing daily work flow, navigating conflicting demands and intervening independently or delegating as appropriate
• Serves as ED’s liaison and representative, managing and organizing email accounts, Google Drive, etc., and making strategic decisions about what needs the ED’s attention and what can be responded to on his behalf
• Leads scheduling internally and externally, staying well versed in the ED’s affairs and ensuring that time is allocated to the highest priorities

• Maintain communication with key stakeholders, both internally and externally; Support the cultivation of strategic partnerships and relationships
• Uses discretion when dealing with sensitive and confidential information

Executive Administrative and Project Support

• Concurrently tracks and manages multiple workflows; prioritizes conflicting needs; handles matters expeditiously, proactively, and follows through on projects to successful completion, often with deadline pressures and input required from multiple stakeholders
• Creates meetings and associated timelines; prepares and distributes meeting notifications, materials, notes, and follow-up; and manages all correspondence and meeting execution accurately and efficiently
• Ensures efficiency, accuracy and quality control for tracking and reconciling ED’s expenses, organizing receipts, and submitting documentation for purchases and reimbursement
• Conducts research; drafts memos and written communications to external stakeholders as needed
• Leads and supports other administrative projects as directed by ED; ensuring that they are accomplished in a timely and accurate manner

Travel and Events

• Flawlessly manages significant travel for the Executive Director; prepares, tracks and coordinates ED’s briefings, travel arrangements, meeting schedule, etc.
• Travels independently and with the ED (30-50% of Special Assistant’s time) as requested
• Manages and/or provides logistical support to special events including but not limited to running the invitation and confirmation process, the strategic planning of content, and fielding requests according to ED’s availability.

We encourage applicants who have a passion for this work to apply even if your experience differs or doesn’t meet every single requirement that has been outlined here.

Required Qualifications 

• At least two 2-3 years of administrative support experience at an executive level, ideally in a social justice or nonprofit environment
• Strong organizational skills including the ability to perform and concurrently prioritize multiple projects with competing timelines, flexibly adjusting work plan according to shifting priorities
• Excellent verbal, written, presentation, communication and facilitation skills required, including transcribing, proofreading and editing, with exceptional attention to detail and accuracy.
• Maintains an understanding of the current social/political environment, with knowledge of and commitment to movements for immigrant rights and workers’ rights, as well as racial economic justice.
• Excellent interpersonal skills; ability to communicate and engage with colleagues, external stakeholders, and public figures, including government officials, effectively and appropriately.
• Skilled at coordinating meetings and travel arrangements.
• Experience with office equipment and software applications including MS Office, Google Suite, etc.
• Able to use discretion and maintain a high degree of confidentiality

Physical Job Requirements: 

• Ability to work long hours, nights, and weekends
• Extended use of computer and phone
• Ability to travel [up to 40%]
• Responsiveness to urgent communication to strategize through rapid-response moments
• Must be able to work on Eastern Time schedule in alignment with Executive Director