Senior Manager, People Operations & Total Rewards

Jobs for the Future (JFF) drives transformation of the U.S. education and workforce systems to achieve economic advancement for all. Seeing that millions of people are unfairly shut out of quality jobs and the chance for a better life, our goal is to align education, workforce, and employment changemakers toward a shared North Star: By 2033, 75 million people facing systemic barriers to advancement will work in quality jobs.

To achieve that goal, we design solutions, scale best practices, influence policy and action, and invest in innovation. With a staff of more than 200 people across the country working remotely and in offices in Boston (headquarters), Washington, DC, and Oakland, California, we operate at the national, state, and local levels, forging deep partnerships with employers, investors, entrepreneurs, policymakers, and education and workforce development providers to break down barriers and reimagine what’s possible.

We’re on a path of ongoing growth and expanding impact. We have an operating budget of $70 million, and we’re funded by dozens of leading government agencies, foundations, and corporations.

About the Position

JFF is a dynamic organization and has embarked on a comprehensive transformation effort to uplevel and redesign systems and processes. The People Operations and Total Rewards team is charged with ensuring that JFF’s programs, processes, and procedures are competitive, equitable, and scalable, and can support JFF employees working remotely and in offices across the U.S. in a fast-paced organization.

This role is both a strategic and tactical role, relying on previous expertise to direct and execute daily operations while taking an innovative approach to evolve and continuously improve JFF’s People Operations and Total Rewards administration.

In partnership with the Director of People Operations & Total Rewards, you will play a critical role in managing programs and initiatives, and in helping employees navigate both some of the most exciting and challenging moments in their lives. You will demonstrate a hands-on approach to support employees, managers, and team leaders. This role is ideal for an individual who operates with empathy, advocates for equity in policy and processes, and is excited to play a key role in the People Operations and Total Rewards function within the People & Culture team.

What You’ll Do

People Operations & Employee Lifecycle Administration (50%)

• Lead onboarding and offboarding strategy, overseeing processes/system administration, and stewarding stakeholders to ensure an exceptional experience from offer acceptance through the first 90 days with JFF and upon someone’s exit from the organization.
• Own the People & Culture inbox, ensuring timely, accurate, and employee-centered resolution of inquiries while escalating complex matters appropriately.
• Manage employee recognition programs for the full employee lifecycle, including new hires, our staff recognition program through Nectar, staff awards, anniversaries, and retirements.
• Manage organizational data and requests, including oversight of employment verifications, JFF’s org chart, and internal reporting.
• Oversee People & Culture calendar, managing invites for org-wide and smaller group events hosted by P&C, and own the annual holiday and office closure calendar.
• Liaise with internal stakeholders and vendors to optimize service delivery and influence configuration decisions for new system functionalities.
• Collaborate with Talent Acquisition to support Greenhouse system administration.

Culture, Engagement & People Insights (30%)

• Oversee employee listening strategy, including employee engagement survey design, administration, and analysis.
• Translate workforce data and employee insights into actionable recommendations that inform talent, organizational effectiveness, and broader People strategy decisions.
• Manage recurring and ad hoc people-data requests, ensuring accuracy, confidentiality, and timeliness.
• Manage employee engagement systems (Culture Amp) and vendor relationships.
• Support administration of Employee Resource Groups (ERG) and the Inclusion & Belonging Advisory Committee (IBAC).

Performance Development (10%)

• Support annual performance review cycle, partnering closely with PBPs, people managers, and team leaders to ensure a productive and smooth process for employees and managers.
• Support goal setting process in alignment with performance review cycle.
• Support project management and administration of annual compensation increase and incentive cycles.
• Oversee JFF’s career development fellowship program, identifying teams and participants and refining program over time.

People & Culture Project Management (10%)

• Act as project manager for cross-functional People & Culture initiatives, ensuring alignment with organizational goals, compliance, and timely execution.
• Develop project plans, track progress, manage risks, and facilitate stakeholder engagement across P&C functions.
• Continuously assess and improve processes and systems to enhance the employee and manager experience.
• Support Knowledge Management team with trainings related to People & Culture initiatives and cycles.

Who You Are

You bring a track record of success in designing, improving, or managing employee experience, onboarding, performance development, and/or learning and development and have experience providing exceptional customer service for employees within these bodies of work.

New hires at the Senior Manager level typically bring 5-10 years of professional experience across full-time, part-time, internship, and/or freelance roles.

• You build trust quickly across layers and identities.
• You communicate with clarity, candor, and respect, and offer feedback thoughtfully.
• You confidently lead trainings, meetings, and discussions.
• You are highly organized and know how to manage and prioritize multiple projects; you create clear and effective systems and processes to support your work and that of the organization to drive results.
• You operate with a high level of discretion for confidential information.
• You translate complex or sensitive content into accessible and supportive messaging.
• You anticipate organizational needs and design scalable, equitable processes.
• You bring structure, clarity, and reliability to recurring cycles and new initiatives.
• You use engagement, performance, and hiring insights to diagnose challenges and guide improvements.
• You feel energized by improving systems, testing new tools, and strengthening both candidate and employee experience.
• You are comfortable with ambiguity and change.
• You embed equitable practices into every process you steward.
• You possess high energy and passion for JFF’s mission and North Star, and the ability to apply JFF’s core values to all areas of your work.
• You are energized by stewarding JFF’s inclusion, belonging, and well-being values and practices within your day-to-day work, including embracing and celebrating the differences that each individual brings to JFF.
• You value building positive and collaborative relationships with others, including people whose identities and backgrounds differ from your own.