Associate, Office of the COO

Job details Job Type Full-time Full Job Description

About the Organization

CLASP serves at the epicenter of collaborative, ambitious efforts to mitigate climate change and expand clean energy access through appliance efficiency. Our mission is to improve the energy and environmental performance of the appliances & equipment we use every day, accelerating our transition to a more sustainable world. Energy-efficient appliances are one of the most cost-effective methods for mitigating climate change. They save money for governments and consumers alike, reduce peak energy demand, and bolster economic and energy security. We work hand-in-hand with governments, experts, industry, consumers, donor organizations and others to accelerate adoption of the highest-quality, lowest resource-intensive appliances possible.

CLASP has worked in more than 100 countries since our inception in 1999. We have offices in Washington, DC, with teams in Europe, Kenya, India, China, and Indonesia. We are mission-driven and committed to a culture of diversity, transparency, collaboration, and impact. See our Team Page to learn more about us.

About the Role - Associate, Office of the COO

The Associate is the organization's primary team member focused on establishing effective business functions and operations, refining, and improving processes and procedures, keeping accurate records, maintaining compliance with business and personnel requirements, and ensuring overall operational effectiveness.

The Associate will be a detail-oriented, self-starter with an impeccable ability to manage and organize complex projects. To be candid, this is demanding work, but if you’re up to the challenge you will grow in ways that you couldn’t have imagined at this point in your career.

This position supports and reports to the Chief Operating Officer and partners with internal teams and external partners to achieve finance, operations, admin, and HR/talent goals. Several backgrounds could serve you well in this role, including previous experience leading operations and overseeing its various associated functions (finance, HR, IT, etc.).

Your responsibilities will include

• Operations
  • Provide support to the Chief Operating Officer with organizational policy updates, enhancing strategic business processes, and creating standard operating procedures.
  • Maintain and develop relationships with external consultants, partners, and other operations stakeholders.
  • Liaise with building management for office infrastructure needs.
  • Dive into the nitty-gritty of organizational management by overseeing research on best practices and making recommendations on new policies.
  • Create systems and clear communication lines to ensure policies and procedures are communicated, and questions are addressed.
• Human Resources
  • Collaborate with HR consultants on employee transitions, onboarding, and additional HR-related issues.
  • Complete Form I-9, verify documentation, maintain documentation and enter information in e-Verify.
• Business Systems
  • Evaluate the efficiency of current business procedures according to organizational objectives and develop and apply improvements.
  • Create, update, and maintain contract systems, documents, and processes to support the contract management function in regards to local, state, and federal/country requirements and regulations.
  • Create and manage internal technology training curriculum, including delivering periodic staff trainings to ensure efficient use across programs/teams.
  • Lead implementation of new technology systems and platforms.

Who you are:

• Ability to get things done: You are solutions-oriented, a problem-solver looking for the best solution to whatever challenge you're confronted with. You don't wait for instruction. Instead, you proactively look for ways to offer support and be of use. You are a master organizer and planner and consistently look ahead and anticipate needs before they arise.
• Resourceful and Adaptable: You're at ease with ambiguity and rapid change. You possess a positive attitude and identify creative solutions to obstacles. You can juggle many essential responsibilities at once, and you're rigorous about prioritizing.
• A Team Player: You can work on any project with any team. Not because you know everything, because you love working on teams, and you are the one who always puts it on themselves to see their team succeed. You're not afraid to ask questions.
• Flexible: You can manage a diverse set of team needs and aren't afraid to step outside your job description or comfort zone to help the team reach its goals. You're comfortable with shifting schedules and don't expect every day to go "as planned."
• High Integrity: You will be asked to make sensitive and critical judgment calls, and as such, you are known for your integrity; you take that reputation seriously. You always choose to make the right decision versus the easy decision. You know what information is sensitive, and you will protect it accordingly.
• Emotionally Intelligent: You are self-aware and perceptive. You nurture relationships and can work and communicate well with all kinds of people. You are optimistic, empathetic, flexible, curious, and well-respected by all who work with you, irrespective of title. You are able to handle stressful situations professionally.

What You'll Need:

• 3+ years of professional experience (we are background agnostic and are excited by candidates with unique and different work histories).
• Project management experience with the ability to juggle multiple priorities simultaneously.
• Demonstrated comfort and fluency with Office 365, since this is a platform you will oversee Excel and numbers generally. Enjoying these will be important to enjoying this position.
• The ability to handle multiple deadlines and complete assignments with minimal supervision in a fast-paced workplace.
• Impeccable organization, you are highly detail-oriented, and someone who gets a real sense of satisfaction from producing polished work and managing smooth and orderly processes.
• You can practice discretion and have the ability to maintain confidentiality as needed.
• A commitment to diversity and inclusion. You're always asking: "whose voice is not at the table?" You have experience working with diverse teams and successfully navigating cross-cultural communication in either local or global contexts, and you deeply value creating a workplace that is supportive of difference.

Why this role is compelling

Working directly with the COO, Fred Sherman, you will experience first-hand what it means to support a well-run, growing organization toward a particular vision. You will be exposed to an unusually wide range of people and issues in the international development and climate sectors, as well as the internal infrastructure and operations of a visionary organization.

A successful candidate will develop and grow a broad set of professional skills, honing them to the level of excellence in a demanding and fast-paced environment. You will work with, learn from, and grow alongside a high-performing and diverse team in which each individual is committed to the rapid development of themselves and others.

This role has the option to serve as a leadership development path for the right candidate, especially if you want to be a COO yourself one day. There is a high potential for the role to evolve within three years based on the particular strengths that you bring to the team, making this an invaluable opportunity to expand your career in the impact sector.

Compensation and Location

CLASP provides its employees with a competitive salary that is benchmarked annually with other non-profit organizations in the DC metropolitan area. CLASP also provides a comprehensive benefits package, including fully paid health insurance for individuals and competitive rates for families/dependents, unlimited leave and all federal holidays, an impressive match of employee contributions to the 403b retirement plan, and a collegial office environment that supports professional development, wellness, and flexible telecommuting options.

Compensation for this role starts at $70K and can increase based on the candidate’s level of experience. Internally, this role is at the Senior Associate seniority level.

The Associate will work in CLASP’s DC office and will work collaboratively with CLASP team members in Europe, Africa, Latin America, and Asia. This will sometimes require working early mornings or late nights, to accommodate time differences.

The Application Process

CLASP has engaged Equitable Hiring Group to support this hiring process. To apply, please complete the short form to the right.

Individuals who apply by Friday, September 24th will be given priority; applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis after that date until the position is filled.

When you apply, please remove the names of your undergraduate and graduate schools from your resume. There is no need to reformat your resume, but simplify it to “B.A. Economics,” for example. This “bias blind” process is aimed at opening this opportunity to more candidates, reviewing applicants on performance assessments instead of resume proxies (e.g., where you went to school). This evaluation process will follow best practices shown to reduce bias in decision making and may be different from other application processes you have experienced.

If you have any questions about the opportunity, please feel free to email [email protected]

CLASP is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. Our goal is to be a diverse workforce that is representative, at all job levels, of the citizens we serve. CLASP complies with all federal, state and local employment law in the countries we operate and is committed to providing equal opportunity for all employees and applicants without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, pregnancy, disability, political affiliation, personal appearance, family responsibilities, matriculation, genetic information, military or protected veteran status, credit information or any other characteristic protected under federal, state or local law. Each person is evaluated based on personal skill and merit. CLASP’s policy regarding equal employment opportunity applies to all aspects of employment, including recruitment, hiring, job assignments, promotions, working conditions, scheduling, benefits, wage and salary administration, disciplinary action, termination, and social, educational and recreational programs.

qGXhsPJ5et