Tides is seeking a Senior Director, Tides Center Operations, to be a core member of the Tides Center leadership team. Reporting to the Executive Director, this role will manage and track the overall effectiveness of Tides Center operations and work in partnership with the Senior Director, Advising Services, the Tides Center cross-functional leadership team and key internal stakeholders to optimize impact by identifying, recommending, and advancing strategies that support Tides Center in the achievement of its annual goals, such as mapping process flows, deploying communications, and monitoring partner impact to inform continuous improvement opportunities.
Leading a team of specialized Strategists and Associates, this position ensures Tides Center service delivery teams and partners are equipped with expert guidance related to government grants, c3/c4 legal structures, and partner transitions. Ideal candidates will bring a data-informed approach (both qualitative and quantitative) to tracking the overall effectiveness of Tides Center Operations and driving strategies and partner direction.
The Senior Director plays a critical leadership role in showing and delivering value for our partners by strategically designing and implementing our capacity building, training, strategic communications and partner resources, facilitating change, ensuring continuity in policy application and Tides practices.
Tides Center Operational Excellence (30%)
Lead efforts to continuously improve and innovate service delivery in collaboration with internal functional leads including Information Technology, Business Operations, People, Legal, Risk & Compliance, Grants, and Finance.
In collaboration with IT, Finance, People, and LRC, ensure systems, policies, and operations that interface with and support partners reflect their needs and priorities.
Represent partner services by introducing and/or reviewing suggested policy changes that impact current partner service delivery promises, workflows, and processes.
Partner with Senior Director, Advising Services, to continuously evaluate and refine coaching tactics and performance improvement practices for service delivery teams based on key performance indicators and other insights.
Drive development of annual Tides Center operating plan in partnership with Tides Center leadership team and cross-functional leads.
Learning & Development and Partner Capacity Building (20%)
Develop and implement approach to portfolio assessment and evaluation in partnership with the Senior Director, Advising Services and Strategy, Evaluation & Impact (SEI) team.
Develop and implement portfolio training and technical assistance programs, working with external vendors and internal subject matter experts.
Help develop and deploy training for direct reports and service teams, in partnership with Tides People Team.
Manage grant programs, when available, and access to experts through office hours, etc., to build partner skills and support actions such as cyber-security.
Tides Center Communications (20%)
Architect, lead, and project manage all portfolio-wide strategic communications in collaboration with cross-functional teams.
Create Tides Center partner communications content and campaigns to share critical information and build community across Tides Center partners.
Lead the documentation, maintenance, and deployment of partner and employee tools and resources including the Project Handbook and Advisor Guide.
Develop and present updates and content to partners and internal stakeholders, ensuring the appropriate subject matter experts are engaged.
Data Management to Drive Operational Success (15%)
Partner with SEI team to design, implement and evaluate partner surveys on an ongoing basis to help assess partner service levels, overall Tides Center effectiveness and areas of improvement.
Partner with Tides IT/Digital and Business Operations to ensure accurate data tracking and reporting to support Tides Center service delivery team dashboards.
Partner with Tides Legal, Risk and Compliance to ensure partners are meeting ongoing compliance and risk management goals; conduct partner reviews with LRC as needed.
Team Management (15%)
Develop and lead direct reports and steward performance processes for direct reports, fostering an environment of mutual accountability and shared goals.
Develop annual team goals and objectives, and key performance metrics in alignment with the organizational strategic plan and Tides Center operating plan.
Ensure the Tides Center Operations team has the tools, training, and resources needed to meet annual goals.
Directly supervise Strategists and Associates in a union represented environment with a focus on developing, motivating, and mentoring direct reports.
Hold team members accountable and enhance their professional development through performance standards and clear expectations, in alignment with Tides policies and procedures.
Strong alignment with Tides’ values, mission, and impact goal. The Senior Director should embody Tides’ JEDI values and demonstrate the organization’s core values: future focus, accountability, transparency, respect, and collaboration in all aspects of their work.
Exceptional project management skills with a strong ability to facilitate collaborative change through an appreciative inquiry framework.
Ability to hold self and others accountable for high quality, timely, and effective work.
Demonstrated commitment to meeting the needs of internal and external partners, fostering a high level of engagement, service, and impact.
Strong analytical skills, including the ability to work with data from multiple sources and present information in a clear and compelling manner.
Strong verbal and written communication skills with a proven ability to develop organizational policy, implementation plans, and presentation delivery.
8 years of direct experience in nonprofit operations and a bachelor’s degree; or 10 years of relevant experience.
4 years of experience supervisory capacity required.
Experience in organizational effectiveness, including finance, evaluation, compliance, and administration, preferred.
Please submit your resume and a cover letter expressing why you are well-qualified for this role and your motivation for joining the team at Tides. For best consideration, apply by apply by April 20, 2026 at 11:59pm ET.
We look forward to reviewing applications from all qualified job seekers. We strongly encourage applications from women, people of color, and bilingual and bicultural individuals, as well as members of the LGBTQIA+ communities. No applicant will be discriminated against because of their race, religion, sex, national origin, ethnicity, age, disability, political affiliation, sexual orientation, gender identity, color, marital status, or medical condition including acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) and AIDS-related conditions. Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we encourage and will consider qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records. Where required by state law, we utilize E-Verify as a part of our employment authorization process.
Reasonable accommodation will be made so that all who are interested may participate in our interview process. If you are in need of an accommodation, please advise in writing at the time you apply.