Office & People Operations Manager

Position Overview

The Office & People Operations Manager owns two deeply connected domains at Oakland Leaf: people operations and administrative operations. On the people side, this means onboarding and offboarding, HR compliance, benefits coordination, personnel documentation, and Paycom administration. On the administrative side, this means contracts, vendor management, office systems, and the deadline and calendar tracking that keeps the organization running on time. When this role runs well, every staff member feels it.

This is a full-ownership role, not a support function. The Office & People Operations Manager proactively identifies gaps, builds systems that prevent problems before they happen, and serves as the primary point of contact for staff navigating HR questions and processes. The right person brings both operational precision and genuine care for people, understanding that the systems they manage directly shape the day-to-day experience of every person who works at Oakland Leaf.

Specific Duties & responsibilities

People Operations & HR Compliance (40%)

• Own onboarding and offboarding logistics end-to-end ensuring every new hire enters Oakland Leaf with the paperwork, system access, orientation materials, and warm welcome they need to be set up for success from day one
• Maintain all personnel files and HR compliance systems including training completion tracking, certification verification, and documentation required for CDE compliance, workers comp, and benefits administration
• Coordinate benefits enrollment and changes, workers comp claims, and leave management serving as the staff-facing point of contact and the administrative liaison to Paycom and relevant vendors
• Coordinate performance management logistics including tracking review cycles, maintaining templates, and ensuring process consistency across the organization
• Proactively identify HR compliance gaps and surface them to the Director with proposed solutions, this role should prevent fires, not just respond to them
• Ensure onboarding and offboarding processes are consistent, equitable, and reflective of Oakland Leaf's values so every staff member's first and last experience with the organization is handled with care and professionalism

Administrative Operations (30%)

• Manage contracts and document management systems including maintaining organized, accessible, and current files for all vendor agreements, partner MOUs, school district contracts, and organizational records
• Own office operations: supply management, equipment coordination, vendor relationships, and physical space upkeep ensuring the Oakland Leaf office functions smoothly and reflects the organization's values
• Support deadline tracking and calendar management for the Director of Finance & Administration including flagging upcoming compliance deadlines, reporting due dates, contract renewals, and insurance renewal windows before they become urgent
• Serve as the operational point of contact for program staff who need administrative support including routing requests appropriately, responding with accuracy and care, and escalating to the Director when needed

Cross-Departmental HR Coordination (15%)

• Serve as the organizational connective tissue between Finance & Admin and Programs on all people-related systems ensuring new hires are set up correctly across HR, payroll, and program training simultaneously
• Partner with the Quality & Training Senior Manager to ensure the HR and program components of new hire orientation are sequenced, integrated, and not duplicative
• Surface patterns in HR and onboarding data that have cross-departmental implications bringing those observations to leadership with context and proposed responses

Systems & Continuous Improvement (15%)

• Maintain and improve HR and administrative systems — including Paycom, EnrollWise, and related platforms — identifying inefficiencies and proposing improvements in partnership with the Director of Finance & Administration
• Contribute to the development and documentation of internal policies and procedures ensuring staff have clear, accessible guidance on HR and operational processes
• Conduct regular audits of personnel files, compliance records, and administrative systems to ensure accuracy and completeness
• Bring a continuous improvement mindset to this role: regularly ask what is working, what is breaking, and what the organization needs that does not yet exist and bring those observations to leadership with proposed solutions

Additional duties may be assigned by the Director of Finance & Administration or Executive Director.

Minimum Qualifications

• Strong commitment to Oakland Leaf's mission and belief in the power of youth leadership and equity in education
• At least 3–5 years of experience in HR administration, people operations, office management, or a closely related field
• Demonstrated knowledge of HR compliance requirements including onboarding and offboarding processes, personnel file management, benefits administration, and workers comp coordination
• Experience managing HRIS platforms experience strongly preferred; comparable systems considered
• Strong organizational and systems-thinking skills with the ability to build and maintain administrative processes that are accurate, consistent, and staff-friendly
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills with the ability to handle sensitive HR matters with discretion, empathy, and professionalism
• Proactive, solutions-oriented, and comfortable working across departments. Someone who brings issues to their supervisor with proposed solutions, not just flags
• High attention to detail and a strong standard for accuracy in documentation, record-keeping, and compliance
• Experience working in a nonprofit or mission-driven organization preferred
• Familiarity with California employment law and nonprofit compliance requirements a plus
• Proficiency with Google Workspace, Microsoft Office Suite, and document management systems

Education & Experience

• Experience: 3–5 years in HR administration, office management, or people operations; nonprofit experience a plus
• Education: Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, Nonprofit Management, or related field preferred; equivalent experience considered; PHR or SHRM-CP certification a plus

Working conditions/physical demands

• Hybrid schedule: combination of in-office and remote work based in Oakland, CA
• Regular in-office presence required for onboarding, compliance functions, and staff-facing HR responsibilities
• Occasional evenings for organizational events and staff celebration
• Ability to lift up to 25 lbs for office and event activities

Compensation

• $65,000–$75,000 annual salary, depending on experience
• 100% paid employee medical and dental health benefits
• Professional Development Stipend
• Paid holidays and generous paid time off policy

Oakland Leaf is an equal opportunity employer and will not discriminate against any individual, employee, or application for employment on the basis of race, color, marital status, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, handicap, or any other legally protected status recognized by federal, state, or local law.