Overview

Right now, it’s almost impossible to vote informed on the entire ballot - as a result, most voters guess, leave blanks, or stay home altogether.

We believe that it’s critical to our democracy to help every voter cast an informed vote on every race, every election. That’s why we started BallotReady - a startup that creates digital nonpartisan voter guides and builds tools to help advocacy groups and campaigns inform and mobilize voters, powered by the most comprehensive database to every level of government.

Founded in 2015 with funding from the National Science Foundation, the Knight Foundation, and the University of Chicago, BallotReady is an award-winning Chicago startup now available nationwide. In 2020, we worked with organizations and brands, including Snapchat, Tiktok, Spotify, and the Miami Heat to inform and turn out over 35 million voters.

Now, we’re focused on upcoming elections in 2021 as well as thinking about how we can hold our elected officials accountable to empower our communities to take effective action year-round on the issues they care about. 

Role

As Director of People & Operations, you will be responsible for supporting the current BallotReady team, helping us to foster an organization of diversity and inclusion, grow to meet our goals, and nurture our culture - especially as we navigate current remote work and a post-Covid world.  

You will drive the company’s ethos and infrastructure on hiring, developing, and retaining diverse, world-class talent to support our mission, and partner with department leaders and managers to help build and grow their teams. This role will report directly to the COO. 

As part of this role, you will:

• Spearhead recruitment of outstanding candidates for new roles by developing relationships and systems to meet BallotReady’s goals around diverse pipelines

• Calibrate and manage BallotReady’s interview processes to ensure fairness,  transparency, and successful hires at every stage

• Oversee onboarding for new hires, bringing on new staff with an awareness of BallotReady values and culture

• Manage programming and professional development for BallotReady fellows and interns

• Support the formulation of BallotReady’s career development plan, including communication around career ladders, promotion, raises, and bonuses

• Coordinate bi-annual performance review and check-in conversations

• Foster BallotReady’s remote culture, creating a spirit of connection, trust, inclusivity, and fun 

• Develop systems to improve transparency and communication across teams

• Assist BallotReady leadership in furthering a culture of candor and feedback 

• Prioritize a diverse and inclusive company culture through recruiting, training, policies, and conversation

• Oversee the management and administration of all employee policies and benefits

• Drive implementation and adoption of key people analytics to help guide thoughtful, data-driven people decisions

Who We’re Looking For

At BallotReady, we’re strong believers in flexibility in exchange for responsibility. We hire exceptional people who are passionate about our mission and give them the freedom and leadership to act in support of voters first. As Director of People & Operations, you will be responsible for helping us build and support this extraordinary group of people. 

This position is a key strategic role in the company, helping us grow as a team and as a culture to fulfill our mission and make democracy work the way it should. To that end, we’re looking for someone who has some experience managing operations and leading teams of people. In addition, we’re looking for people with the following qualities:

Mission: All of our staff bring a deep commitment to our mission of nonpartisan civic engagement. They understand why this work matters - why an exceptional team is essential to ensuring we can build great tools, support millions of voters, and gather accurate data on elections for the entire country. 

Candor: We’re strong believers in the fifteen commitments of conscious leadership and we strive to build an organization where everyone commits to saying what is true for them and being a person to whom others can express themselves with candor.

Accountability: At BallotReady, we value flexibility in exchange for accountability. We trust our team to understand our goals and allocate their time accordingly. This requires strong communication, organization, and self-reflection in order to manage multiple projects without a lot of oversight.

Leadership: BallotReady is a startup, meaning that every single person contributes to our success, roles often change or evolve, and team members are frequently given new projects and asked to figure out how to make them happen. This position is new, so we’re looking for an ambitious problem-solver excited by the ambiguities and possibilities in the role. Ideal candidates are interested in stepping up to identify opportunities, build processes, and drive collaborative solutions that will have a lasting impact. We’re seeking individuals with a strong interest in learning and growing together.

BallotReady is committed to building a diverse and inclusive team that represents a variety of backgrounds, perspectives, and skills. The more inclusive we are, the better our work will be.

Salary: $70,000 - $90,000

Benefits: equity, healthcare, dental, vision, disability, life insurance, 401k platform, fsa, commuter benefits, unlimited pto

Location: Remote through Covid, open to remote long-term with a preference for Chicago