Director of Business Operations & People

About the Colorado LiftED Foundation

The Colorado LiftED Foundation is a long-term partner to youth. We believe that when we make a deep, long-term commitment to youth and their families, our whole community thrives. We walk side-by-side with youth and their families as they navigate school and life, offering academic, social, and emotional support as they learn, grow, and work toward their dreams.

No one should have to take this journey alone. Since our founding in 1988, we have leveraged proven methods to give youth equal access to the resources they need to succeed and ignite their innate potential. When we keep our promises, anything is possible.

Our Vision

A Colorado where every young person has equal access to educational and career opportunities that will ignite their innate potential.

Our Values

A Seat at the Table: Youth, families, and communities help shape the decisions that affect them.

An Inch Wide, A Mile Deep: We serve a small group with everything we have — depth over breadth.

Once A Dreamer, Always A Dreamer: Our commitment to young people outlasts any program, season, or grade level.

Whatever It Takes: We are persistent, creative problem-solvers for the youth and families in our care.

We Not Me: Collaboration and partnership make everything and anything possible.

About the Position

You are a builder. You don’t just maintain systems—you create them, and you find deep satisfaction in the work of making an organization run well from the inside out. As the Director of Operations & People, you will serve as the organizational backbone of CLF’s growth, reporting directly to the CEO and owning two interconnected domains: People & Culture and Organizational Operations.

In this newly created role, you will design and steward the people systems, financial administration, and operational infrastructure that allow every team member—from program staff to senior leadership—to do their best work. You will recruit and onboard exceptional talent, cultivate the culture that keeps people rooted in mission, and build the vendor relationships and financial workflows that keep CLF running with integrity and efficiency.

This is a solo-operator role in FY27, which means you will have direct access to the CEO, significant autonomy, and real influence over how CLF grows and functions. An Operations Coordinator is projected to join as a direct report in FY28, giving you the opportunity to build and lead a team of your own. Whatever It Takes isn’t just a value here—it’s the operating posture you bring every day to the people and systems in your care.

CLF’s five core values are not background scenery—they are the criteria by which this role recruits, the lens through which we build culture, and the commitments that connect every person on our team to the young people we serve. Once a Dreamer, Always a Dreamer means this role carries the weight of that promise into every hire, every onboarding experience, and every system we build.

Key Responsibilities

Talent Acquisition & Onboarding

• Lead full-cycle recruiting for all open positions—job posting, candidate screening, interview coordination, offer management, and reference checks—bringing CLF’s values into every step of the process.


• Design and own an onboarding experience that immerses new hires in CLF’s mission, culture, and systems from day one—ensuring every team member feels welcomed, connected to the young people we serve, and grounded in how CLF works together.


• Build and maintain relationships with recruiting platforms, diversity-focused sourcing channels, and university partners to expand CLF’s talent pipeline.


• Champion A Seat at the Table by building hiring processes that actively center equity—structuring interviews, scoring, and selection to surface diverse candidates and reduce bias at every stage.

Performance & Development

• Manage CLF’s quarterly performance review processes, including goal-setting frameworks and feedback cycles that support growth and accountability across the organization.


• Partner with the CEO and senior leaders to identify professional development needs and source learning opportunities that invest in team members’ long-term trajectories.


• Maintain a clear framework for promotions, compensation adjustments, and role evolution—honoring CLF’s commitment to Once a Dreamer, Always a Dreamer by building internal pathways that reflect the organization’s long-term investment in its people.

HR Compliance & Administration

• Serve as the primary point of contact for HR compliance—federal and Colorado state employment law, required filings, and regulatory updates—ensuring CLF operates with integrity and legal soundness.


• Maintain and update the CLF Employee Handbook, policies, and procedures to reflect current law and organizational values.


• Manage benefits enrollment, open enrollment periods, and serve as the liaison with CLF’s benefits providers.


• Handle confidential employee matters, documentation, and separation processes with care, professionalism, and legal compliance.

Culture & Engagement

• Champion CLF’s organizational culture and values across all three teams—Administrative, Youth Programs, and Clinical Programs—building belonging, psychological safety, and a shared sense of mission.


• Audit, codify, and strengthen CLF’s existing staff celebrations and traditions—documenting them as repeatable organizational practices that reinforce We Not Me across every team.


• Design and own CLF’s annual all-staff retreat: agenda development, logistics coordination, facilitator selection, and post-retreat follow-through on commitments made.


• Build and maintain a calendar of cross-team engagement touchpoints throughout the year—creating opportunities for Administrative, Youth, and Clinical staff to connect, collaborate, and build the relational infrastructure that makes the organization whole.


• Lead internal recognition and staff appreciation programs—including peer recognition structures, milestone celebrations, and leadership shout-outs that reflect CLF’s values in action.


• Gather and act on staff feedback through regular pulse surveys, listening sessions, and 1:1 check-ins—translating what you hear into concrete improvements that demonstrate CLF is a place where every voice shapes the culture.


• Partner with the CEO to advance equity, inclusion, and belonging as core organizational commitments—not just policies, but lived culture.

Vendor & Contract Management

• Manage CLF’s vendor relationships—IT support, insurance, legal counsel, HR platforms, and other operational service providers—ensuring reliability, cost-efficiency, and mission alignment.


• Serve as the primary internal liaison with CLF’s contracted IT support provider—triaging technology issues, managing user access, overseeing hardware and software needs, and ensuring the team has what it needs to work effectively.


• Review and maintain contracts, renewals, and compliance tracking for all vendor and operational agreements.


• Identify cost efficiencies and negotiate terms where appropriate in alignment with the annual budget.

Facilities & Fleet

• Manage the maintenance, registration, and inspection of CLF’s organizational vehicles, including scheduling service, tracking compliance requirements, and coordinating with program teams on availability.


• Oversee CLF’s physical workspace needs—office supplies, facilities maintenance requests, and coordination with building management or landlord.


• Maintain an inventory of CLF’s physical and technology assets, ensuring equipment is properly assigned, tracked, and managed through staff transitions.

Financial & Administrative Systems

• Serve as CLF’s operational owner for financial administration platforms—including Bill.com (accounts payable/receivable) and QuickBooks (accounting and bookkeeping)—ensuring accuracy, timeliness, and proper financial controls.


• Process and track accounts payable (vendor invoices, contractor payments, expense reimbursements) and accounts receivable (grants, donations, program revenue) in coordination with CLF’s external bookkeeper, including accurate financial coding of all transactions.


• Manage the monthly financial close checklist in partnership with CLF’s accounting team—ensuring timely, accurate, and well-documented financial records.


• Oversee expense reporting workflows: reviewing and approving staff expense submissions, enforcing spending policies, and maintaining reimbursement timelines.


• Support the CEO in annual budget planning by providing operational cost data, vendor renewal projections, and staff expense trend analysis.


• Manage payroll coordination in partnership with CLF’s HRIS/payroll platform—ensuring timely, accurate pay runs and resolving any discrepancies.

Systems & Process Design

• Audit existing organizational processes and build or improve systems for cross-team efficiency—including onboarding workflows, approval chains, and information management.


• Serve as the internal owner of operational platforms (HRIS, project management tools, shared drives)—maintaining documentation and ensuring team adoption.


• Develop standard operating procedures (SOPs) and process documentation for recurring organizational functions, creating institutional knowledge that outlasts any single person in the role.


• Whatever It Takes means you don’t wait to be asked—you identify what’s broken or missing, build the fix, and document it so the organization is stronger for it.

Cross-Organizational Support

• Partner with the CEO on organizational planning—including headcount modeling, budget inputs for staffing, and capacity analysis.


• Support compliance with grant reporting requirements related to operational and HR data.


• Serve as a resource and thought partner to managers navigating people situations, team dynamics, or operational challenges.


• Manage HR/operational platform logins, access controls, and account transitions when staff depart or join.

Skills & Qualifications

Required Qualifications

• 5+ years of progressive experience in HR, People Operations, operations management, or a closely related field, preferred


• Working knowledge of Colorado and federal employment law, benefits administration, and HR compliance


• Demonstrated experience managing recruiting, onboarding, and performance processes—ideally in a small or growing organization


• Hands-on experience with financial administration platforms—particularly Bill.com and/or QuickBooks—including accounts payable, accounts receivable, and expense management


• Strong organizational and project management skills with a systems-thinking mindset


• High degree of discretion and judgment in handling confidential employee and financial matters


• Excellent written and verbal communication skills


• Ability to operate independently and build structure from the ground up without heavy oversight

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in a nonprofit or mission-driven organization


• PHR, SHRM-CP, or equivalent HR certification (or actively pursuing)


• Familiarity with HRIS and payroll platforms (e.g., Rippling, Gusto, BambooHR, or similar)


• Proficiency with Bill.com and QuickBooks—experience with AR/AP workflows, monthly close processes, and financial controls


• Experience with vendor management, IT liaison responsibilities, contract administration, or operational process design


• Background or demonstrated interest in culture-building, staff engagement, or organizational development


• Experience with fleet or facilities management a plus


• Comfort with tools like Google Workspace, Slack, Claude.ai, Monday.com, Asana, or other collaborative work platforms

Compensation & Benefits

• Employment Status: Full-Time, Exempt (Salaried)


• Salary Range: $85,000 – $100,000 annually, commensurate with experience; this range reflects the full growth potential of the role over time. Colorado LiftED Foundation typically places candidates in the lower-to-middle range, depending on experience, qualifications, and internal equity considerations. 


• Health Benefits: Medical, dental, and vision coverage


• Retirement: 403(b) retirement plan


• Time Off: Generous PTO, paid holidays, and organizational closing days


• Flexibility: Hybrid work environment; some in-person presence required


• Growth: Operations Coordinator to be added in FY28—opportunity to build and lead a team


• CLF is committed to pay equity. All offers are made within the posted range and are determined by qualifications, experience, and internal equity considerations.

AI Disclosure to include in future job postings: 

At CLF, we use tools like Claude.ai as part of how we think, draft, and work. AI can be a genuine asset for organizing your thoughts, working through writer's block, or strengthening how you communicate your ideas. That said, what we're looking for in your application is you — your voice, your reflection, and your real connection to this work. When responses feel like they were generated rather than considered, we lose the very thing we're trying to understand: how you think about relationships, complexity, and mission.

So as you prepare your materials, we ask that AI supplement your thinking, not replace it. If you used AI assistance in drafting your application, we simply ask that you briefly note how in your submission. There's no wrong answer — honesty here is itself a signal of the self-awareness we value in our team.

Intent and Function of Job Description

This description illustrates the job functions and basic duties, including “peripheral tasks” considered “other duties as assigned.” This list is not all-inclusive; supervisors may assign additional responsibilities as deemed appropriate.

Commitment to Equity

Colorado LiftED Foundation is dedicated to equal employment opportunities and fair labor practices. We provide equal employment opportunities to all individuals based on job-related qualifications and the ability to perform a job without regard to race, color, gender, gender identity, gender expression, religious creed, marital status, age, national origin, ancestry, genetic information, legally protected medical condition, veteran status, sexual orientation, or any other basis made unlawful by federal, state, or local laws.

Our policy is to maintain a non-discriminatory environment free from intimidation, harassment, or bias. We invite all qualified candidates who share our mission to apply.