We’re seeking an Operations wizard to join our entrepreneurial team, someone who can support our growth.  As an ideal candidate, you have people operations and some general operations experience in a remote, highly dynamic and multinational setting. Whether you were the general manager for your family’s small business growing up, an HR and Operations person at a start-up, or a seasoned executive assistant, your super power has always been using your keen judgment, prioritization, coordination and communication skills to  keep things running smoothly.  You are a key ingredient in creating systems, processes and people operations that free up strategic resources needed for a small business to grow and accomplish an ambitious amount of work. 

WHAT WE DO 

Community Energy Labs enables buildings to use energy when clean sources of power are available and to use less energy overall by making smart decisions about when and how energy is used.  We primarily work with communities and schools, whose buildings make up nearly 30% of the commercial floor space in the US! 

Community Energy Labs, its employees, and its customers are driven to be a part of the solution to saving our planet. Our software combines cutting edge control algorithms, machine learning, and traditional control techniques to lower cost and manage energy.  We combine that with an intuitive user interface that doesn’t require a PhD in mechanical engineering to make saving money and the planet easy for everyone - even cash-strapped schools with overworked building operators.

CEL's core AI-powered clean building control platform concept was a regional winner of  CleanTech Open's 2020 international accelerator, an overall winner in the  2020 Madrona Venture  Labs Go Vertical challenge, a 2021  impel+ building  innovator,  EPRI Incubate Energy 2021 cohort member and  2021 US Department of Energy SBIR awardee. Follow CEL at  Twitter and on LinkedIn. 

WHAT YOU DO

The Operations Manager  will play a critical role in the day-to-day management of our company operations, enabling our CEO, Engineering and Customer Success teams to focus their time and efforts on delivering high quality customer experiences through product and services.  

• Fostering a cooperative & harmonious working climate conducive to employee morale & productivity through upholding & reinforcing CEL’s FACTS based culture - Focus. Accountability.  Courage. Transparency. Sharing.

• Coordinating a high-performance team of internal & external partners  through planning, integration & prioritization such as our Monday.com planning, scheduling, forecasting metrics.

• Managing multi-state payroll & benefits, making recommendations to management, & executing changes that support a growing, multidisciplinary business. 

• Leading team meetings with all levels of the organization & working seamlessly with partners to achieve operational objectives.  

• Working with department leads to disseminate company-wide Objectives & Key Results (OKRs) in their teams. Coordinating staff 30/60/90 , people operations & professional development.

• Understanding, organizing, communicating & executing the day-to-day & week-to-week tactical tasks associated with long term strategic plans. Making sure that operations work frees up critical company resources to achieve those plans.

• Building bias-free sourcing, hiring, onboarding, & training processes for new & existing employees & carrying out the day to day of this work. 

//  SALARY & EXPECTATIONS

This is a hybrid or fully remote role with a strong preference for someone based locally Portland, Oregon

• $75,000-90,000 commensurate with experience
• Flexible work hours & PTO
• Silver plan level health benefit coverage for you and your dependents
• An intentionally diverse, international team

//  SUPERVISOR RESPONSIBILITIES 

This position may initially have 1-2 dotted line reports and be responsible for coordinating multiple relationships with fractional contractors and vendors (for example finance, accounting, and project managers). 

If you're ready to dive in headfirst & make a real impact, we want to hear from you!

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS 

You will oversee the integration and planning of operations functions that enable us to scale our high levels of focus, accountability and transparency as our business grows. Primary responsibilities include hiring and recruitment for a small, fully-remote employer; multi-state payroll and benefits; coordinating business operations teams in a way that streamlines administrative work and enhances transparency and outcomes. This position requires excellent communication and top notch coordination skills. If you’re seeking an opportunity to grow a 🚀business and you value self-learning and operational excellence, we’d love to meet you! 

//  OPERATIONAL EXCELLENCE & COORDINATION 

• Demonstrate superb work management skills - be a planning & execution rockstar who sequences & carries out work for highest transparency & impact
• Help others do the same
• Set priorities, agendas & communication cadence for operational teams such as finance, planning & scheduling, and All Hands meetings 
• Coach & assist relevant team members to ensure organizational rhythms & recurring tasks stay humming along 
• Facilitate seamless tracking & coordination of work within the operations function of the company using our process documents, playbooks & Monday.com boards
• Balance competing priorities & prioritize work that improves business operations

//  HIRING & RECRUITMENT 

• Source, hire, & onboard new employees across all functions of the business
• Work closely with peers & business leaders to understand operational objectives & align sourcing accordingly
• CEL has spent considerable resources developing & creating best practices & processes for unbiased hiring.  Use, champion & enhance these processes 
• Create clear 30/60/90 plans & follow them with discipline in order to provide clear & timely feedback to new hires & hiring managers

//  PAYROLL & BENEFITS

• Run payroll & benefits reimbursements on the cadence established by the business 
• Make payroll, benefits, and people operations recommendations right sized to the business realities as the company grows
• Lead & manage any changes related to payroll & benefits 

//  COMPLIANCE & REGULATORY 

• Take action to troubleshoot, solve & be in compliance with all federal, state and local business, employer and regulatory registrations & filings 
• Assist on finance operations, provide coordination  & know when to follow up to support our cultural values of transparency & accountability

QUALIFICATIONS 

//  REQUIRED EXPERIENCE

• Bachelor's degree, or equivalent practical experience in business operations with specific experience in people operations & high-growth startup or small business
• 5+ years experience in operations management, people operations or similar role 
• Highly proficient with remote teams & software tools for communication & collaboration

//  NECESSARY SKILLS/ABILITIES

• Passion for valuing & embracing diverse teams in tech & business.
• Excellent verbal & written communication skills, including the ability to effectively communicate with internal & external customers in a fully digital environment
• Able to  adapt in a shifting start-up environment & to adjust effort & priorities accordingly
• High accountability for coordinating operational tasks that span from strategic to very detailed
• Excellent judgment & critical thinking skills demonstrated through critical analysis & clear communication of logic & tradeoffs considered prior to making a conclusion 
• Organized & able to juggle a variety of functions & projects simultaneously

//  ADDITIONAL QUALIFICATIONS DESIRED

• Has worked with or managed remote, virtual teams prior to COVID
• Previously responsible for recruiting & onboarding.
• Experience working with emerging technology, innovation, or new product development in a highly technical environment.  
• Familiarity with customer centric finance, HR, project management & business functions
• Possesses personal qualities of integrity, credibility, & commitment to the mission

YES, THAT MEANS YOU!  

We’ve read the research and we know that certain underrepresented groups in tech might read  our post and think “Oh, gee, well I only have nine out of ten qualifications.”  If our mission and this job speak to you and you have the interest and ability to work smart, learn, and grow with us then we want you to apply for this job! 

Community Energy Labs is an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, pregnancy, age, national origin, disability status, genetic information, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by state or federal law.