Co-Head of Operations

Systemic Justice works to radically transform how the law works for communities fighting for racial, social, and economic justice. We are looking for a colleague who can help us build a working environment that enables our team to deliver on that vision.

Position type: Full-time (4 days per week, 32-hour work week)

Duration: 12 months with a possibility of extension

Remuneration: EUR 89.000 annually gross

Location: Remote (CET time zone +/- two hours)

Please note: We encourage all potential applicants to review our Frequently Asked Questions prior to applying.

About the role

Systemic Justice is looking for a Co-Head of Operations focused on HR and People to join our growing organisation. As our new colleague, you will lead the strategic development of our people experience, organisational culture, and HR operations in alignment with our foundational values of anti-oppression, intersectionality, and justice.

Operationalising these values across the organisation at a time of growth is a core part of the responsibility of this role. We are looking to build a “people first” organisation, recognising that the need for racial, social, and economic justice work can have a significant impact on team wellbeing. Being “people first” means guiding our team in identifying and implementing sustainable working practices, facilitating people’s growth and learning, fostering trust-based relationships and transparency, and encouraging a culture where we strive for excellence through flexibility, agility, and adaptability. Read more about our organisational values by clicking here.

The role will also be responsible for establishing and maintaining foundational HR practices and compliance across areas such as employment, recruitment, and “performance”, while also recognising the distributed nature of our remote team across a number of different countries in Europe.

The Co-Head of Operations (HR and People) is one of two senior leadership positions in our operations team, the other one is the Co-Head of Operations (Finance and Admin). With a distinct area of responsibility each, you will be working closely together, jointly overseeing all operational aspects of Systemic Justice. In addition to this, you will be working closely with our Founder and be an integral part of the senior leadership team, which is jointly responsible for the overall development of the organisation.

About Systemic Justice

Systemic Justice works to radically transform how the law works for communities fighting for racial, social, and economic justice. We are the first organisation in Europe that partners with communities on strategic litigation by taking a community-driven approach; that is Black-led; and has a majority BPOC team. We approach our work through an intersectional lens, and across the digital and non-digital context.

Strategic litigation is a powerful tool that can be used alongside advocacy, campaigning, and policy work to help bring about systemic change. However, litigation is underutilised in movements working to address the structural inequalities in our society. Centring affected communities in joint litigation, Systemic Justice works to broaden access to judicial remedies for those fighting for justice and equality. This will help dismantle the power structures that underpin and fuel racial, social, and economic injustice.

We work across three key areas to create and maintain the systems change that we need: building the power of organisations and movements fighting for justice and equality; launching community-driven litigation; and scaling impact by promoting equitable working models with the broader field of litigators.

What you’ll do

HR strategy, operations, and leadership

• Collaborate with the rest of the senior leadership team to provide a clear and impactful model of what leadership means at Systemic Justice for other members of the team.
• Participate in and lead discussions across the leadership team to help guide and set a progressive and strategic direction of your area of focus in alignment with our values and mission.
• Work closely with the Co-Head of Operations to set and implement a strategic approach to all aspects of our operations, including HR, people, finance, compliance, and technology in alignment with our values to help create the impact we're aiming for.
• Be responsible for all aspects of recruitment in a growing organisation.
• Ensure the organisation's compliance with all relevant employment laws.
• Manage Systemic Justice’s relationship with local employment and payroll providers in the countries in which our team members are located.
• Plan, lead, develop, coordinate, and implement HR policies, processes, trainings, initiatives, and feedback spaces.
• Share joint responsibility with Co-head of Operations for office-related logistics, including providing optimal solutions for remote working, managing external providers, virtual/co-working offices, etc.
• Build and manage the Human Resources budget with the Co-Head of Operations and Finance Manager.
• Oversee the procurement and selection of third-party providers relevant to HR.

People experience

• Develop and further enhance the “people experience” vision for an organisation with our values and mission.
• Plan and execute the “people experience” vision across the organisation, in alignment with our values and mission.
• Develop and enhance our People Experience roadmap and framework to implement impactful initiatives that operationalise our values and help us deliver on our mission.
• Develop and enhance our HR & People Experience Handbook.
• Develop a progressive approach to ‘performance management’ in alignment with our operational values.
• Develop and implement a holistic and progressive approach to employee wellbeing.
• Lead work environment and organisational culture conversations and team development meetings.
• Support team members in addressing employee concerns and providing solutions to improve employee satisfaction.
• Share joint responsibility with the Co-Head of Operations for our three annual team retreats.

What we hope you’ll bring

• A strategic and progressive approach to the HR & people experience field, which seeks to question the status quo and identify what a true ‘people first’ organisation could look like in practice.
• Demonstrated and extensive experience leading HR, operations, organisational culture development, or related field with a focus on employee support and well-being.
• Experience delivering HR in a way that combines the foundational aspects of HR (employment, recruitment, compliance) with building values-aligned and trauma-informed systems of care and support is a distinct advantage.
• Collaborative leadership skills and experience as a highly effective and trusted senior individual, with an ability to foster collaboration at all levels across an organisation.
• Experience conceptualising and implementing learning and development programs.
• Project management experience and comfort managing several streams of work at the same time.
• Ability to foster and grow a collaborative, sustainable and values-aligned organisational culture in a remote organisation.
• Exceptional sense of judgement and problem-solving skills, and the ability to manage time and energy across a range of competing priorities.
• Ability to work independently and collaborate effectively with others.
• Exceptional verbal and written communication skills, with a focus on kind and impactful communication at all times.
• Comfort navigating a start-up non-profit, including the ability to manage multiple tasks effectively and to work well in a rapidly growing organisation.
• Fluency in written and spoken English.

In addition to this, the successful candidate is highly organised, keen on taking initiative, and has an excellent eye for detail.

Please note that Systemic Justice works in Europe within the CET time zone +/- two hours. Being located inside this time zone span is a requirement.

Deadline and how to apply

The deadline for applications for this role is 18 February 2024 at 23:59 CET.

We are organising an information call, where anyone interested in applying can join and learn more about our organisation, the role, and the process. The call will take place on 14 February at 18:00 CEST. You can register here.

Your application should consist of your CV, and – instead of a traditional cover letter – a written response to these three questions:

1. What do you think demonstrates a true 'people first' organisation in a non-profit rooted in foundational values of anti-oppression, intersectionality, and justice?
2. What is your experience developing systems of care and support for team members?
3. What tensions do you see in building a true ‘people first’ organisation and delivering upon the organisation’s mission? How would you propose managing this?

Our work is rooted in our foundational values of anti-oppression, intersectionality, and justice. We invite all applicants to reflect on their lived experience with systems of oppression and how it affects their suitability for this role before applying.

Conditions

Period: 12 months with possibility of extension

Remuneration: EUR 89.000 annually

Location: Remote, in Europe (CET time zone +/- two hours). We are unfortunately not able to assist with work permits.

Contract and payroll: While Systemic Justice is registered in the Netherlands, our team is employed on local employment contracts in the jurisdictions they live and work via an employer of record service. Payroll is also run locally.

Staff meet-ups: Our team meets in person three times a year to discuss strategy, organisational development, team well-being, and more. In addition to this, individual team members meet bilaterally or in smaller groups when needed.

Work week: Systemic Justice operates with a four-day (Monday to Thursday), 32-hour work week.

Flexible schedules: We are generally online and available from 11-16 CET, but are otherwise flexible about working hours to accommodate the best individual balancing of personal and remote-work life.