Editorial Operations Associate at Catalyst Inc.

Editorial Operations Associate

• Department: Global Brand & Strategic Communications
• Reports To: Director of Operations
• Location: Remote in the US

Catalyst is a global nonprofit working with some of the world’s most powerful CEOs and leading companies to build workplaces that work for women, because progress for women is progress for everyone. We achieve our mission by partnering with 800+ Supporter organizations to help them make positive change in their organizations. We give companies and CEOs the trusted advice and expertise they need to drive workplace talent transformations in complex, global businesses.

Summary of Team

The Global Brand & Strategic Communications (GBSC) department includes the communications, editorial, design, digital, social media, and content project management teams. Our customers are our colleagues based throughout North America and Europe. Though all Catalyst staff are working remotely during the pandemic, about half the members on our highly productive team are based in Catalyst’s NYC office with the other half working remotely from homebased offices on a permanent basis. We proudly transform Catalyst’s cutting-edge research into reports, workshops, and other knowledge products that our Supporters and the public engage with on their journey to create more inclusive workplace cultures.

Summary of Responsibilities

The Operations Associate is an internal client-facing role responsible for supporting the Director of Operations in efficiently and effectively implementing production operations to ensure timely execution of deliverables for organization-wide internal customers, including: screening production requests, scoping project plans, and building project schedules; basic project management; meeting coordination, attendance, and documentation; vendor invoice and contract processing; and other operations support functions as assigned. This is an outstanding entry-level opportunity for an individual interested in content production, project management, and creative team operations.

Essential Functions

• Assist in managing incoming production requests, including coordinating pre-production activities such as scheduling planning meetings; documenting scope of work needs, timelines, and agreements; and coordinating resource logistics with internal and external contributors.
• Create detailed project plans and timelines in Catalyst’s cloud-based project management platform (Asana) using existing project templates, coordinating contributors across multiple time zones.
• Assist with project progress monitoring and project status and other project-related communication.
• Anticipate at-risk tasks or projects; escalate to Director of Operations for action or next-steps guidance; execute Director of Operations guidance to remediate as necessary.
• Maintain existing and/or develop new project templates as necessary to reflect process change and/or new product types.
• Handle routine project-related inquiries directly or by delegating to departments or individuals as directed by Director of Operations.
• Prepare, track, and coordinate GBSC contracts (new and renewal), incoming freelance and agency invoices, and other critical records pertaining to freelance and vendor procurement, contracting, and invoicing; and provide support during annual GBSC budget preparation and ongoing budget tracking.
• Assist with meeting scheduling, basic presentations, special projects, updates, and other duties as assigned.

Knowledge and Skills

• Project management experience, preferably with Asana.
• Microsoft Office 365 productivity suite proficiency, particularly Excel and PowerPoint.
• Superior organizational and verbal, written, and interpersonal communication skills.
• Ability to assess situations and proactively apply solutions-oriented problem-solving to manage competing workflow priorities on multiple projects in a dynamic, fast-paced environment with frequent unexpected demands.
• Experience collaborating with global remote and distributed project teams using communications, scheduling, and other productivity application technology.
• Strong internal customer orientation and commitment to respond to requests quickly, completely, transparently, and inclusively.
• Service-oriented listener who can process information and either respond directly or appropriately escalate to Director of Operations or other GBSC managers.
• Ability to represent the Director of Operations and GBSC by maintaining a high level of professionalism, poise, tact, diplomacy, and confidentiality.
• Digital and creative services content production (blogs, social media, marketing and public relations) experience and alignment with Catalyst mission.

Working Conditions

• Internal customer-facing work in a collaborative remote and distributed team environment.
• Heavy computer, communications, scheduling, and other productivity application use.
• Deadline-driven, fast-paced environment with multiple priorities and tight turnaround timelines.
• Permanent remote position.

Qualifications

• Associate degree and/or project management certification.
• At least one year of project management experience in an editorial content production environment.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office 365 productivity programs and with cloud-based project management platforms.
• Preference given to candidates with experience using Asana.
• Comfort with Word Press and Adobe Creative Suite a plus.