About Chicago Beyond

Chicago Beyond is a national philanthropic organization that addresses systemic inequity by backing solutions led by those closest to the issues. Since our inception in 2016, Chicago Beyond has invested more than $65 million in catalytic funding in over 250 individuals and community organizations while leading national systems change initiatives. Because there is no single barrier to equity, Chicago Beyond engages in opportunities across philanthropy, justice, health, and beyond. 

We address systemic inequity in three ways:  

• Investments: We make catalytic investments to increase the impact of solutions led by those closest to the issues.  
• National Initiatives: We lead national initiatives in partnership with change makers to challenge and reshape the status quo.  
• Insights: We provide insights to disrupt and reimagine “systems as usual” and share learnings on equitable funding, practices, and policies.

About Chicago Beyond’s Partners  

Our investment partnerships include: 

• Multiyear Investment Partners: Through multimillion-dollar, flexible grants and partnership support, we work to increase the impact of solutions led by those closest to the issues.
• Rapid Response Fund: This fund quickly delivers unrestricted grants to organizations and individuals with solutions for their own communities across the country. Our investments strengthen partners’ wide-ranging work.  
• Leader in Residence: The Leader in Residence program offers funding and support to selected leaders, empowering them to develop innovative, transformative ideas that create meaningful impacts in targeted communities.

Chicago Beyond was founded by Liz Dozier, a nationally renowned former educator and high school principal. Chicago Beyond’s innovative and impactful work has been featured on both the local and national level from the Chicago Tribune to the Clinton Global Initiative to Aspen Ideas Festival and Stanford Social Innovation Review. For more information on Chicago Beyond, please visit chicagobeyond.org. 

Position Details

Reporting to the Chief Strategy Officer, this is a high-visibility, hands-on role for someone who thrives at the intersection of operations, systems design, and business strategy. You will architect Chicago Beyond’s infrastructure, from financial systems and technology tools to project management practices and organizational dashboards, ensuring visibility into progress, resources, and results. You will also oversee key initiatives and collaborate closely with internal teams to operationalize our strategy and ensure Chicago Beyond runs smoothly to achieve our goals.  

This role requires strong leadership, strategic thinking, and expertise in operations and management to support Chicago Beyond’s mission and growth. It is ideal for a strategic generalist and operational builder who can diagnose inefficiencies, translate strategy into systems, and lead change in an organization. In addition to what is outlined below, you will be responsible for other duties as assigned to support the goals and objectives of the organization.  

Key Responsibilities:  

1.  Strategic & Operational Leadership: Develop, evolve, and implement the adaptive operational infrastructure required to execute and sustain Chicago Beyond’s strategic priorities. Identify organizational inefficiencies, design scalable solutions, and lead implementation across departments. Collaborate with the Chief Strategy Officer to develop and implement strategic plans and objectives for Chicago Beyond, with a focus on meeting Chicago Beyond’s annual goals and operational excellence. Partner with senior leadership to develop KPIs and organizational dashboards to track progress against strategic goals, budgets, and capacity. Ensure clear operational alignment between people, processes, systems, and strategy. Drive organizational learning by identifying insights from operations, programs, and partnerships to inform strategy, decision-making, and continuous improvement.  
2. Financial Management: Lead and manage all financial operations for Chicago Beyond (including budgeting, forecasting, expense tracking, grant disbursement coordination, and financial reporting), ensuring sound fiscal management and integrity across the organization. Manage vendor relationships, invoicing, payment processing, and reimbursements. Serve as the organizational lead for QuickBooks, ensuring accurate financial records and adherence to internal controls and regulatory requirements. Develop departmental and organizational budgets, financial dashboards, and tools that provide real-time visibility into budget performance and operational health. Identify opportunities for automation, cost efficiency, and improved visibility across financial operations. Partner with leadership to model financial scenarios that support strategic foresight and risk planning. 
3. Continuous Improvement of Systems, Tools, and Processes: Embed values and culture into systems design and ensure they are reflected in tools, processes, and decision-making. Redesign and implement core systems to create cross-functional visibility and efficiency. Evaluate and optimize tools such as Asana, QuickBooks, Airtable, and Microsoft Office to maximize integrations and streamline workflows. Lead change management to ensure adoption and sustainability of new systems. Drive continuous improvement initiatives that enhance scalability, automation, and alignment with strategic goals. Identify opportunities for automation and technology adoption to drive innovation and productivity.  Drive organizational learning by translating data and insights into narratives that inform leadership decisions and drive organizational alignment. ensuring that systems, policies, and processes embody Chicago Beyond’s mission, values, and ways of working. 
4. Project Management & Collaboration: Partner with the Chief Strategy Officer to establish the operational cadence for running the organization, including All Hands, cross-departmental planning, prioritization, and progress tracking. Collaborate with other departments and teams within Chicago Beyond to align operational activities with programmatic goals and objectives, including supervising and managing the Administrative Support Associate. Overhaul project management practices to streamline workflows, simplify processes, and promote accountability. Foster a culture of collaboration, communication, and teamwork across the organization through working closely with the executive team. Lead the operational cadence that connects strategy to execution, ensuring progress tracking, shared learning, and adaptive planning. Serve as sense maker for the organization by continuously connecting the dots across teams to identify themes, risks, and opportunities.  
5. Talent, Hiring, and Professional Development: Oversee the full lifecycle of the hiring process, including defining role requirements, crafting job descriptions, sourcing and screening candidates, coordinating interviews, making hiring recommendations, onboarding and offboarding. Ensure the process reflects the organization’s value, attracting top talent that aligns with the mission and culture of the organization. Collaborate with cross-functional teams to create a seamless and professional candidate experience. Lead the professional development cycle, ensuring systems support both individual growth and organizational performance. Manage benefits through 3rd party vendors. Maintain the employee handbook and partner with leadership to design key organizational policies. Design and oversee a performance management framework that connects individual goals to organizational KPIs and strategic priorities. Champion a culture of growth, reflection, and feedback that aligns with Chicago Beyond’s values and commitments.  
6. Space Strategy, Utilization, and Management: Design and lead Chicago Beyond’s space strategy to align physical space with our mission, values, and evolving strategic priorities. Shape how our space furthers our work with partners and community to advance our goals. Translate strategic intent into operational execution, designing systems and processes to ensure the space functions efficiently. Continuously assess how the space is used, incorporating data and feedback to drive decisions. 
7. Risk Management, Scenario Planning, & Compliance: Identify potential risks and challenges to the organization's operations, including financial, and develop strategies to mitigate them. Lead scenario planning and strategic forecasting to anticipate organizational needs and external shifts and design adaptive plans that evolve as context changes. Monitor and evaluate operational performance metrics to proactively address issues and optimize outcomes. Oversee operational governance structures, internal controls, and compliance procedures to safeguard people, systems, and resources. 

Qualifications:  

•  Bachelor's degree and 8+ years of experience in business operations, strategy, management consulting, or operations management.
• Demonstrated experience in financial management, including budgeting, forecasting, and financial analysis. Familiarity with QuickBooks preferred.
• Strong strategic planning and project management skills, with the ability to set clear goals, develop actionable plans, and drive results. PMP certification or equivalent experience preferred.  
• Demonstrated ability to develop KPIs, dashboards, and reporting mechanisms that drive insight, decision making, and accountability. 
• Experience implementing, automating, and optimizing operational systems and processes to improve efficiency and effectiveness. Experience with Airtable, Asana, CRMs, and grant management systems preferred.  
• Excellent leadership and interpersonal skills, with the ability to inspire and motivate teams to achieve their full potential in a dynamic environment.  
• Strong collaborator with the ability to translate strategy into actionable plans and deliver measurable results.  
• Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities, with the capacity to identify issues, evaluate options, and implement solutions. 
• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to effectively convey complex information to diverse stakeholders.  

Working at Chicago Beyond  

We are an agile, ambitious team with diverse experience across various sectors. We thrive on challenging each other and continuously learning, united by our passion for equity and lasting impact. If you are an entrepreneurial individual looking to join a dynamic community with significant opportunities to grow and shape what you do, then this will be a perfect role for you.  Please note that this role currently requires 2 days in our Chicago office.  

Our values guide our work.   

• Always Equitable – People in our communities face unimaginable obstacles to achieving their fullest human potential. So, we must fight for equity, not equality. 
• Incessantly Urgent – The simple fact is that lives are literally at stake right now. The unacceptability of the situation requires our relentless bias to action in order to accelerate our impact. 
• Endlessly Creative – To dramatically impact the lives of our youth and communities, we must employ imagination to augment or replace the usual, typical, and predictable. 
• Stubbornly Audacious – Entrenched challenges require disruptive ideas boldly applied. We must be unafraid to embrace risks. 
• Uncompromising Integrity – How we achieve our mission is equally as important as our mission. We must do right by our youth, our communities, our partners, our teammates and ourselves. 

Benefits  

The salary range for this role is $125,000 - $150,000. Chicago Beyond provides a comprehensive benefits package, including competitive medical, dental, and vision plans, a matching 401(k) program, and generous paid time off. 

To Apply  

Please note there is no standard candidate profile. Research shows that underrepresented applicants tend to downplay their qualifications. What is more important to us than numbers and titles are the experiences that you have had and the expertise you have developed. If you think you would be a good fit, please apply.  

If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to Chicago Beyond at [email protected].

Chicago Beyond is an equal opportunity employer and strongly encourages applications from people of color, persons with disabilities, LGBTQ+, and other underrepresented applicants.