### Applications for this position are now closed ###

Basic information

Salary: 42,000 – 50,000 GBP (full-time, amount based on experience; negotiable for an exceptional candidate)

Hours: Full-time or part-time (flexible working hours)

Location: Remote

Start date: Preferably Q1 2024 but negotiable

The ideal candidate will be able to participate in regular meetings in UTC (GMT – London). Additional meetings may be scheduled with colleagues in UTC-8 and UTC+8.

About us

The Happier Lives Institute (HLI) connects donors, researchers, and policymakers with the most cost-effective opportunities to increase global wellbeing. Using the latest subjective wellbeing data, we identify the problems that matter most to people and find evidence-based ways to solve them.

The role

The Operations Manager will be an experienced and versatile generalist who can diligently complete a wide variety of tasks and successfully juggle competing priorities.  They will ensure the organisation runs smoothly across a variety of domains including finance, charity compliance, charity registration, human resources, fundraising support, logistics, and the development of internal processes and policies. They will implement policies and procedures, focus on efficiency, and address organisational bottlenecks if and when they arise.

Responsibilities

Organisational administration and finance

• Lead the transition of HLI from a fiscally sponsored organisation to a stand-alone organisation.
• Responsible for all necessary components of our charity set-up and compliance including registrations, legal compliance, human resources compliance, and financials.
• Assist with day-to-day financial operations such as bookkeeping and processing invoices, monthly reconciliations, service orders, and other expense claims to ensure payments and expenditure reporting are up to date. Keep the Directors apprised of the financial standing.
• Manage budget planning and annual reporting, prepare annual draft budgets, quarterly budget re-forecasts and make recommendations based on expenses and revenue.
• Responsible for the operational management of objectives and key results (OKRs) and helping the team alleviate any operational roadblocks.
• Draft and implement organisational-wide policies and procedures.
• Create and implement HR policies and procedures as needed (e.g. health and safety, financial controls, conflicts of interest, expense claims, etc.).
• Plan and organise the logistics for retreats and events
• Assist with special projects as required.

Recruitment and onboarding

• Ensure that we hire, manage, train, and retain the right people in the right roles across the organisation.
• Lead all hiring procedures and administrative duties related to recruitment, interviewing, and onboarding of new staff and contractors.
• Support the creation and annual adjustment of employment contracts, including writing position descriptions, conducting salary benchmarking, and optimising existing templates.
• Ensure all HR trackers are kept up-to-date including benefit tracker, leave tracker and personnel tracker.

Fundraising support

• In collaboration with the Development Manager, manage incoming donations and grants.  Manage grant agreements from a financial perspective to ensure funds are received and financial reporting is completed.
• Provide information on impact metrics and OKRs to support the Development manager with reporting.
• Review and where needed create materials (such as pitch decks and presentations) and work with the Development Manager and Managing Director to aid fundraising efforts.

Provide administrative support to the Director  

• Manage the Directors’ schedule including booking meetings and travel.
• Support the Directors in updating the organisational strategy
• Manage the Directors inbox, which includes:
• Creating and updating processes to ensure emails are replied to in a timely fashion (within 48 hours where possible).
• Drafting emails to a wide variety of stakeholders including academic experts, and project collaborators.
• Other tasks as assigned.

Required skills and experience

• Process-oriented and high attention to detail
• Experienced with running budgets and presenting financial or accounting information
• Comfortable working remotely
• Proficiency with G-suite and the associated tools (Drive, Sheets, Docs, Slides)

Desired skills and experience

We don’t expect you to have all the skills and experience on this list. Plus, we want you to learn new skills in this role. If you are on the fence, please err on the side of applying.

• Proximity to UK timezone
• Interest in wellbeing work
• Experience working in or familiarity with the UK non-profit sector
• Experience with UK non-profit tax regulations and compliance
• Happy to be flexible with role evolution as the organisation’s needs adapt
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Can-do attitude, resilience, excitement to take on new tasks and learn new things, and happy to do anything that helps the team.
• A team player who enjoys coordinating and working with others.
• Optimization-focused: you constantly seek out improvements and question the status quo in pursuit of a better solution or system.
• Service-minded and comfortable with some amount of repetition in your work; motivated by the idea of doing whatever will have the most impact, even when it’s not glamorous.

What we offer

• Join a dedicated team to make progress on some of the most pressing research questions for increasing global wellbeing (see our research agenda).
• Intellectual challenge and a chance to learn and grow in an interdisciplinary setting.
• Set your own working hours as long as you complete your work in a timely manner and are available for scheduled meetings (full-time is considered to be 33 hours/ week).
• Work from wherever you like (we are a fully remote team based mainly in the UK, US, UAE and Japan).
• 25 paid days of annual leave + 8 UK national holidays.
• 10% of your time (3 hours a week) for personal development.

How to apply

Please complete the application process via this link

Please contact hello@happierlivesinstitute.org if you have any questions.

The application deadline is Monday 8 January 2024, 17:00 UK time.

We strongly encourage candidates of all backgrounds and identities to apply to this role. HLI is committed to building a diverse, inclusive, and supportive community where you feel happy, valued, and do your best work.