Open Positions
Operations Strategist, The Urbanist – Term-Limited Temporary OR Contract
The Urbanist is a growing and influential nonprofit media organization based in Seattle, Washington, with two full-time journalists, one full-time development and events lead, several regular freelance reporters, and numerous major volunteer roles. We have more than 3,000,000 article reads per year and have expanded our readership in every year of our 12-year history.
The Urbanist is structured as a 501(c)(4) advocacy nonprofit with a philanthropic arm, The Urbanist Fund, a 501(c)(3 charity that supports our public-interest journalism. Our staff members are based in the Seattle metropolitan area, and all work remotely.
This term-limited Operations Strategist role is intended to take on and complete a few key operational projects while setting the organization up for a permanent hire at the Operations Manager level. This position (or contract, if structured as a contract) reports directly to the Board of Directors. Key lanes of work include the following, with deliverables indicated if known:
● Internal processes and procedures. A review of the employee handbook and employee policies, including paid time off, coverage policy, benefits, conflict resolution policy, etc., or an assessment, recommendation, and management of outside consultants to do reviews.
Deliverable: Updated process and procedure documents.
● Information Management. Migrate our email and document storage to Google Drive or similar, and ensure there’s a rational organization of those systems. Build resilience checks to ensure the organization maintains access to information in the event of staff turnover. Determine whether Slack Pro is appropriate and set norms for team communications.
Deliverable: Updated information management system identified and implemented.
● Financial Health. Work with the Board Treasurer and Finance Committee to update our financial policies and procedures. Lead the process to engage a new accounting firm. Prepare for an audit or (at minimum) a financial review. Deliverable: Updated financial policies and procedures, new accounting firm under contract.
● Donor and membership infrastructure. Builds on development work already underway. Update or create procedures for small and large donor management and tracking. Deliverable: Stewardship infrastructure covering both major-gift cultivation and recurring membership giving.
● Board-facing processes and organizational health. Board reporting rhythms and operational processes (including but not limited to financial processes, fundraising schedules, donor hygiene, etc.) documented well enough that a permanent operations manager’s share of this work is genuinely partial, not something they have to invent from a blank page. Deliverable: TBD.
● Organizational Compliance. Ensure that there are clear systems for organizational reporting (e.g., to the Secretary of State) and compliance with all rules and requirements.
Deliverable: Written policies, system, and calendar for ensuring reporting and compliance.
● Annual Workplan. Write a one-year workplan for an Operations Manager position, to be the continuing tasks after the above deliverables have been completed. Deliverable: A draft workplan that is approved by the board.
Role Type and Compensation: We are open to structuring this work as either a term-limited temporary staff role (full-time, with limited benefits) or a role structured as a contract for a sole proprietor.
In either case, we have budgeted up to $70,000 for this work and hope whoever we hire can structure their work so these deliverables are completed by July 31, 2027. We expect the work to start in the first two weeks of January 2027.
When you apply, please indicate whether you are proposing your work as a contractor or as a term-limited temporary staff position.
To Apply: Please submit a resume detailing your relevant professional experience and a cover letter explaining your interest in this role to jobs@theurbanist.org no later than November 23rd, 2026. Please also direct any questions to the same email address. We expect to select candidates for interview by November 25th and conduct interviews during the first week of December.
The Urbanist is committed to hiring and advancing personnel from traditionally underrepresented communities with an explicit regard to Black people, Indigenous people, people of color, immigrants, LGBTQIA people, and disabled people.