Director of Operations and Funds Development

San José, CA

Full Time

Experienced

Director of Operations and Funds Development
Job Description

Background
The Cashion Cultural Legacy (CCL) is committed to sustaining the preservation, presentation, and education of Mexican folk culture through dance. In honor and recognition of Dr. Susan V. Cashion and her many contributions to the dance world, the CCL pursues this mission by hosting two professional Mexican folk dance companies, offering accessible dance classes to the community, operating an artist exchange of dancers, directors, and choreographers between California and México, and managing a nascent publications project.

Position Summary

The Director of Operations is the senior operational architect and a key strategic partner reporting to the Artistic Director. This leader is responsible for designing, strengthening, and managing the organizational infrastructure that enables CCL’s artistic, cultural, and programmatic work to thrive.

The Director oversees all internal operations, including strategic planning, financial stewardship, HR and people operations, program operations, organizational workflows, communications infrastructure, and administrative systems. They provide strategic insight while also ensuring operational excellence in day-to-day execution.
This role is ideal for a forward-thinking operations leader who brings both strategic vision and hands-on implementation, ensuring CCL operates with clarity, cohesion, and long-term sustainability.

Key Responsibilities
Strategic Organizational Leadership

Serve as the operational strategist for the organization, building systems, processes, and structures that support CCL’s long-term sustainability and artistic priorities.
Act as a thought partner to the Artistic Director on organizational planning, capacity building, growth management, staffing design, and execution of annual priorities.
Translate strategic goals into operational plans, clear workflows, and measurable outcomes.
Identify organizational challenges and proactively design solutions, systems, and efficiency improvements.
Strengthen cross-departmental communication and ensure all operational functions align with CCL’s mission and artistic vision.

Operational Excellence & Infrastructure Management

Oversee all day-to-day operations of the organization, including programs, rehearsals, performances, classes, administrative systems, and public-facing operations.
Lead the creation and refinement of organizational policies, standard operating procedures, internal communication systems, and administrative protocols.
Ensure operational readiness and logistical excellence across all events, rehearsals, and performances.
Direct organizational calendars, milestone tracking, and cross-functional coordination.
Build, maintain, and evaluate systems that support high-quality artistic and programmatic work.
Support the logistical and operational components of rehearsals, classes, programs, and performances under the direction of the Artistic Director.
Ensure safety, audience logistics, venue compliance, and operational readiness for all events
During production season collaborate with the Artistic Director to translate artistic and production plans into clear operational schedules, workflows, and checklists.

During production season and at the direction of the Executive Director & Artistic Director, assist coordinate rehearsal space, schedules, equipment needs, and administrative support without influencing creative or artistic content.
Oversight of the Los Lupenos Dance Academy site.

Financial Stewardship & Compliance

Partner with the Artistic Director and Board to develop, manage, and forecast the annual budget.
Provide strategic financial insight, identifying trends, risks, and opportunities for resource optimization.
Oversee financial operations including bookkeeping coordination, vendor management, financial controls, and compliance.
Develop and maintain systems for accurate financial reporting, documentation, and responsible fiscal stewardship.
Ownership of organizational budget and affiliated reporting.
Manage and process payroll processes, including but not limited to, approving timecards, managing leave.

People Leadership & Organizational Culture

Lead, supervise, and develop a staff of 2- 5 staff members, establishing clear expectations, accountability structures, and professional development pathways.
Evaluate and evolve staffing models, roles, and team structures to meet organizational needs.
Uphold and cultivate a supportive, mission-aligned, culturally grounded, and collaborative team environment.
Implement HR policies, performance cycles, training processes, and organizational culture initiatives.
Ensure compliance with new hire onboarding and ongoing people compliance requirements.

Communications & External Coordination

Oversee internal communication systems and ensure timely, accurate flow of information across teams.
Coordinate logistics for newsletters, website updates, class schedules, event announcements, and operational communications.
Ensure marketing collateral moves through the appropriate workflows (copy, design, approvals, distribution).
Support cross-functional collaboration between artistic, programmatic, administrative, and external partners to ensure smooth operations.
Represent CCL in operational and logistical discussions with partners, vendors, and community organizations.

Contract Management & Organizational Integrity

Oversee negotiation, creation, and management of contracts for artists, instructors, vendors, and partners.
Ensure compliance with organizational policies, nonprofit regulations, legal standards, and ethical practices.
Maintain strong documentation systems for contracts, policies, financial records, and program materials.

Development Support (~5%)

Coordinate logistics for donor stewardship activities, recognition, and communications.
Track grant reporting deadlines and gather materials (not write or lead proposals).
Maintain donor-related records and development files with accuracy.
Support operations logistics for fundraising events as needs.

Qualifications:

Bachelor’s degree required; Master’s degree preferred.
7+ years of progressive experience in nonprofit or arts operations, including strategic planning and organizational leadership.
Demonstrated experience designing and improving organizational systems.
Strong financial management skills, with experience overseeing multi-stream budgets.
Experience supervising staff, leading teams, and shaping organizational culture.
Exceptional communication, project management, and problem-solving skills.
Ability to partner effectively with executives, Board members, artists, instructors, and community organizations.
Bilingual/biliterate in English and Spanish strongly preferred.
Respect for culturally rooted and community-centered arts organizations, prior experience in a cultural and/or arts organization preferred.
Valid California driver's license and required insurance.

Working Conditions: The characteristics described below are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Environment:

Varies from a climate-controlled home-office setting to working outdoors with temperatures ranging from mild/moderate to extreme cold/heat.
Ability to conduct work, visit sites, and travel to other organizations and companies, meetings and workshops

Physical Demands:

Dexterity of hands and fingers to operate a computer keyboard and other office equipment
Read printed matter and computer screens.
Ability to sit for extended periods of time, stand, stoop, bend, and walk.
Perform lifting, pushing and/or pulling of objects which normally does not exceed 50 pounds and is an infrequent aspect of the job.
Hearing and speaking to communicate within a normal range, give directions to small or large groups of people and exchange information in person and on the telephone.

Compensation and Benefits:

Salary range, $77,101 – $91,251, commensurate with experience
Full-time Exempt Position
Flexible work schedule
Health Insurance

Starting Date: Immediate

Procedure for Applying: Qualified candidates should submit a current resume, and a cover letter indicating interest in the position. Applications received prior to Friday, March 6 with be given priority and applications will be considered on a rolling basis until the position is filled.

Our Commitment to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging

Nonprofit HR is committed to fostering and maintaining a work environment where diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) are fully integrated into everything we do for the benefit of our employees and the clients that we serve. To fully realize our goal, we prioritize our understanding of the complexities of DEI within our workforce to inform our approach to talent management. We believe that this guides how we do our work, advise our clients to operationalize DEI and position our content and educational opportunities help strengthen the talent management capacity of the social impact sector.

Continue reading our about our commitment at nonprofithr.com/deinow.

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This role is both strategic and hands-on, including day-to-day operational execution (events, rehearsals, systems, calendars, logistics). Are you comfortable owning and executing operational details yourself, not just overseeing them?*

This role includes ownership of the organizational budget, payroll processes, vendor management, and financial reporting (in partnership with leadership).
Do you have direct experience managing an organizational budget and overseeing payroll and financial operations?*

This role operates inside a culturally rooted, artist-led organization where operations must support (not override) artistic vision.
Do you have prior experience working within an arts, cultural, or artist-led organization, or a strong understanding of how to support creative leadership?*

This role supports rehearsals, performances, classes, and live events, including safety, logistics, schedules, and venue coordination.
Have you managed operations for live programs, events, or productions with multiple moving parts and stakeholders?*

Bilingual/biliterate English–Spanish is strongly preferred due to community and program context.
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