Executive Project & Operations Manager

Job DetailsJob Location: Sacramento, CA 95815Position Type: Full TimeEducation Level: BachelorsSalary Range: $83,000.00 - $105,000.00 Salary/yearTravel Percentage: Up to 25%Job Category: ExecutiveCompany Overview:

Improve Your Tomorrow (IYT) was founded in 2013 with the mission to increase the number of young men of color (YMOC) to attend and graduate from colleges and universities. We envision a world where men of color are overrepresented in higher education, underrepresented in the criminal justice system, and leaders in their communities. By embodying our core values of Character, Service, Teamwork, and Liberation we work to combat academic inequities and build a college-to-community pipeline.

Position Overview:

The Executive Project & Operations Manager (EPOM) serves as the operational backbone supporting the Chief Operating Officer, translating organizational priorities, executive decisions, and strategic direction into coordinated action. The EPOM manages cross-functional projects, coordinates the organization’s Annual Execution and Planning Process, maintains leadership accountability systems, prepares executive communications and materials, and ensures the COO’s commitments move forward with clarity, discipline, and follow-through.

The position operates at the intersection of executive operations, project management, organizational planning, and leadership accountability, working closely with C-Suite leaders, Shared Services Directors, Regional Executive Directors, and other internal and external stakeholders to move initiatives from conception through completion.

This is not an administrative-only position. While the role includes calendar, meeting, travel, and executive coordination, its primary responsibility is ensuring that the COO’s priorities are organized, advanced, and completed without requiring the COO to personally manage every follow-up. The position calls for an exceptional project manager, writer, relationship builder, and problem solver who can bring structure to ambiguity, influence leaders without direct authority, anticipate risk, and exercise sound judgment in a fast-moving environment.

Key Responsibilities:

1. Executive Project and Annual Planning Management

Translates the COO’s direction into clear project plans, workstreams, milestones, owners, deadlines, and deliverables. Manages time-bound and cross-functional priorities, including executive convenings, contract renewals, organizational initiatives, and other projects assigned by the COO, and serves as central coordinator for the Annual Execution and Planning Process. Develops and maintains project calendars, work plans, trackers, templates, and communication plans, coordinating the involvement of C-Suite leaders, Shared Services departments, regional teams, and other stakeholders. Monitors milestones, ownership, dependencies, decision points, resource constraints, and execution risk; identifies delays, unclear ownership, or misalignment and recommends corrective action. Ensures clean handoffs between planning, implementation, and ongoing performance management, so that projects progress without repeated COO follow-up.

2. Leadership Accountability and Performance Systems

Maintains a centralized system for tracking decisions, commitments, owners, deadlines, and unresolved issues, and follows up with executives, directors, and project owners on agreed-upon deliverables. Monitors commitments made during executive and leadership meetings, and identifies missed deadlines, recurring barriers, or performance gaps requiring intervention. Coordinates performance-management and review cycles for the COO’s direct reports, and supports the COO in monitoring departmental goals, organizational priorities, and leadership deliverables. Monitors the status, adoption, and usability of the Shared Services Portal and related accountability systems, partnering with People Services, Finance, and Data and Information Technology to ensure systems support effective execution. Provides timely, professional, and appropriately firm follow-up, including when working with leaders who do not report directly to the position.

3. Executive Meetings, Communications, and Decision Support

Supports C-Suite meetings, Shared Services leadership meetings, Board of Directors meetings, Executive Director meetings, cross-department leadership meetings, annual planning and performance-review meetings, and executive retreats, summits, and other leadership convenings. Develops agendas in partnership with the COO and other meeting leaders, coordinates pre-reads, presentations, decision documents, and supporting materials, and clarifies meeting objectives, preparation requirements, and expected decisions. Captures decisions, action items, owners, and deadlines; maintains decision records and action trackers; and monitors follow-through between meetings, surfacing overdue commitments. Drafts and consolidates executive communications, meeting recaps, project updates, presentations, decision memos, and organizational documents, converting verbal direction, meeting discussions, and rough notes into clear, actionable written materials. Prepares concise executive summaries that identify key facts, decisions, risks, recommendations, and next steps, coordinating input from multiple contributors into coherent final products. Frames issues requiring COO attention by outlining context, options, tradeoffs, risks, and a recommended path forward, and identifies matters that can be resolved or redirected without COO involvement. Surfaces emerging operational, organizational, financial, personnel, or reputational risk early enough for meaningful intervention.

4. Calendar, Travel, and Executive Workflow Management

Coordinates internal and external meetings involving the COO, evaluating meeting requests based on urgency, organizational importance, decision needs, and alignment with COO priorities. Prepares the COO for meetings by organizing relevant background information, materials, decisions, and follow-up items, and coordinates travel, lodging, itineraries, professional-development commitments, and related logistics. Anticipates scheduling conflicts, preparation needs, and potential disruptions, sequencing meetings, travel, planning time, and follow-up responsibilities to reduce preventable last-minute changes and unnecessary COO intervention. Supports weekly prioritization by clarifying upcoming focus areas, decisions, deadlines, and commitments.

5. Executive Operations and Administrative Systems

Coordinates Divvy approvals, expense documentation, and exception tracking, and supports Paycom timekeeping, approvals, and related administrative processes as assigned. Organizes executive files, project materials, records, and tracking systems, and addresses time-sensitive operational matters quickly and proactively. Identifies recurring administrative bottlenecks and implements practical solutions, developing procedures, templates, and tools that improve consistency and efficiency. Coordinates special projects, leadership events, and other responsibilities assigned by the COO, ensuring administrative and operational systems function accurately, reliably, and with minimal preventable disruption. Performs additional duties and supports other projects as assigned, consistent with the scope and responsibilities of this position.

6. Additional Duties as Assigned.

Schedule:

Monday-Friday, 8:30am-5pm; some weekends, evenings, and organization-wide events will be required.

Work Location:

Sacramento HQ

Pay Rate:

$83,000-$105,000/Annually

Benefits: IYT also offers the following Benefits:

Medical Dental Vision Life AD&D (with additional voluntary options) Employee Assistance Plan (EAP) 403(b) retirement plan with 3% employer match after one year of employment. Sick Leave 2 weeks of accrued paid Vacation Leave 8 Paid Holidays Additional paid time off during select school breaks (about 3 weeks of additional PTO in total)

QualificationsMust Haves: Commitment to the mission, vision, and values of IYT. Ability to self-motivate to achieve results. A multi-tasker with a solid ability to work under pressure. Ability to prioritize work, meet deadlines, and produce quality results. Excellent communication and management skills that can both inspire and push others to accomplish their goals. Ability to operate with an appropriate, responsible level of transparency and vulnerability, engendering confidence and trust. Education: Bachelor's degree from an accredited university is required Master’s degree. (Preferred) PMP or other relevant project management certification. (Preferred) Experience: 5 or more years of project management experience, with a focus on organizational transformation or strategic initiatives, and a proven track record managing complex, cross-functional projects and strategic plans. Computer Skills: G-Suite Microsoft Suite Zoom Salesforce Proficiency with project management software and tools.