Operations Associate

Acumen is seeking an Operations Associate with at least 3 years of relevant operational experience to support Acumen Academy's cross-functional operations. This role will report to the Associate Director of Operations . The ideal candidate will be based in Toronto, with the expectation to be three-day in the office from Tuesday through Thursday.  

About Acumen
Acumen is a global force of entrepreneurs, investors, philanthropists, and social innovators working together to build a world based on dignity. We were founded by Jacqueline Novogratz on the radical idea that business, when cultivated with moral imagination, can break the cycle of poverty. We invest in transformational companies, build sustainable markets, and prepare leaders with the tools they need to create a more just and inclusive future. Since 2001, we have scaled companies and shaped markets in some of the hardest-to-reach communities on the planet, impacting over half-a-billion lives. Through our investment adviser Acumen Capital Partners, we are responsible for $166 million in assets under management via our returnable pooled investment funds, which have impacted 238 million lives and offset 48 million metric tons of CO2. To learn more, visit acumen.org .

About Academy
Acumen Academy supports a new generation of social innovators and leaders with the character and competence to solve problems of poverty and build a world based on dignity. With over 2000 Foundry members, 1.3M course sign-ups, and 71 million lives impacted, the Acumen Academy community represents a new generation of social innovators and leaders committed to solving problems of poverty. 

About the role
This is a critical role in ensuring that our operations run smoothly to support our strategic goals, including managing our tech stack, cross-functional workflows, and supporting regional teams across time zones.

The ideal candidate combines strong systems thinking with hands-on execution and is energized by using technology to make a globally distributed team more effective. The role reports to the AD of Operations and works closely with our regional and global teams to enable seamless delivery of our programs.

This role blends operational ownership, project coordination, and a genuine curiosity about how technology can make a mission-driven team work smarter. This role will be hybrid, working out of our Toronto downtown office. 

What you'll do :

Operational Enablement

• Act as the central point of contact for Academy operations, making them accessible across teams


• Support regional teams with logistics, data requests, and rollout of new processes or tools


• Maintain and improve the Academy team onboarding, offboarding, and related processes and documentation


• Own and manage cadence for global team meetings, including action steps and follow-through

Support Academy Development & Partnership Operations:

• Support Academy fundraising efforts by providing data for new concept notes, details for proposals, events, and grant reporting 


• Connect D&P with appropriate Academy colleagues for specific program, region, or sector priorities 


• Clean and maintain the data integrity of Academy prospects and partners in the D&P Salesforce


• Manage the meetings, report on progress, and follow up on action items.

Tech stack management

• Serve as the main point of contact for our technology tools and liaison with the IT team on onboarding and troubleshooting.


• Evaluate, onboard, and sunset tools in partnership with the program and leadership team.


• Manage vendor relationships, licenses, and renewals


• Liaison with IT, Legal, and Finance teams on our tech stack, to ensure that the systems are consistent with our practices and budget


• Build and maintain AI-powered integrations and automations between systems to reduce manual work


• Maintain clear, up-to-date documentation of systems and workflows

What we're looking for :

Required experience

• Minimum 3 years of relevant Operational or Project support experience


• Proven experience working with diverse teams, managing relationships, and overseeing operational workflows


• Experience supporting multi-region or globally distributed teams across time zones


• Experience with building on tools such as Airtable, Slack, Claude, Miro, Salesforce, HubSpot, and genuine curiosity and agility to learn new tools and pilot AI automations


• Strong written and verbal communication


• Relationship builder, and the ability to prioritize and manage multiple stakeholders

Skills and qualifications

• Strong organizational skills with comfort building structure from ambiguity.


• Proactive; Ability to take initiative and roll up the sleeves; anticipate needs before they arise, and take action without being asked


• Collaborative team player who thrives in a globally distributed environment


• Confident working independently across time zones while engaging diverse stakeholders


• Curious and proactive about using and applying technology, including AI, in everyday operations


• Solutions-oriented and adaptable in a fast-paced environment


• Values-driven and aligned with Acumen's mission and principles


• Experience in social impact, nonprofit, or remote environments is an advantage


• Experience of working with fundraising teams is an advantage


• Permanent Authorization to work in Canada

We welcome applicants from all backgrounds to apply, even if you don't meet every qualification listed.

Deadline
Candidates are encouraged to apply early, as applications will be reviewed and candidates interviewed on a rolling basis, and the role might be filled before the deadline.

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