Chief of Staff

unCommon Construction (uCC) is a nonprofit that uses the build process to empower youth to lead the workforce after high school or college. Through our apprenticeship program, students from different high schools join a diverse team to earn hourly pay, school credit, and “Equity Award” scholarships for building a house from start to finish. This year, unCommon is continuing to expand its program offerings through the renovation of our 5,000 sqft Campus in New Orleans, continued growth in our first expansion site, Minneapolis, and the exploration of future new locations.

unCommon Construction is an Equal Opportunity Employer, committed to diversifying the construction industry and inspiring it to be more equitable, inclusive, and welcoming for the next generation of skilled leaders in it. unCommon Construction hires without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, marital status, amnesty, or status as a covered veteran in accordance with applicable federal, state, and local laws.  People who have been historically underrepresented or excluded from leadership and other positions in the construction industry, such as women and people of color, are strongly encouraged to apply.

Instructions for applying are at the end of this document. We expect the hiring process to take between 4-8 weeks and aim to fill this position by September 30, 2024.

POSITION SUMMARY

unCommon Construction is currently seeking a highly experienced, organized, and goal-oriented Chief of Staff - a dynamic integrator to become the connective tissue of our growing organization.

The CoS will report directly to and work in tandem with the CEO, and will work closely with department leaders to ensure the organization continues delivering high-quality, innovative programming as we deepen our impact in our home community of New Orleans and continue on the path of nationwide expansion. 

The CoS will be responsible for people and project management, the facilitation of internal communication within and across teams, and promoting collaboration for a coordinated effort and a stronger impact. As a member of an Executive Leadership Team alongside the CEO and board, they will play a critical role in leading the strategic direction of the organization in our current season of growth and into the future. 

In the first four months, the CoS will likely spend more than half their time attending internal meetings and engaging in conversations to help them see the whole picture and quickly gain insight into the organization’s existing priorities, strategies, and goals. Success in this role looks like the CoS becoming an integral leader who helps new and veteran team members be more effective in their roles and ultimately achieve stronger outcomes to advance the organization’s mission.

The CoS will strive to spend the majority of their working time in-person, whether that is in the uCC office, on a job site, attending meetings, or otherwise engaging and being available in-person with team members. Company-wide, uCC operates a shifting schedule that typically covers six days a week from Monday through Saturday, depending on the time of year and calendar of events. This position will most regularly work Monday through Friday during unCommon’s regular operating hours 8am-4pm. This role will require schedule flexibility to be responsive to the organization’s calendar of events as well as ad hoc opportunities and challenges that arise. 

We aim to fill this full-time position by September 30, 2024, and are open to an earlier or modified start for the right candidate. This role is based in New Orleans and may involve travel to support external relations and the organization’s expansion.

PREFERRED SKILLS & EXPERIENCE

unCommon Construction is committed to cultivating a workplace environment built on a culture of growth, feedback, and continuous improvement. We believe that some or all of these skills and experiences would be helpful in this role, but are not 100% necessary from the beginning. All full-time team members have a personal professional development budget to support their ongoing growth and success. 

• At least 10 years or the equivalent experience in relevant fields in the nonprofit sector with a significant portion working in a leadership, supervisory, or coaching role.
• Comprehensive and specific knowledge or understanding of education, construction, and/or real estate development is strongly preferred.
• Demonstrated success in driving positive culture and accountability through direct and distributed leadership, supervision and management of people and processes, and the creation and implementation of systems that can be easily adopted by others.
• Strong fluency and comfort with reading, creating, compiling, and evaluating budgets and various financial reporting frameworks.
• Highly competent in collecting, synthesizing, internalizing, and sharing information and a strong track record of successfully and objectively implementing the strategies that are derived from it.
• High level of proficiency with, or a demonstrated ability to quickly learn, software platforms such as Google Workplace, Microsoft Office, Salesforce, Classy, Procore, and other digital tools regularly used by the organization.
• Ability to thrive independently, but also collaboratively across multiple different teams and dynamics.
• Excellent communication skills, capable of synthesizing, evaluating, and explaining complex procedures, tasks, and ideas in ways that are easy to understand.

REGULAR RESPONSIBILITIES

We believe that the below responsibilities are an accurate representation of what it will be like for this team member to fulfill this role in the first year. We also expect that the organization’s needs will change and evolve as it grows and expands and that this role will play a critical role in navigating those imminent changes.

The CoS will work closely and meet regularly with the CEO and other senior leaders to support, streamline, and strengthen unCommon’s operations in the following ways:

People & Project Management

• Taking ownership of certain HR functions such as overseeing & managing the hiring and onboarding progression, feedback and performance evaluation mechanisms, and other forms of professional development and advancement.
• Meeting regularly with department leaders to provide expert advice, participate in strategic planning, and provide support and accountability in their day-to-day work and pursuit of their goals.
• Becoming the direct supervisor of select leaders, beginning with apprenticeship program directors in each location, tasked with overseeing their implementation of programs and related business operations, helping to clear barriers and overcome challenges, and evaluating their overall performance.
• Providing accountability to ensure the timely, strategic, and efficient completion of a range of tasks, timebound projects, and other initiatives in alignment with the organization’s overall goals and priorities, such as a team’s creation of curriculum materials, the rollout of improvements to a CRM system, or assessing the feasibility of expansion to a specific new market.
• Overseeing the scheduling and completion of routine performance evaluations and impact measurement by department leaders
• Overseeing and monitoring new initiatives from ideation to implementation, working with leadership to develop, begin, monitor, advance, and iterate.

Internal Communication, Collaboration, & Culture: 

• Meeting regularly with department leaders and periodically joining their team meetings and 1:1 check-ins to help connect the dots across teams, coach those leaders in their management, and ensure alignment with org-wide goals & priorities.
• Acting as a liaison between the CEO and other key staff with the board of directors and place-based advisory teams in the fulfillment of their fiduciary, governance, and management support responsibilities. 
• Regularly reporting and communicating to multiple levels of management about observations, status updates, successes, challenges, needs, and opportunities.
• Requesting, receiving, and synthesizing feedback from all levels to inform decision-making and assess the efficacy of individual and overall efforts.
• Maintaining overall visibility of the organization's calendar and schedules to ensure effective time management and coordination.

Evaluation & Strategic Direction

• Assessing overall performance and effectiveness across the organization to inform planning and decision-making.
• Actively contributing to the long-term planning of the organization, including assessing the feasibility of new initiatives, developing strategies for them, and the resources and personnel needs associated with implementation and sustainability.
• Other duties as assigned and claimed.

WORK ENVIRONMENT

unCommon Construction maintains a hybrid work environment in which team members strive to spend the majority of their time in person. Along with our regular construction work and job sites, unCommon is in the midst of renovating a 5,000sqft facility to serve as its Headquarters in New Orleans. In the interim, unCommon maintains a small office footprint for team meetings, independent work, storage, vehicle parking, and space for limited pre-fabrication. This position involves regularly reporting in person to either uCC’s office or another designated location to meet with colleagues and/or partners as needed.

• This job requires occasionally spending significant time in low- and high-temperature, wet, noisy, or otherwise uncomfortable situations.
• While performing the duties of this job the employee may be required to sit, walk, stand, talk, and hear.
• The employee may be asked to lift heavy loads and traverse uneven surfaces.
• This job involves the need to adapt to and change location between multiple work environments, each with unique safety, attire, and other expectations.

SALARY AND COMPENSATION

unCommon Construction values people who, in turn, create value for our community. As a nonprofit relying in-part on the financial support of our donors and funders, we strive to live our values as a company that cares for its employees by compensating them fairly and generously.

The compensation range for a full-time Chief of Staff is $115,000-135,000 per year, and the starting salary will be determined by the Hiring Team with consideration given to each candidate's prior experience and qualifications. This role will be eligible to receive performance-based incentives, a 5% company match of 401k contributions, will have opportunities to enroll in employer-subsidized health benefits, and utilize a flexible time off policy, among other benefits.

HIRING PROCESS

The hiring process for this position is designed to help us get to know each candidate, understand and assess their various skills and experiences, and provide them with an opportunity to learn more about unCommon Construction as an organization. It’s our hope that the activities are representative of the type of work involved in this position and capable of being easily completed by qualified applicants within the suggested timeframe. 

Online Application: 

• When you are ready to apply, submit your resume and cover letter as PDFs via email with the subject “CoS Application” to hiringmanager@uncommonconstruction.org 

Pre-Interview Phone Call & Submission of Prior Work Sample

• A member of the hiring team will contact you via phone to discuss your interest in the role, answer initial questions, request a sample of your prior work, and discuss potential next steps.

1:1 Connection(s): 

• A series of two or three 15-30 minute phone or zoom conversations between the candidate and select team members, and one 45-60 minute conversation with the CEO to discuss the candidate's qualifications, prior work experience, and interest in the role. The CEO conversation may take place over Zoom or in person depending on each person’s location and availability.

Invitation to in-person engagement & Follow Up: 

• A 1-3 hours in-person engagement with the New Orleans-based team, involving a brief performance task. The objectives of this step are to help our team get to know candidates, to get a sense of how their experience might translate to this role, and to allow them to experience aspects of our organization as they are happening in real-time.
• All candidates who are invited to an in-person engagement will be compensated $100 out of respect for their time.

Reference Checks (3)

• We will request 3 professional references and will contact at least 2 of them, preferably from within the last 5 years. References should include a combination of insight from at least one person the candidate directly supervised, one person who directly supervised the candidate, and one person who collaborated with the candidate on a time-sensitive project.

To learn more about unCommon Construction or to apply for this position, please visit https://www.uncommonconstruction.org/careers.