HR & Operations Assistant - Friends of the Children

Organization Overview:

Friends of the Children-Los Angeles (Friends LA) launched in 2017 as an independent 501(c)3 chapter of the national Friends of the Children network. Our goal is to improve long-term educational, economic, and prosocial outcomes for youth and families experiencing generational poverty and who have been impacted by LA County’s child welfare system. Friends LA provides more than 200 of our community’s most vulnerable children with holistic support through weekly 1:1 professional mentorship and preventative services throughout their entire childhood, from kindergarten through high school graduation. By providing intentional activities to foster healthy development, meeting basic needs, and helping to remove barriers to engaging in critical long-term services, our 12-year, relationship-based model empowers families to achieve sustained success and break generational cycles of poverty and trauma. Acknowledging the connection between family stability and healthy youth development, Friends LA employs a research-based two-generation (2Gen) approach that simultaneously supports caregivers in creating supportive, stable, and nurturing environments, as well as their own development and success.  

POSITION SUMMARY

Essential Duties and Responsibilities: 

The HR & Operations Assistant role is vital for providing operational, administrative, and outreach support, along with logistical help for expansion efforts, at the Friends LA headquarters. This position calls for an organized, creative early-career professional with strong administrative skills, detail orientation, and experience in operational systems like Teams, SharePoint, Excel, and Microsoft Office. The candidate should excel in fast-paced environments, possess excellent communication skills, critical thinking abilities, and the capacity to make sound decisions. This role presents an opportunity to contribute to sustainability, security, and equity initiatives within the organization. 

Human Resources (60%) 

• Recruitment and Hiring 
  • Follows up with applicants, schedules interviews and answers applicant inquiries.
  • Coordinates new hire and ongoing employee paperwork processing to meet operating deadlines and assures compliance with legal and grant requirements. 
  • Provide recruiting support for the applicant tracking system and posts internal and external jobs.
  • Tracks and conducts background check processes for employees per policy and contract requirements.
  • Supports the applicant tracking system and job postings. 
  • Performs background checks according to policies. 
  • Prepares for new hiring, ensuring budget and benefits policy alignment. 
• Clerical Administration 
  • Maintain electronic and paper files.
  • Track and manage tasks for multiple hiring and HR projects.
  • Assist in drafting and editing correspondence.
  • Assist management team with supervisory and disciplinary matters.
  • Under direction, performs duties to administer Human Resource activities to maintain and improve HR processes for the chapter including but not limited to payroll, recruitment, policy, benefits, training and regulatory compliance in accordance with established policies, practices and procedure. 
  • Support with annual performance review cycles.
  • Ensures paperwork for employees meets legal and grant standards. 
• General Communication & Policies  
  • Handles employment-related inquiries from internal and external parties. 
  • Advises on HR policies and processes. 
  • Engages in HR planning and improvement efforts. 
• Helps draft and revise HR communications. 

Operations, Administration, and Scheduling (25%) 

• Liaise with team members and other departments like accounting and finance to oversee contracts, payments, reimbursements, and track event expenses. 
• Support project planning, research, and execution; improve and manage file sharing, project management, and virtual convening tools like Teams. 
• Enhance operational processes and quality; implement directed improvements. 
• Facilitate general office management, including supplies procurement and organization across all sites. Oversee technology and electronic file systems and organize document archives and program materials. 
• Offer logistical support for various meetings and events, adapting to various support roles as needed. 
• Represent the department in internal meetings. 
• Handle additional projects as assigned. 

Finance, Budgeting, and Accounts Payable (15%) 

• Manage, submit, and track vendor payments and employee reimbursements for timely payment. 
• Assist with weekly deposit logs. 
• Monitor staff accounts for expense management and company card tools. 
• Provide training and respond to staff inquiries as needed. 
• Reconcile monthly credit card expenses. 
• Track program contributions. 

Education, Experience, and Skills: 

• B.A. or Associate's degree required. 
• 2-3 years of relevant professional experience. 
• Experience working in a social services or nonprofit organization. 

Key Skills & Attributes 

• Passion for creating efficient organizational systems in a dynamic environment; keen interest in nonprofit efficacy. 
• Excellent communication skills. 
• Discretion of sensitive information. 
• Highly organized and detail-oriented, able to meet deadlines gracefully under pressure. 
• Capable of juggling multiple tasks and adapting to shifting priorities. 
• Team-oriented with strong problem-solving skills; adaptable to varying administrative tasks. 
• Proficient in working independently and within a team. 
• Quick learner of cloud-based software (e.g., Teams, Foxit, Zoom) with a desire to grow. Flexibility, a lively spirit, and resourcefulness is especially valuable. 

Benefits

Friends LA cares about our employees as whole people. We offer a generous vacation and sick leave policy, quarterly reset days, 12 paid holidays, summer half days, and an annual winter recess during the last week of December. Employees are eligible for medical benefits (including vision and dental), 401k retirement plan, and ongoing professional development opportunities.

Employees can add optional plans, at employee expense, which include medical coverage for dependents, EAP, Flexible Spending Accounts, supplemental life insurance, pet insurance, and more.

Friends LA is an Equal Opportunity Employer, committed to addressing discriminatory practices, and to working toward racial equity. The equal employment opportunity policy of Friends LA provides fair and equal opportunities for all employees and job applicants regardless of race, color, religious creed, national origin, ancestry, age, sex, gender, pregnancy, sexual orientation, marital status, familial status, disability, or genetic information, in compliance with applicable federal, state, and local law. While we prioritize hiring applicants with lived experience, Friends of the Children – Los Angeles hires and promotes individuals solely on the basis of their qualifications for the job to be filled.

Note: Friends LA requires COVID-19 vaccines for all employees. As of March 1, 2022, we will be expanding our in-person vaccination requirement to include booster shots. Accommodations or exceptions can be requested for medical or religious reasons.