As we enter 2018, we are growing our team and are looking for a Director of Finance and Operations to help our dynamic and mission-driven organization build strong organizational foundations upon which to grow and sustain our work. While the job description will give you better details on the position, including the responsibilities and qualities we are looking for in our new team member, below is a small window into what life looks like at at TLA.
What is The Learning Accelerator?
TLA is a national non-profit organization working to catalyze the transformation of American K-12 schooling at scale through blended learning. We are a team of 10 people, seeking to create a future in which each child in America can receive a highly effective, engaging, and equitable education that is mastery-based, informed by data, and personalized to their needs.
Where will you work?
TLA was founded in 2012 as a fully distributed team. We know great people live in lots of different places, so our team members work across the country, in places that make us happy and where we feel comfortable and inspired daily – whether it is our home office or the local coffee shop. It doesn’t matter where you live within the U.S., so long as you are a good fit for the role and for the team.
TLA also offers a flexible working environment. We hold high expectations and focus on outputs and impact. Working hours can be arranged to fit individuals’ needs. We commit to being flexible in our approach and ways of working, to match the ever-changing sector in which we operate.
TLA’s culture
TLA firmly believes in the importance of strong organizational culture. Despite our small size, we invest actively, through our a “Happiness Team” (which is our version of the “People Team”), in making sure that we have a healthy, happy, and collaborative team and maximize employee experiences.
The pillars of our work and culture are our organizational values, the core beliefs that drive our work – both externally and internally. Our values also drive the definition of the other levers of our organizational culture (inspired by the Edward Shein’s organizational culture model):
- Operationalization Actions, reflecting team-level, content-driven actions (or, how do we live by our values as a team).
- Behavioral Norms, team agreements about how we operate at the individual level (or, how do we live by our values as individuals).
- Cultural Artifacts, the tangible elements that promote connections amongst the team and individuals. These are agents for creating and sustaining the organizational culture and aim to: celebrate individual and team successes, and each other; help colleagues feel like they are one strong team; create traditions that connect and cohere the team.
We revisit our values often, recommitting and making changes as needed and making sure that everything we do operationally reflects them to strengthen relationships and help individuals feel supported, appreciated, and recognized for good work. For example, our culture supports close personal ties, even across large distances, which we maintain through frequent 1:1 video meetings and “5th Friday” of the month social gatherings online. Team members also often find a postcard in their mailbox from another team member thanking them for their work.
We know that applying for a job requires energy and effort, and we hope to have sparked your interest by giving you just a quick inside look into our organization. We aspire to an effective and responsive hiring process. Once you have read the job description and feel like you might be a good fit, we encourage you to apply if you are
- passionate about the TLA’s mission;
- aligned with our core values;
- a detail-oriented, creative and strategic thinker that is excited about building, improving, and executing systems and processes without being scared of taking initiative or rolling up your sleeves;
- experienced and/or comfortable with remote work; and
- persistent and adaptable to change.
We look forward to hearing from you!
