Director of Special Projects

Position Overview

Groundwork Collaborative is hiring a Director of Special Projects to join its operations team and work closely with the Chief Operating Officer, internal colleagues, and external consultants. The role is based in Washington, D.C. and follows a hybrid schedule: two days in the office each week, three days remote, with occasional in-person attendance required for events and special projects. This is an exempt position.

The salary range for this role is $145,000 to $179,000 per year.

About the Organization

Founded in 2018, Groundwork Collaborative is guided by the belief that a healthy economy should work for everyone. The organization advances progressive economic policy and narrative change aimed at strengthening accountable public power, reducing concentrated private power, and centering communities that have historically been excluded from prosperity.

Its structure combines strategic communications, think tank work, and issue advocacy, allowing it to influence policy and public conversation with expertise and credibility. Groundwork works with media professionals, policymakers, economic policy experts, and grassroots organizations, using research, campaigns, and messaging to support a more inclusive economic vision.

Role Summary

The Director of Special Projects is a versatile operator who helps move key operational priorities forward. This person will work on projects in different capacities depending on the need: sometimes as the primary owner, sometimes as a cross-functional partner, and sometimes as the operational expert supporting a specific initiative.

The role suits someone who can move easily between structured and ambiguous work, switch contexts quickly, and combine creative problem-solving with disciplined execution. The position spans systems, data, operations, and strategy, with a focus on building the processes and infrastructure that help the organization grow effectively.

Key Responsibilities

This role includes leading major projects, helping create solutions in new or undefined areas, building reporting and data infrastructure, improving workflows, and supporting organizational planning.

Project Leadership and Delivery

• Take ownership of high-priority projects from early definition through final completion.
• Convert initiatives into clear action plans, milestones, and timelines.
• Push work forward, resolve blockers early, and keep delivery on schedule and at a high standard.
• Create and maintain project management practices, reporting structures, and operational norms.
• Shift priorities smoothly as organizational needs change.

Problem-Solving in New Areas

• Work with the COO and senior leaders to address challenges that do not yet have established processes or examples.
• Help define what success looks like when the organization is taking on something new, then build the path to get there.
• Apply practical and inventive thinking to operational problems that have no obvious solution.
• Bring forward ideas and approaches that leadership may not have considered.

Data, Dashboards, and Reporting

• Lead the creation of internal dashboards and reporting tools for use across teams.
• Help determine the most important metrics and make sure data is tracked consistently.
• Maintain and strengthen fundraising data systems used for pipeline management, reporting, and profiles.
• Turn team needs into usable reporting tools that improve visibility and trust in the data.
• Support adoption of CRM, dashboard, and project-tracking tools, including coordination with external vendors when needed.
• Ensure systems are practical, clearly documented, and used consistently.

Workflow Improvement

• Find opportunities to simplify operations and remove unnecessary friction.
• Introduce automation and process improvements that reduce manual effort.
• Standardize workflows to increase clarity, efficiency, and consistency.
• Translate strategy into actionable workflows and documentation, and help teams adopt new ways of working.

Strategic Planning Support

• Help put organizational strategy and planning frameworks into practice.
• Support tracking progress against goals and prepare internal reports.
• Contribute to forecasting and creation of planning materials.

About You

The ideal candidate brings 7–10+ years of experience in operations, program management, or implementation-oriented roles. You should be able to move quickly across varied workstreams, stay effective when priorities shift, and work comfortably in spaces where processes are still being built.

You will need strong project management skills, a history of delivering complex work end to end, and hands-on experience with dashboards, reporting systems, or data workflows. The role also calls for excellent communication, the ability to collaborate across technical and non-technical teams, and a self-directed, low-ego working style.

Preferred Background

Experience in nonprofit finance and operations, startup environments, data development, and the use of CRM or project-management tools such as Airtable, Salesforce, ClickUp, or Asana would be especially helpful. A creative approach to problem-solving and a servant-leadership mindset are also valued.

Compensation and Benefits

This role offers annual pay between $145,000 and $179,000. The benefits package includes five weeks of vacation and personal leave, two week-long office closures, additional floating and federal holidays, zero-premium health insurance, a generous HRA, a retirement match of up to 6%, up to 16 weeks of parental leave, and reimbursements for health club membership and cell phone expenses.

Groundwork Collaborative operates as a hybrid workplace, with two in-office days per week and three remote days, plus occasional in-person work for events and special projects. The organization is unionized and represented by the Nonprofit Professional Employees Union (NPEU), though this role is not part of the bargaining unit.

Application Process

Applicants are expected to submit a resume and a cover letter explaining their interest in the role. The hiring process includes an initial interview, a short skills assessment, one-on-one interviews, and a panel interview with team members.

The posting remains open until the position is filled.

Employer Information and Compliance

Groundwork Collaborative is a project of the New Venture Fund, a 501(c)(3) public charity that supports new public-interest initiatives and grantmaking programs. The organization emphasizes an inclusive workplace and seeks to create a safe environment for employees and partners across a broad range of protected characteristics.

The New Venture Fund participates in E-Verify and shares Form I-9 information with the federal government to confirm work authorization in the United States. Candidates and employees authorized to work in the U.S. may not be discriminated against on the basis of national origin or citizenship status.