People & Operations Manager

A James Beard Foundation Award recipient, Café Momentum is a nonprofit organization that combines a nationally recognized restaurant model with a comprehensive workforce development program for justice-impacted youth. Founded in Dallas and now expanding through a national network of affiliated locations, Café Momentum provides paid internships, wraparound services, mentorship, and life skills training that empower young people to build successful futures. The National Office partners with local organizations to strengthen operations, leadership, and organizational excellence while preserving the integrity of the Café Momentum model and mission.

The People & Operations Manager is vital to the high-level scaling of organizational systems, personnel processes, and operational excellence. Reporting to the Chief Operating Officer, this role maintains organizational consistency and accountability by managing onboarding, offboarding, payroll administrative workflows, systems administration, and compliance. Additionally, this position supports audit readiness and performance management across the national team and its various locations.

The successful candidate will be an operationally-minded collaborator with an exceptional focus on detail and administrative follow-through. Partnering with national leadership, this individual will implement standardized workflows and strengthen organizational infrastructure to ensure the employee experience aligns with core mission values. While this role provides operational support and process guidance, local entities retain authority over personnel decisions and direct employee supervision.

This position is expected to travel periodically to support organizational meetings, trainings, and operational initiatives.

Key Responsibilities

People Operations & Compliance

• Coordinate and maintain organizational onboarding and offboarding processes to ensure consistency, compliance, and operational readiness
• Ensure employee documentation, acknowledgments, and personnel records are maintained accurately and securely
• Support and track performance review processes, corrective action documentation, and related operational workflows
• Assist leadership in ensuring employee-related processes are documented and completed appropriately
• Coordinate payroll-related administrative workflows and audits to ensure accuracy and timely processing
• Support employee benefits administration, enrollment coordination, and employee changes
• Maintain HRIS and employee records systems
• Support recruiting coordination, candidate tracking, interview scheduling, and onboarding logistics
• Monitor completion of required organizational trainings, certifications, and compliance documentation
• Identify operational or compliance-related concerns and escalate appropriately to leadership

Operational Coordination & Organizational Support

• Coordinate the implementation and ongoing administration of the organization's Operating Principles, including maintaining operational standards and collecting, organizing, and tracking documentation that demonstrates compliance across the national organization and affiliated locations.
• Coordinate organizational accountability systems, follow-up items, and process tracking across departments and locations
• Maintain and organize operational templates, forms, resources, and centralized documentation
• Ensure organizational documentation and shared resources remain current, accurate, and accessible
• Assist in rollout and adoption of organizational systems, workflows, and process improvements
• Support operational reporting, tracking, and administrative follow-through for leadership initiatives
• Serve as a connector between locations and national leadership to support communication, visibility, and organizational alignment
• Help identify process gaps, operational inefficiencies, and opportunities for improvement

Systems Administration & Technology Support

• Administer and maintain Google Workspace systems and related operational technology platforms
• Manage employee account provisioning, permissions, onboarding access, and account deactivation
• Maintain organizational Drive structures, shared drives, file governance, and document organization
• Support implementation and maintenance of security protocols including password management, access reviews, and multi-factor authentication
• Coordinate operational technology documentation, user access tracking, and systems organization
• Support troubleshooting and coordination with external technology vendors and consultants as needed
• Ensure operational systems support organizational efficiency, collaboration, and compliance requirements

Audit Readiness & Risk Management

• Support organizational audit readiness by maintaining accurate records, documentation, and operational systems
• Assist in gathering, organizing, and validating information requested for audits, compliance reviews, and operational assessments
• Maintain documentation practices that support transparency, accountability, and organizational continuity
• Monitor operational workflows and documentation processes to minimize organizational risk
• Support consistency in operational and personnel documentation practices across the organization

Key Attributes

Education & Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Operations, Organizational Leadership, Human Resources, Information Systems, or related field preferred
• Minimum of 5–8 years of experience in operations, people operations, HR administration, business operations, systems administration, or related fields
• Experience supporting multi-site organizations, nonprofit organizations, hospitality groups, or growing organizations preferred
• Experience administering Google Workspace or similar organizational systems strongly preferred
• Experience supporting onboarding, payroll coordination, compliance tracking, and operational systems strongly preferred

Skills & Competencies

• Strong organizational, administrative, and project coordination skills
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and maintain strong attention to detail
• Strong written and verbal communication skills
• Operational mindset with strong follow-through and accountability
• Ability to maintain confidentiality and handle sensitive information appropriately
• Comfortable navigating cross-functional environments and balancing multiple stakeholder needs
• Strong systems-thinking and problem-solving abilities
• Proficiency in Google Workspace, spreadsheets, shared drive management, and operational systems
• Ability to proactively identify concerns, communicate clearly, and escalate issues appropriately
• Collaborative and team-oriented approach with a focus on operational consistency and organizational support