Open Philanthropy is looking for a People Operations Associate to focus on supporting business immigration (helping sponsor visas for candidates lacking U.S. work authorization) and global workforce (supporting staff working remotely from non-U.S. jurisdictions). As our staff and grantmaking expand, we see it becoming increasingly important to our mission to be able to hire staff based in different geographic regions (e.g. a team doing grantmaking in a particular region may want to prioritize hiring staff with local expertise). This role will focus on ensuring we can hire and retain top talent regardless of country of origin. 

To apply, visit our job site linked here.

About the People Operations Team  

Our three-person People Operations team supports Open Philanthropy’s mission by providing the workplace support needed for our staff to focus on doing the most good possible. The team currently manages onboarding (including international onboarding), offboarding, performance reviews and staff benefits and policies, among other duties. With this hire, we plan to formally bring Business Immigration and Global Workforce under the People Operations umbrella and streamline and professionalize our approach to this work. 

We pride ourselves on keeping administrative burdens to a minimum and providing our staff everything they need to do their work effectively. Our long-term vision is to develop the infrastructure and capacity to support a much larger staff, while maintaining our high standards for customer service and continually innovating and improving on our systems. 

About the Role

You would report to People Operations Manager Anna Weldon and take over managing our business immigration and international hiring processes, working to ensure current and future employees going through them have a positive experience.

• For business immigration cases, this would involve working with our external immigration counsel to manage the visa initiation/renewal and green card process. You would develop a visa case strategy, push cases forward (e.g. by working to obtain the information necessary to support the visa case), and troubleshoot any obstacles as they arise. 

• For international hiring cases, you would manage our relationship with Deel (our Employer of Record, or EOR), shepherd candidates through the international onboarding process, and oversee all related processes (e.g. determining what benefits are available to employees internationally, reviewing EOR employee contracts, and managing monthly invoices). 

You would also:

• Be the key point of contact for employees and hiring managers, and act as a bridge between them and external vendors. You would be responsible for quickly and clearly addressing all questions and concerns, and generally act as a partner and resource for them throughout these processes. 

• Work with other members of the People Ops Team to ensure a smooth transition between recruitment and onboarding for non-domestic employees. 

• Ensure all relevant process documentation is up to date, accessible and easy for employees to understand. 

• Provide assistance with immigration inquiries related to employee travel.

• Identify and execute on process improvements. (We're big on looking for ways to continually improve our systems and practices to better support Open Philanthropy's mission.) 

• Do whatever is necessary to make our immigration and global workforce processes smooth, efficient and exemplary. This could involve tackling a wide range of projects (from developing an organizational policy for currency conversions to determining where and when to set up new Open Phil entities in various countries).

In general, it’s hard to predict everything you might be asked to tackle in this role — we’re a rapidly growing organization, and expect all staff to be flexible about what they work on and put contributing to our mission first.

Who might be a good fit

We’re looking for someone who resonates with Open Philanthropy’s culture and values, and is excited to take ownership of providing excellent support. We are open to applicants with varying levels of experience. 

Our ideal candidate would have prior experience supporting business immigration cases, for example as a business immigration paralegal or as a global mobility specialist. However, we are also open to hiring a candidate with no prior familiarity with international hiring or visa processes.

You might be a great fit for this work if you:

• Work in a way that is consistent with our operating values of ownership, openness, calibration, and inclusiveness. Proactivity and creative problem solving will be especially important for success, particularly when it comes to managing vendors and complex visa cases. 

• Are comfortable seeking out information and proposing creative solutions where no clear process or guidance exists. Much of this work is new to our team, and proactively noticing gaps in our knowledge and tracking down answers will be crucial to success.

• Are a clear and empathetic communicator, particularly in writing. You will need to manage a large volume of email correspondence, and sometimes explain complex issues to employees and hiring managers clearly and succinctly (and while being sensitive to the fact that business immigration issues can be anxiety inducing for candidates). 

• Are reliable and responsive — fielding time-sensitive and urgent questions and requests from employees and hiring managers will be a key piece of the role. 

• Are organized and detail-oriented. The day-to-day work will involve managing time-sensitive and critical processes around immigration cases. We will need someone who can keep on top of a large number of open items and next steps while making sure details don’t get dropped. 

• Are a fast learner, and excited to develop expertise in business immigration. We don’t necessarily expect you to come in with any relevant experience, but we do anticipate that you will develop relevant knowledge over time. 

• Are familiar with, and excited about the work Open Philanthropy is doing. 

The ideal candidate for this position will possess many of the skills and experiences described above. However, there is no such thing as a “perfect” candidate. If you are on the fence about applying because you are unsure whether you are qualified, we would strongly encourage you to apply. Above all, we are looking for people motivated to contribute to our mission of helping others as much as we can with the resources available to us. Whatever background you bring with you, please apply if this role would make you excited to come to work every day.

Other details

• This is a full-time, permanent position. You are welcome to work from our offices in the Bay Area or from a remote location. We are happy to consider applicants based outside the U.S. but you must be able to work within U.S. working hours (due to the need to coordinate closely with our immigration counsel, who is based in EST). 

• Unfortunately, we are not able to sponsor visas for this role.

• The baseline compensation for this role is $104,132.47, which includes a base salary of $90,549.97 and an unconditional 401(k) grant of $13,582.50, with additional consideration on compensation and title given for exceptional relevant experience.

  • This compensation assumes a remote work location; there will be upwards adjustments for candidates based in Washington D.C. or the San Francisco Bay Area.

• We would ideally like a candidate to begin as soon as possible after receiving an offer (likely in August), but we are willing to wait if the best candidate can only start later.

• We offer a comprehensive benefits package, including full health, dental, vision, and life insurance, flexible work hours and location, and a stipend for ergonomic equipment.

• To apply, visit our job site linked here.

We aim to employ people with many different experiences, perspectives, and backgrounds who share our passion for accomplishing as much good as we can. We are committed to creating an environment where all employees have the opportunity to succeed, and we do not discriminate based on race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, or any other legally protected status.

If you need assistance or an accommodation due to a disability, or have any other questions about applying, please contact jobs@openphilanthropy.org.