Office Manager - Chicago, United States - Forging Opportunities for Refugees in America

Description

Forging Opportunities for Refugees in America (FORA) is a refugee empowerment center based in the West Ridge neighborhood of Chicago.

FORA provides almost 50,000 hours each year of individually customized High Impact Tutoring (HIT) to refugee SLIFE (Students with Limited or Interrupted Formal Education) children.

Our vision is a world where refugees in need are welcomed and empowered, and our mission is to ensure that refugee families are provided access to an education sufficient to prepare them to become economically self-sufficient and robustly engaged in American civic life.

Overview:

The Office Manager oversees administrative tasks, financial records, and facilities maintenance. The Manager should be incredibly detail oriented and organized, strong interpersonal skills, and be skilled at multitasking.

Most importantly, the Administrative & Financial Manager must be totally committed to reversing the denial of basic rights to refugee youth, to champion FORA in all external relations.

Administration:

• Supports the Chief Financial Officer in onboarding of all staff including but not limited to completion of required paperwork, mandatory training, and fingerprinting.
• Conducts office supply inventory regularly and places orders as necessary to ensure the maintenance of critical resources. Including but not limited to ordering necessary equipment and devices requested by the Director of IT, educational materials such as workbooks and supplemental materials, and components for donor solicitations.
• Maintain and organize all physical and digital files of the organization to ensure documents are all appropriately filed and kept up to date.

These documents include but are not limited to:
employee records and certifications, student records and permissions, invoices and receipts, grant documents, etc. Ensure that FORA's records retention policies are adhered to.


Financial Support:

• Makes purchases in compliance with FORA's procurement manual and ensures all required forms and auditable documentation is requisitioned and maintained under the supervision of the Chief Financial Officer. Initiates payment of bills and invoices promptly as they arrive to be approved by the Chief Financial Officer.
• Processes, and pays staff and volunteer reimbursements. Ensures proper documentation for all transactions are retained. Collects receipts and maintains receipts for all purchases and supplies information to outside financial consultants such as our bookkeepers and auditors.
• Prepares and organizes documents for auditing requirements in consultation with the Chief Financial Officer. Submits proper documents to auditors and accountants for filings in a timely manner.
• Coordinate with vendors and service providers for officerelated services, such as cleaning, maintenance, and utilities once selected by the Managing Director or Chief Financial Officer.

Facilities Management

• Ensures proper and functioning premises including overseeing daily cleaners and as needed contractors.
• Manages the process of opening and closing the office, either personally performing the necessary tasks or delegating to others as needed. In the morning, this includes a safety walkthrough to look for hazards.
• Provides training to staff yearly on safety protocols and security policy focusing on any updates. Operates and maintains safety and security measures.
• Liaises with various building utilities representatives including but not limited to landlords, electric companies, security firms, and insurance companies to advocate on our behalf if and when issues arise.

Other Responsibilities:

• Assists Chief Financial Officer with special projects and programming as deemed necessary.
• Participates and attends staff meetings, professional development meetings, and technical knowledge based learning meetings.
• Assists in donor relations/fundraising as deemed necessary by the Managing Director or Chief Financial Officer. Such as but not limited to attending donor functions which may occur outside of normal working hours.

Communication Skills:

• Composes, distributes and responds to a variety of correspondence related to assigned liaison and support services.
• Exhibits excellent verbal communication skills for initiating conversations, actively listening to a person's message, responding appropriately, and using tone of voice to convey respect.
• Utilizes active listening skills to ensure students and tutors feel heard and listen for opportunities and needs.

Qualifications:

• You must endorse, embrace, and enact FORA's vision, mission, and values (as described at ).
• 4 year university degree or international equivalent.
• The position is in person 25 hours per week. The location is in the West Ridge area of Chicago. Attendance and punctuality are crucial. As a manager, overtime pay is not provided, but working outside of normal hours is required when necessary.
• Commitment to honor the diverse ac