Manager, Operations

About Breakwater Initiative 

AI will upend work as we know it. Breakwater Initiative is a new, action-oriented policy shop with a single north star: finding the very best ideas to support workers through AI's economic transformation and laying the groundwork for an economy that enables people to have purpose, agency, and the ability to thrive. We do not study the problem from a distance. We conceptualize, test, and scale the ideas, institutions, and models that will shape the future of work and our social contract.

Our work spans three pillars: building the big ideas, policy agenda, and public infrastructure to support a response commensurate with the moment; testing new approaches and scaling what works; and engaging ordinary people in building an affirmative vision for what comes next. We are fiercely independent and nonpartisan: responsible to the public interest, not beholden to any lab, party, or private interest. That independence is the basis for the broad public trust this work demands.

Breakwater is in its founding phase, currently operating as a fiscally sponsored project of RF Catalytic Capital, Inc. This is a rare opportunity to build an institution from the ground up at a moment when the questions it tackles are among the most consequential in American economic and civic life.

The Opportunity

This is a role for someone who wants to build the operational backbone of an organization as it grows from being a fiscally sponsored project to one or more independent organizations. Reporting to the President, the Operations Manager will initially ensure that the core people and culture, finance, IT, facilities, and legal and compliance processes of our fiscal sponsor are integrated and adapted to meet our strategic and operational needs.  As Breakwater matures, the Operations Manager will help architect its transition to one or more independent entities, standing up systems, processes, policies, and infrastructure that a high impact and durable institution requires.

Breakwater is small, fast-moving, AI native organization and still writing its own playbook. This is a hands-on, do-the-work role: the Operations Manager will set up systems as often as they run them, and will be the connective tissue between Breakwater, its fiscal sponsor, its vendors, and its funders.  The right person is unusually organized, resourceful, and trustworthy, with a builder's instinct. They are energized by creating order out of ambiguity and take pride in an organization that simply works.

Work Schedule

This role follows a hybrid schedule and is required to be in the office Monday through Thursday.

Key Responsibilities

Finance and Fiscal Sponsor Management

The Operations Manager runs Breakwater's day-to-day financial operations and serves as the primary operational point of contact with the fiscal sponsor.

• Manage day-to-day financial operations: budgeting support, expense tracking, vendor payments, and financial reporting.

• Own the operational relationship with the fiscal sponsor and any external contractors, ensuring compliance, clean accounting, and smooth day-to-day functioning.

• Establish and maintain a financial reporting cadence with the fiscal sponsor and funders.

People and Culture

• Manage any HR points of integration with fiscal sponsor end to end: onboarding, payroll, compensation and benefits as well as performance management.

• Develop and maintain core people policies in partnership with fiscal sponsor— company handbook, travel, conflict of interest, and applicable policies.

• Support hiring, onboarding and offboarding, establishing relationships with recruiting and other people-function contractors as needed.

• Design and administer culture related initiatives and processes to support a trust based and high performing culture in the organization.

IT, Security, and Facilities

• Work with fiscal sponsor to ensure appropriate IT systems, hardware, and core software (including AI) tools for a growing team.

• Establish data security protocols and an AI use policy that reflect fiscal sponsor requirements as well as Breakwater's standards and independence.

• Manage facilities and workplace needs, including office space decisions and vendor relationships.

Legal, Compliance, and Contracts

In partnership and coordination with Breakwater and fiscal sponsor teams:

• Draft, manage, and track contracts with consultants, vendors, and partners.

• Develop and maintain sub-grantmaking processes and lobbying compliance systems, ensuring they are operational and auditable.

• Coordinate with fiscal sponsor and any external legal counsel and manage contractor relationships across legal, finance, and administrative functions.

Building Toward Independence

Work with the President and fiscal sponsor to prepare Breakwater for independence. 

• Support transition planning from fiscal sponsorship to organizational independence, including the operational readiness required for the 501(c)(3) and any applicable 501(c)(4) structures.

• Support preparation and submission of C3 and C4 applications and related filings, in coordination with the President and legal counsel.

• Help design and stand up the systems, policies, and infrastructure — finance, HR, IT, and compliance.

Adaptive Support

This is a founding-phase role at a startup organization. A meaningful share of it involves being useful in whatever way the organization most needs at a given moment.

• Step into whatever operational gap is most consequential in a given week, whether a funder deliverable, a vendor process, or an administrative fire.

• Flag where Breakwater's ways of working need to evolve as it grows, and bring a point of view about what to do about it.

• Build internal knowledge systems so the team does not keep reinventing the wheel.

Qualifications and Characteristics

An ideal candidate will bring many of the following:

• Generally expected to have five or more years of relevant experience in operations, finance, administration, or a comparable function, ideally in a fast-moving startup, campaign, government, or mission-driven environment.

• A bachelor's degree or equivalent experience.

• Hands-on experience with several of the operational domains this role spans — bookkeeping and financial operations, HR and benefits administration, IT and systems setup, contracts, and compliance — with the resourcefulness to learn the rest quickly.

• Familiarity with fiscal sponsorship, nonprofit compliance, or the mechanics of standing up a new legal entity is a strong plus.

• Exceptional organizational skills and an obsession with getting the details right — without letting perfectionism get in the way of getting things done.

• Proactive without being reckless: able to anticipate what is needed before being asked, while knowing when to raise a hand for help rather than spin your wheels.

• Absolute discretion and trustworthiness with confidential and sensitive information — financial, personnel, funder, and partner matters.

• Strong written and verbal communication, with the ability to work effectively with a fiscal sponsor, vendors, funders, and colleagues.

• A high tolerance for ambiguity and a builder's instinct: you find creating structure where none exists energizing rather than destabilizing, and you are willing to flex across roles during the founding phase.

• Demonstrated comfort using AI tools substantively — not as a novelty, but as a genuine capability that improves the quality and speed of your work.

• A collaborative, low-ego, service-oriented working style.

• Commitment to economic fairness, worker dignity, and the responsible deployment of AI.

Breakwater Initiative is committed to equal employment opportunity and to building a team that reflects the diversity of the workers and communities it serves. Candidates from all backgrounds are encouraged to apply.