[Remote] Director - Operations (Business Processes), CA

Note: The job is a remote job and is open to candidates in USA. Circular Action Alliance (CAA) is a leading Producer Responsibility Organization focused on implementing the circular economy through paper and packaging. The California Director of Operations is a senior leadership role responsible for managing the operational backbone of California’s SB 54 program, overseeing business operations, and ensuring efficient execution of strategic priorities through cross-functional coordination.

Responsibilities

• Build and lead a business operations team, ensuring strong execution and consistency in both day-to-day operations and long-term operational success
• Set team operating rhythms that strengthen coordination, drive follow-through, and improve visibility across California priorities
• Establish expectations, roles, and escalation pathways across the business operations function to support effective execution at scale
• Foster a high-performance team culture grounded in accountability, collaboration, continuous improvement, and organizational impact
• Own the design, documentation, implementation, and improvement of core operational processes that support California program delivery
• Standardize workflows, tools, templates, and decision-making processes to improve efficiency, consistency, and transparency across the team
• Develop and maintain operational systems for planning, intake, prioritization, issue tracking, risk management, and status reporting
• Identify process bottlenecks, duplication, or operational gaps, and implement practical solutions that improve team effectiveness
• Ensure operational practices are scalable and aligned with both California-specific needs and broader statewide harmonization efforts
• Serve as the California team’s primary point of contact for HR, Finance, Producer Services, Project Management Office and IT on operational matters
• Coordinate with HR on onboarding, offboarding, organizational planning, role transitions, and team support needs
• Partner with Finance on budget coordination, procurement, forecasting inputs, invoice/process alignment, and operational planning needs
• Work closely with Producer Services to ensure California operational requirements, producer-facing workflows, and internal handoffs are aligned
• Partner with IT and systems-related teams to identify technology needs, support implementation of new tools or processes, and improve system usability for the California team
• Act as a central connector across functions to ensure dependencies are managed, communication is streamlined, and critical issues are escalated appropriately
• Establish operational metrics and KPIs for California operations
• Oversee planning and tracking for California priorities, ensuring timelines, ownership, milestones, and interdependencies are clearly defined
• Provide operational reporting, dashboards, and status updates that support leadership visibility and informed decision-making
• Enable leadership decision-making through planning materials, workflow recommendations, and operational analysis
• Monitor operational risks, capacity constraints, and resource needs, and recommend mitigation strategies or adjustments as needed
• Translate strategic priorities into executable work plans, coordinated timelines, and measurable operational outcomes
• Strengthen day-to-day execution by ensuring teams have the structure, tools, and processes needed to deliver high-quality work efficiently
• Support change management efforts tied to new systems, evolving business needs, or organizational growth
• Improve internal collaboration and information flow within the California team and between California and national functions
• Promote disciplined documentation and knowledge-sharing practices that reduce dependency on informal processes
• Perform other related duties as assigned

Skills

• Bachelor's degree in business, operations, or a related field, or equivalent experience
• Minimum 10+ years of experience in operations, program management, business operations, or a related leadership role
• Minimum 5+ years of experience leading and developing operations teams
• Demonstrated experience designing and improving operational processes, workflows, and team systems
• Must possess or be able to obtain a valid Driver's License with clean driving history
• Advanced degree (e.g., MBA) is a plus
• Experience with reporting, planning, and operational decision support for leadership preferred

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