Who we are

Rivet School is college built for real life — a new type of college experience designed from the ground up to support traditionally underserved students. Rivet School students earn an accredited, job-relevant bachelor’s degree in as little as 2-3 years, and for around $10,000, total.

Across the country, college completion rates are abysmal. In our home state of California, just over a quarter of students enrolled at a state university (CSU) campus graduate within four years. Of students who do graduate from college, around four in 10 end up underemployed in a first job. Traditionally underserved populations — like working students, students of color, parent learners, and those who are first in their families to attend college — disproportionately suffer.

Rivet School is a fast-growing nonprofit currently supporting ~200 students across California, and aiming to grow to 1,000 students by 2025. We’re a tight-knit, supportive, and diverse team of 15. 

Why we need you

With a first chapter of growth behind us, we’re primed to build out the leadership team that will take Rivet School from 200 to 1,000 students over the next four years. The Chief Operating Officer (COO) role will play a central role on our executive team, steering all administrative and operational functions, while partnering closely with our Executive Director and our Board of Directors on strategy, fundraising, and team leadership.

As a right-hand partner to our Executive Director, you’ll support:

• Strategic priorities & organizational leadership (approximately 25% of role): Partner with our Executive Director and the Rivet School Board to chart and execute on a strategic vision for the organization. Manage Rivet School’s rhythm of business, including annual and quarterly goal-setting processes. You may also play a role on our Antiracism & Equity (A&E) task force to support the integration of our A&E priorities throughout our organizational processes and systems.
  
  
• Rivet School program operations (~25% of role): Work with our Director of Growth & Admissions and Director of Program to ensure that our program is operating efficiently and effectively, while supporting the well-being and sustainability of our team.
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• People strategy & operations (~20% of role): Oversee hiring and recruiting systems, talent strategy, employee benefits, and team culture.
  

• Fundraising (~15% of role): Partner with our Executive Director to develop and execute on Rivet School’s fundraising strategy, manage fundraising operations, and support funder stewardship.
  

• Technology & data systems (~15% of role): Work with our Senior Business Operations Manager (who will report to you), oversee Rivet School data systems, technology platforms, and monitoring & evaluation.
  

Who you are & what you can do

The responsibilities above represent a starting point. But we expect that your role will change quite a bit as our organization continues to evolve and mature.

To grow alongside Rivet School, you’ll need to be comfortable rolling up your sleeves and diving into the nitty gritty — and also comfortable managing a team, delegating responsibilities, and crafting long-lasting systems.

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Below we list some of the specific skills, experiences, and dispositions we're looking for in a candidate. We also don't expect all strong candidates to excel at each and every one of these skill areas! So if you're intrigued by this role, but have less familiarity with one of the bullets below, we strongly encourage you to apply anyway.

• Team & project management: You've likely led an organization or managed a significantly sized team, with budgetary responsibility. (Bonus points if you have experience doing this in a nonprofit context.) You are strong at project management, sweat the small stuff, always follow through on your commitments, and are meticulous about documenting, communicating and organizing your work. You’re an excellent writer and presenter.‍

• Strategic thinking and planning: You excel at thinking “around the corner” — anticipating where a team or organization should go, and charting out a path to get there. You’ve played a key role in shaping organizational strategy in a past role, likely as an organizational leader or leadership team member.
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• Technology and data: You’re a whiz with tech tools. You love (and are really good at) using technology to solve operational problems. You’re a rigorous thinker, and committed to using data to make organizational decisions.

• ‍Organizational leadership: You’re excited to be the face of Rivet School (alongside our Executive Director) for internal and external stakeholders. You’ve planned for and led high-stakes meetings. You’re confident being in a role where your successes and failures will likely impact the entire organization.
  

• People strategy and operations: You have experience developing thoughtful, rigorous, and inclusive hiring processes. You’re a natural coach, and love investing in and developing talent.
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• Technology and data: You’re adept with tech tools, and enjoy using technology to solve operational problems. You’re a rigorous thinker, and committed to using data to make organizational decisions.
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• Antiracism and equity: You apply an equity lens to your work and seek opportunities to engage and act on issues related to antiracism and identity inclusion. You may have led high-quality diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives or programs before. And you’re energized by our vision to upend historically entrenched inequities by reimagining the post-secondary experience. As a possible member of our A&E task force, you'll be expected to lead in this area of the organization.

Finally, we strongly encourage applications from candidates who share proximity to our student population (which is ~75% Black and Latino, ~50% parent learners, and ~80% first-generation college students), and/or who've themselves experienced a "non-traditional" post-secondary education.

Why you should apply

As a key member of our leadership team and partner to our Executive Director, you’ll play a crucial role in taking Rivet School to the next level. Your work will directly impact the lives of our growing student body, and will help increase equitable access to high-quality higher education and life-sustaining careers. 

You’ll also join a committed, high-performing, thoughtful, and very fun (if we say so ourselves) team. Here’s what a few team members say about working at Rivet School:

I've never worked in a more supportive organization. The team fosters a culture of collaboration and openness that makes me feel comfortable bringing my whole self to work everyday.

It’s hard to imagine a better workplace. Team members are genuine, empathetic, open to feedback, and competent.

I appreciate our open discussions on race, equity and inclusion and how each of us takes responsibility to use this lens in our work. There’s a genuine commitment to antiracism and equity work, both at the team and organizational levels.

Learn more about the Rivet School team on our website here, or on Glassdoor. 

The nitty gritty

• We are looking to fill this position as soon as possible. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.
• This is a full-time role. For this role, we have a preference for candidates based in the greater Bay Area, but we are open to considering remote candidates who are able to travel to the Bay Area ~every other month.
• We offer comprehensive health benefits (medical, dental, and vision), including 50% premium support for spouses and dependents.
• We offer 32 days of PTO per year (15 days of PTO and 17 recognized holidays), plus ten sick days and generous leave policies (parental leave, bereavement, etc.).
• At Rivet School, we use a competency-based leveling framework to ensure equity and fairness in promotions and compensation. The compensation range for this role is $125,000 - $140,000 / year.

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As an equal opportunity employer, Rivet School is committed to providing employment opportunities to all qualified individuals and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, ethnicity, religion, sex, gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, age, marital status, veteran status, pregnancy, parental status, genetic information or characteristics, or any other basis prohibited by applicable law.