First Book has a mandatory Covid-19 vaccination policy (medical and religious exemptions permitted). Proof of fully vaccinated status is required before an interview.
About First Book: First Book (https://firstbook.org/) believes that education offers children the best possible path out of poverty. Reaching 5 million children from birth to age 18 annually, First Book has also built the country’s largest and fastest growing network of educators serving kids in need: today First Book reaches 575,000 educators nationwide – and growing every week.
A global leader in social enterprise, First Book harnesses the strategies of the private sector to advance social change. First Book has built a family of social enterprises to serve its network of educators and support children in need including the First Book Marketplace, The First Book Accelerator, First Book Insights, and a range of other efforts. In fact, since 1992, First Book has distributed more than 225 million books and educational materials to children from low-income families. Because of its record of innovation and impact, First Book has been celebrated globally by such institutions as the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship, the World Economic Forum and in case studies at Columbia Business School, Wharton Business School, the Yale School of Management, and the London School of Economics. Finally, Charity Navigator recently awarded First Book its highest rating, including a perfect 100% score for Accountability & Transparency.
About the Department: eCommerce Operations is a high-energy department integral to First Book’s mission and oversees the movement of millions of books and nonbook resources to teachers and programs serving kids in need. Our mission is amazing and impactful, and the people who make it happen are dedicated, creative, smart, and passionate. It takes teamwork, critical thinking, and agility to keep the wheels in motion and ensure that resources are getting to the kids who need them most. For an enterprise as large as ours, we need a capable eCommerce Operations team lead responsible for overseeing the movement of both incoming and outgoing inventory, ensuring the greatest and best use of our time through streamlined operations and efficiencies so that our members have an excellent, consistent experience focused on their needs and expectations.
Candidates of interest must have proven operations experience and will be able to demonstrate a keen sense for operational improvements, a strong interest and experience with eCommerce webstore management, and a passion for data-driven solutions. This role will have responsibility for management of a six-person Operations team, as well as project management responsibilities for ongoing and varied initiatives that maintain and improve the health of the First Book Marketplace. You will need to demonstrate your skills and deliver educated, thoughtful ideas for ongoing process improvements that will yield increased revenue and a delightful member experience. This role will work most closely with colleagues in the eCommerce department, as well as colleagues in IT, Finance, Strategic Alliances, Nonprofit Partnerships. This role will also work closely with external vendors, shipping carriers, and third-party fulfillment warehouses to ensure that all operations meet the needs of First Book and our members.
About the position: (This is not a 100% remote position/ MANDATORY IN OFFICE: Tuesday & Wednesday)
Essential Duties and Responsibilities:
- Create an annual strategic plan and work with the Chief Operating Officer (COO) and Chief Financial Officer (CFO) to determine key performance indicators. Achieve benchmarks for strategic plan on time and within budget.
- Track and report key functional metrics to the COO and CFO to reduce expenses and increase accuracy and efficiency. Assess, manage, and mitigate risks by reporting on and analyzing order and inventory data.
- Create quarterly and annual inventory reconciliation reporting to be reviewed with First Book’s Finance team and auditors.
- Oversee the eCommerce Operations team and Bulk Order team. Ensure the team’s Senior Managers, Managers, and Coordinators have what they need (information, time, schedule, decisions, etc.) to complete assignments and performance agreements.
- Provide regular performance feedback and write performance evaluations for the team.
- Train, and maintain training materials, and informational reference documents for new staff to the eCommerce Operations team.
- Act as Subject Matter Expert in all of First Book’s ordering services, order placement processes, inventory management processes, and shipping/fulfillment processes for all partner warehouses. Ensure all team members and internal stakeholders are up-to-date on the most recent processes and standards via regular communications.
- Manage detailed logistics (shipping, drop shipping, warehousing, storage, and inventory management) with vendors, warehouses, shipping/freight companies, and members worldwide to ensure a positive experience for all.
- Ensure adherence to quality assurance standards. Implement process improvements that can reduce costs, delight partners, and ensure internal stakeholders have had an excellent experience with order fulfillment.
- Assist in research, proposals, and onboarding of new fulfillment partners that will increase order processing efficiency while maintaining a high level of customer service.
- Management of a six-person Operations team
- Manage relationships with First Book’s vendor partners, warehouse partners, and shipping carriers.
- Provide relevant expertise and feedback to First Book’s Strategic Alliances and Nonprofit Partnership teams, especially with regards to order fulfillment contracts.
- Work closely with the First Book Information Technology team on the continuous improvement and maintenance of operational systems. Continuously improve inventory management practices with an eye for automation and efficiency that does not sacrifice customer service.
- Work closely with the First Book Member Services Team Director to ensure that upgrades to processes by either team are agreed to and understood by internal and external stakeholders.
Qualifications:
To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill and/or ability required:
- Bachelor’s degree in business administration or equivalent experience required. Masters degree preferred.
- Employee management experience.
- 5-8 years working in a position with inventory management responsibilities including procurement, receiving, stocking, shipping, and billing.
- 5-8 years working in a position with order fulfillment responsibilities including customer order creation and troubleshooting, shipping, and delivery confirmation/troubleshooting with shipping carriers.
- Expertise with a computer and the ability to quickly learn new systems/software.
- Experience with Microsoft Office suite, especially Microsoft Excel, required. Microsoft Excel experience should be intermediate, at minimum.
- Experience writing standard operating procedures is required.
- Experience with manipulating, calculating, and analyzing complicated data to provide actionable process-development suggestions to the team.
- Experience with File Transfer Protocol (FTP) required.
- This position requires exceptional detail-orientation, organization, and time-management skills to meet high-demand for deliverables and accuracy.
- This position requires exceptional prioritization and flexibility skills to achieve goals.
- Communication skills that are adaptive to your audience, both verbally and written, and have a reputation for superlative interpersonal skills.
- Willingness to engage in a team-driven atmosphere to problem solve and improve processes, while also being self-motivated to work alone for long periods of time without distraction.
- Experience with Salesforce or Magento recommended.
All full-time employees are eligible for the following benefits:
• Life and Accidental Death and Dismemberment coverage
• Vacation leave
• Sick leave
• Twelve Annual Holidays
• 401K and employer matching pension contribution
• Transportation benefits
TO APPLY:
Candidates are invited to submit a resume, and a cover letter that details your interest in the position to https://firstbook.bamboohr.com/careers. If you need assistance applying, please reach out to us at 202-499-5935.
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