Firefly Operations Lead Job Call

Hello Sweet Community.

We’re a team of writers and community builders who help people connect to their voices, tell their stories, and nurture life-giving relationships on their creative paths. We are based in (but not limited to) Toronto, Ontario.

We’ll have been around 20 years this spring, and we’ve started to outgrow the systems that have been keeping us going until now. Some parts of the business are hungry for more clarity and ease, while others are rolling along beautifully and ready to grow.

We’re full of ideas for new programs, events, and ways to engage with our community, and we are looking for an infusion of fresh energy and clear-eyed vision to get them happening, and keep them clickity-clacking along.

We’re looking for the just-right person to pull up a seat at this beautiful table and bring a systems mindset to help us work even more smoothly, and keep us growing in ethical and sustainable ways long into the future.

This is a part-full time job, 5-ish hours a day, 23-27 hours per week. Priority will be given to applicants in or around Toronto, but we are open to a candidate who lives outside the area but can commute for team events twice a year.

Tasks will include:

• Creating new work flows. Some of our wings have fantastic processes (mostly created by our amazing behind the scenes team), which flow with ease and efficiency. Some of our wings don’t yet. The OL will take the processes that don’t have enough structure and map them out — what tasks are key tasks? How much time does each take? When do they need to happen? Who is in charge? They’ll create RACI charts, delegate lavishly, and oversee as needed.

• Creating and overseeing organic, feel-good growth. We don’t like traditional advertising. It’s expensive, it doesn’t work very well, and it just feels bad. We do however want to build authentic relationships with more and more people who love what we’re doing and want to make magic together. The OL will work with us to brainstorm new ways to make this happen, and then create plans to make them happen.

  For example, if we decide to focus on tabling at events, the OL might research local and virtual events that are a good fit, facilitate a decision-making process about which ones to move forward on, create a budget, delegate and coordinate tasks, oversee them, follow up after, and maintain a data bank of what we’ve done, how successful it’s been, and where and when to reach out to again.

  In time, this will include creating tailored plans for growth in some of Firefly’s “wings” like Workshops for Workplaces and our BIPOC Programming.

• Creating and overseeing new forms of community engagement. It’s not all about profit for us — we love hanging out with our people. We’d like to do this more, but community events take a big toll on energy reserves. The OL will bring new vision and momentum to this core part of who we are.

• Overseeing contract and work agreement documents with staff, contractors, and organizations. Contracts are life. We are meticulous about working from clear and updated contracts with everyone, so there’s no question what each person is responsible for and can expect. But doing this well takes time, attention, and focus, which we know will be best served in the OL’s hands. We want to hand these precious documents over to our new team member to oversee, update where needed, and carry forward.

• Organizing ongoing staff trainings. Learning and internal growth are a big part of being on the Firefly team. Once a month, we gather for a training session led by a team member or external trainer. Recent topics have included conflict skills, designing for neurodiversity, and practices for relational repair. Our new team member will book trainers, distribute Zoom links, record and distribute sessions as needed, and lead follow-up in team meetings to collect insights, solidify our shared work, and look for areas for future training.

• Logistical internal communications. Right now, when a team member has a question about a contract clause, pay rate, or policy, these come to Chris. This generally works, but Chris’ inbox can quickly get out of hand. Our OL will take on a lot of that logistical load, as the team’s first point person for practical questions.

• Stepping into customer service when things get tricky. We have the best customers in the world. Truly. Our community is kind, inspiring, and deeply generous. But of course, we’re dealing with money, so things can get tricky. When questions and complaints come up about our policies, it’s easy for us to spiral into overthinking. We’re looking for someone to step into these moments, de-escalate, and create solutions that hold our policies and our beloved clients with respect and integrity.

• Keeping our “stuff” organized? This one has a question mark because we know our ideal candidate may not be in Toronto, but we can dream! We have stuff. Flyers, notebooks, chairs for community events, traveling bins of retreat supplies, and so on. When we worked out of a studio, it was easy to keep this centrally organized, but it’s trickier now that we mostly work online. The stuff is currently in a pile of Rubbermaid bins in Chris’ basement. We’re looking for a person to oversee this, either storing it or sourcing storage and making sure that team members have the things they need to get their work done throughout the year.

• Organizing acts of Indigenous solidarity. Four times a year, we put our Territorial Acknowledgement into action by making a direct action to support local Indigenous communities. In the past, this has included offering free writing coaching at the Indigenous Student Network at U of T, fundraising for the Giwaabamin Street Clinic, and donating to local Indigenous-led organizations. As well, any time we run a writing retreat, we find a way to “pay rent” to the closest Indigenous community to where we’re staying. The OL will take over the logistic side of this, finding new ways to contribute our skills and resources, creating and maintaining relationships with local organizations, and organizing paperwork and receipts as needed.

• Filling in many little gaps. It’s impossible to foresee every part of this job before it starts. We’re looking for someone who will be ready and able to pick up small and large tasks to support the team and keep the business rolling smoothly as we work together into the future.

Here’s what we know about our new team member:

• This person thinks in systems. They see structure in chaos, easily creating work flows, delegating tasks, and navigating through the nitty-gritty of bringing big ideas into daily reality.

• They are meticulously organized and detail-oriented. They have a deep appreciation for a perfect to-do list, and doesn’t lose track of the little details in the big picture.

• They are a master multiple-ball juggler, who fits many tasks into a workday, navigating between projects without losing focus.

• They are a nerd for efficiency, always scanning for ways to create flow and ease in systems without losing a shred of the personality and humanity that keeps us authentically connected.

• They know that business growth is about finding new ways to build real life trusting relationships. They enjoy exploring creative, anti-capitalist, and feminist approaches to marketing and expansion.

• They are emotionally mature, relationally self-aware, and grounded. They centre relationships and communicate with skill and grace, even when things are sticky. They are nearly unrufflable, and they deeply respect their boundaries and other people’s.

• They know that relationships and emotions are sources of information, and that creatives don’t only source data from the outside world.

• This person has deep experience in organizing or managing groups. This could come from previous jobs or volunteer work, a degree in project management, raising a family, or other places. We value “school of life” training as much as formal education.

• This person loves customer service. While their job isn’t to do front-line work with clients, they can step in and resolve customer issues with care and clarity.

• They are committed to working within non-violent frameworks, including anti-oppression and restorative justice. They are humble about how much there is to learn and unlearn about business, capitalism, and community care, and are excited to keep learning — along with us — how to do these things better together.

• This person has an openness to taking direction and following instructions. While there are elements of leadership in this position, most decisions will be made in cooperation with Chris and other team members, and within the structures and practices that are already here. They know that power doesn’t always mean being in charge, but rather working in harmony within relationships.

• Equally true, they are comfortable with their power — delegating tasks and making sure they get done with clear communication and soft authority.

• They are tech-savvy, and able to navigate our current systems (G-Suite, Squarespace, Stripe, and QuickBooks) or pick them up quickly.

• This person will know that a well-crafted email is a fine art, creating warm and sincere exchanges with team members, external contractors, and the public, weaving the spirit and kindness of Firefly into everything they do.

• Finally, we know this person wants to work from the wisdom that’s already here. They know their job isn’t to fix or reinvent Firefly, but to help us deepen and widen, becoming more capable and courageous as we grow together.

Here’s how we see this going down:

First quarter:

• In the first quarter, our new team member will focus on getting to know the humans of Firefly — our team and community. They’ll take a class with us, have 1-on-1s with each team member, and run focus groups with community members to get new insights into our strengths and our areas for growth. They’ll get to know our systems: contracts, release forms, intake forms, policies. They’ll read every page of our website (and hopefully catch and fix a few typos.) They’ll try signing up for everything, and locate the snags.

• Meanwhile, they’ll watch for what's working and what isn't in our current operations. Where are our team’s energy leaks? What parts of our website are bringing people in and which ones aren’t? Where are we spending more energy than we need to?

• From there, they’ll work with Chris and other team members to sketch out a one-year plan for growth and engagement that aligns with the team’s capacities, energy dreams, and values.

Second quarter:

• In the second quarter, they’ll start to execute their plan — delegating tasks, sourcing help, and overseeing timelines and budgets — in deep connection with Chris and the rest of the team.

• Meanwhile, they’ll start taking over some of the daily tasks of Firefly, like internal communications, overseeing contracts, stepping into tricky customer service moments, and overseeing acts of Indigenous solidarity.

Moving forward:

• We imagine that six months in, this job will be in a flow. The Operations Lead will be executing plans, overseeing daily operations, and taking on new projects.

• They’ll be open and available for the job, growing and deepening within the parameters of their contract.

The details:

• Hours are 5-ish hours a day, 23-27 hours per week.

• Pay is $35/hour, with room to grow as our budget allows.

• Applicants must be legally able to work in Canada.

• This is a job-job, not contract work, so the position will be eligible for EI and CPP and the protections of the Ontario Employment Standards Act.

• Hours will be distributed over the week in a semi-predictable way, so that the team has predictable times when they can connect with the Operations Lead — for example, the OL might commit to being available every day 10-12, or Monday, Wednesday and Friday 9-3, and then will work flexibly around that.

• We are a highly relational team, who put a lot of energy and attention into taking care of each other. We have a deeply entrenched culture of kindness, honesty, and authenticity. For example, in every team meeting, we have time for “big ups and mess ups” where we all have the chance to appreciate each other and share our mistakes for support. We also have regularly-scheduled times to connect as a group.

  • We meet once a month on Wednesday mornings for team meetings, once a month for trainings, and we keep all Wednesday mornings free for last minute meetings as needed.

  • We have two in-person gatherings each year — a “team day” in the spring and a “team retreat” weekend in the fall, both at cottages in Southern Ontario.

• The position includes 10 paid sick or personal days per year, and an annual fund for professional development and external support, with a self-care bonus in February (because #February.)

• We shut Firefly down three times a year for 1 week for rest and recuperation and encourage all employees to take this time off. This is generally in December, March, and June.

• Diversity makes us better, so a strong preference will be given to candidates who bring new perspectives, backgrounds, and ways of thinking to our team.

• All applications will be read and reviewed anonymously by a diverse committee of paid Firefly community members. The top 40-45 will be reviewed (still anonymously) by Firefly staff, and the top 20 will be invited to do some homework for us to assess skills. From there, we’ll choose interviewees. To honour interviewees’ time, all interviews will be paid $50.

• We’ll follow up with all applicants, regardless of outcome.

Let’s talk about money.

We believe in transparency, so we want to share the financial picture of this position.

As a small business in the arts, money is often tight. We’re coming up to our 20th year and we’re proud of our resilience, but we’re still scrappy at heart. Right now, we’re hovering around the break-even point — we bring in enough money for everyone to get paid, and all bills to be covered, but not more. We’re happy with that, but it doesn’t leave extra for a new team member.

Gratefully, we had an unexpected boom in the height of the pandemic, when we were bringing in more than we needed. We saved that money, and are using it to fund this position.

We currently have enough tucked away to fund this position for two years. This is an excellent on-ramp, and we fully expect that during those two years, we’ll become more profitable, and this position will become long-term. But of course, we don’t know. Like any small business, we can’t predict how much we’ll grow, or if we’ll hit unexpected snags. The job’s long-term sustainability will partly depend on the candidate’s ability to grow our profitability. We’ll be transparent along the way, and work together to make this reality.

We are very optimistic, but if you require a guaranteed long-term salary without the ups and downs of small business life to meet your psychological and financial needs, this may not be the right position for you.

If you are already part of our community, please read this.

One thing we dread about hiring is that it puts us into a landslide of having to say “no.” We get a lot of applications for our jobs, and we can only say “yes” to one person. It’s brutal.

For this reason, we’ve built anonymity into almost every step of this process. All applications will be reviewed anonymously by a committee of community members. The top ones will be reviewed anonymously by us.

If you get a “no,” it truly isn’t personal. Our team members probably won’t even know you applied.