About Aropa Commons

Aropa Consulting is seeking experienced professionals across various disciplines to enrich the Aropa Commons, a pre-vetted roster of mid- and senior-level consultants who bring their unique expertise to a range of challenging and impactful projects.

About the Strategy and Operations Pillar

Through our Strategy and Operations pillar, Aropa partners with impact-focused nonprofits, organizations, and foundations to co-create practical, sustainable strategies that systematically align an organization’s operational infrastructure with its core mission, vision, values, and communities served. Centering the client’s needs in our work, we navigate high stakes inflection points, bridge critical capacity gaps and build sustainable organizational scaffolding with deep, human-centered expertise in organizational development, strategic planning, and leadership. For more information about our strategy and operations pillar visit https://www.aropaconsulting.com/strategy-operations.

About the Role

Aropa Consulting has grown rapidly over the past four years, and we are actively seeking to add additional technical capacity to our projects. This is an open opportunity to become a vetted contractor with the Aropa Commons so that we can quickly engage you in support of client deliverables. Aropa Commons is in need of a variety of skills and expertise, so please see below for the desired additions to the Aropa Commons.

These roles implement specific project deliverables with general guidance from Senior Consultant, Emily Fitzsimmons, and Diana Essex-Lettieri, Aropa Consulting’s President,

and works collaboratively with Aropa team members and consultants across the organization’s pillars.

Relevant Specialities

We are looking for consultants with specialized knowledge in the following domains to meet the diverse requirements of Aropa's clients. Candidates are not expected to be experts in every area; deep proficiency in a specific category can make you a compelling match for certain client engagements.

• Human Resources
• Financial & Accounting
• Technology Software & Solutions Implementation
• Organizational Assessments
• Theories of Change & Strategic Planning
• Fundraising Strategy & Oversight
• Communications Strategy
• Virtual and In-Person Facilitation
• Board Governance

Key Responsibilities

Fractional Leadership & Executive Advisory Placements

• Directly embed within client organizations to bridge immediate capacity gaps, while flexibly responding to emergent client needs.
• Oversee daily organizational operations, manage cross-functional teams, and establish immediate operational stability.
• Map out high-level resource workflows and structure financial management or compliance frameworks.
• Manage high-level financial strategy, multi-year grant budgeting, and cash flow forecasting.
• Guide boards and executive teams through complex organizational restructurings and transformational change management.
• Provide adjacent strategic coaching to emerging or transitioning leaders to build long-term confidence and internal self-reliance.
• Lead complex client engagements, from strategic planning, theories of change, policy and process review and development, and organizational assessments.
• Design and implement improved systems for core financial and grants management needs; optimize workflows, reporting tools, and systems integrations.
• Develop a clear, long-term roadmap for the client's operational function and team structure.

Strategy & Operations Project Management or Support
These roles focus on building the practical organizational scaffolding and technical infrastructure an organization needs to transition from ad hoc operational triage.

• Co-create and implement practical operational strategies to ensure growth, scalability, and a strong human-centered infrastructure.
• Analyze role structures, workflows, systems and policies and implement enhancements
• Facilitate the design and co-creation of the client's long-term vision, strategic roadmap, and Theory of Change.
• Draft and operationalize tangible internal assets, such as policies, manuals, and core organizational processes and project workflows.
• Equip teams with structures and tools to tell their stories to audiences backed by compelling, data-driven evidence.

Sample Projects

Fractional Chief Operating Officer/Head of Operations

A social impact organization faced an immediate and critical operational gap due to a sudden reduction in the capacity of its Operations Team. This capacity constraint created urgent needs across core functions, including stabilizing financial management, improving cash flow systems, managing critical grants during a sensitive period, and developing a clear, long-term roadmap for operational function and team structure, including conducting a thorough capacity landscape analysis.

Fractional Chief of Staff

A rapidly growing nonprofit organization moved from serving 20 to 150 beneficiaries in one year. The change necessitated a Fractional Chief of Staff (FCoS) placement to act as a strategic coordinator, advisor, and implementer, focusing on maximizing the Executive Director's efficiency and ensuring the organization's operating rhythm ran smoothly. The FCoS strategically coordinated cross-functional projects and strategic initiatives, managed board preparation, leadership meetings, and follow-through on items to establish a clear operational cadence, and facilitated decision-making and bridged communication gaps between the Development, Programs, and Finance departments.

Operations Project Management

A nonprofit-like center affiliated with an educational institution required a hands-on manager and coordinator to bridge the gap between high-level planning and daily improvements. To improve the organization's immediate setup, the consultant focused equally on team support and internal tools and resource organization, stabilizing day-to-day operations by documenting staff backup plans, defining clear job roles, and assisting with hiring. At the same time, the consultant streamlined digital filing systems and standardized step-by-step manuals so the team can easily find and apply needed information.

About You

We value diverse experiences and perspectives, and we’re eager to learn how your background can contribute to the Aropa Commons. Individuals with all backgrounds are encouraged to apply.

Ideal Experience

• Minimum 10+ years in the direction and leadership of nonprofit organizations, social impact initiatives and philanthropic grantmaking, with seasoned leadership and immediately delivery
• High-level cross-functional expertise across operations, strategy, finance, fundraising, organizational development and philanthropy
• A facilitative-leadership touch, who can engage easily, learn quickly, is highly adaptable, and can shift seamlessly between high-level strategic planning and detailed execution
• A collaborative working style to engage and align teams, support change management efforts, and build capacity
• A values-driven professional who can navigate complexity, and co-create practical, holistic, and human-centered solutions
• A systems-oriented thinker who can translate challenges/opportunities into actionable strategies

Other Qualifications

• Diverse experience in grantmaking, board partnership, and financial oversight, with a background in philanthropy and operational support of philanthropy
• Demonstrated emotional intelligence, sound judgment, and a commitment to equity
• Expert active listening, communication and facilitation skills, with proven ability to lead high-stakes collaborative, strategic conversations
• Comfort with learning new technology. Here is a list of the current tools we use:
• • Collaboration: Slack, Canva
  • Project management: Productive, Google Workspace
  • Videos & meetings: Zoom, Google Meet, Loom

About the Application Process

For this call in Aropa Commons, we are searching for individuals who are seeking casual, part-time employment.

Please submit your resume and a short written statement (no more than one page total) that includes:

• A brief overview of your interest in Aropa
• Provide clarity on which of the named areas you consider yourself an expert in
• Details of 2 - 3 projects that highlight your technical and project management skills. You do not need to include client names.

Please also provide a previous work product that you have submitted to a client or employer that demonstrates your nonprofit operations, executive leadership, strategy and/or philanthropy experience. This could be a project plan, strategic plan, or project deliverable.

EEO Statement

Aropa Consulting is an Equal Opportunity Employer and values a diverse and inclusive workforce. In all matters affecting employees and applicants for employment, Aropa is committed to going beyond the principles of Equal Employment Opportunity and prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, criminal history, or veteran status. We believe that ALL people have a place and there is no tolerance for hatred or disregard of anyone on the basis of identity. Please only apply for this position if you are enthusiastic about working and learning from people of all ethnic-religious identities. We believe a diverse workforce enables us to be successful and we encourage all to apply.