Associate, Office & Operations

Americans for Responsible Innovation (ARI) is a 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization advocating for artificial intelligence policy in the public interest. We believe in establishing a thoughtful governance framework for rapidly advancing AI technology that protects the public from harm while continuing to foster innovation. ARI takes a bipartisan approach, building coalitions across the political spectrum.

ARI has an affiliated organization, the Center for Responsible Innovation (CRI), a 501(c)(3), focused on promoting responsible innovation through conducting AI policy research and providing nonpartisan educational programming.

The Operations Department owns the infrastructure that ARI is built on: finance, risk & compliance, IT, people operations, administration, workplace, and strategic planning.

Over the past two years, the department has grown ARI from a handful of staff to 35+ today (with more growth to come) while building the systems from scratch to keep pace. The Operations Department works in a high-trust environment, with broad responsibilities and room to grow into more self-directed work designing forward-looking systems meant to scale in a rapidly growing organization.

The Operations Department is hiring two associates to start this fall. This posting is for the Associate, Office & Operations. The companion role, Associate, People & Operations posting, focused on the employee lifecycle and compliance, is available here.

Reporting to the Operations Manager, the Associate, Office & Operations leads office management across ARI’s two-floor office and supports IT and finance work, as well as additional ad hoc projects as assigned. As our organization grows, this role will likely evolve. The ideal candidate will have the opportunity to take on additional responsibilities, potentially specializing in specific areas of operations or taking on a more strategic role in the future.

Key responsibilities include but are not limited to:

• Manage day-to-day office operations, including inventory and ordering of office supplies and snacks, upkeep of meeting spaces and conference room technology.
• Ensure the team has the tools and resources needed to work effectively by identifying solutions to proactively address potential issues and improve workplace experience.
• Own routine office and operational communications to staff, including coordinating IT support, communicating office updates, and sending reminders about recurring deadlines and workplace needs.
• Support a welcoming experience for visitors and guests, including serving as a point of contact during in-office events.
• Oversee mail and package management.
• Manage day-to-day relationships with office-related vendors (building management, supply vendors, printer vendor) and ad hoc vendors (electricians, plumbers, etc.).
• Coordinate the procurement of technology and office equipment.
• Handle physical workspace setup for new hires, including desk setup, fob management, and issuing their laptops and other equipment.

• Serve as the first point of contact for day-to-day IT and technology needs, including troubleshooting laptops, Zoom, conference room AV, and other common technical issues; coordinate with ARI’s IT vendor for escalations and in-office support as needed.
• Execute the IT steps of onboarding and offboarding laptops, including device setup as well as device recovery and wipe at exit.
• Support accounts payable processing, including invoice intake, routing for approval, and payment preparation, and collect W-9s and other vendor onboarding documents.
• Reconcile corporate credit card transactions as part of monthly close, ensuring staff submitted appropriate documentation and…