The Director of Program Operations plays a pivotal role in ensuring the smooth functioning and growth of the organization. Reporting to the CEO, this trusted leadership position oversees core operational systems, human resources, and board management to support and advance the organization's mission.

Within the first year, the Director of Program Operations will:

• Maintain and refine the core systems, policies, processes, documentation, and tools.

• Lead the search, hiring, and onboarding of staff to deliver against our mission.

• Foster a culture of collaboration and belonging and set the tone for the kind of organization we want to be, and the way we want to work together.

Duties and Responsibilities

Operations and HR

• Lead the operations of the organization, and design, build, and maintain the systems, policies, processes, and people ops that enable us to deliver against our mission.

• Lead human resources and contract administration for employees, contractors, consultants, and vendors; maintain employee/contractor databases and HR compliant file systems.

• Coach and support staff in their goals and career development

• Support a cohesive team. Manage, plan, and facilitate senior leadership meetings and staff strategy off-sites, formulating the topics to cover, building and advising agendas, guiding the discussion, bringing together notes and action items, and following up as appropriate.

• Lead development and delivery of job descriptions, recruitment, interview process, and offer process for new hires.

• Direct new employee orientation & onboarding as well as offboarding, including the development/maintenance of an employee handbook.

• Address employee concerns and mediate conflicts to foster a positive and productive work environment.

• Research, recommend, and implement systems to enhance remote collaboration and communication.

• Lead annual performance review process for all staff.

• Maintain company contacts, accounts, and filing systems, working with CFO and the Audit committee to establish sensible, secure means for safeguarding records.

• Collaborate with Network Lead on various planning and logistics around external events.

Board management

• Serve as Board Liaison and Board Secretary to the Conscience Board of Directors, including its three committees: Audit & Finance, People & Culture, and Business & IP.

• Lead development of agendas for board meetings and committees in collaboration with CEO and Board Chair, and relevant committee chairs

• Work with CEO and other leadership colleagues to prepare documents and correspondence with the Board and committees.

• Produce minutes, key documents, and maintain Board member document archive, including maintaining access for members.

• Support board operations, including board meeting logistics, both virtual and in person, and confidential reporting and support for performance reviews and compensation evaluations

Qualifications & Skills

• Degree or certificate in business administration, human resources, or related field.

• 7+ years of experience in operations, HR, or program management roles, preferably within nonprofit, mission-driven, or similar smaller organizations.

• Expertise in maintaining HR compliance and operational efficiency.

• Exceptional organizational and project management skills, with attention to detail.

• Generally tech savvy: experience with Google Workspace, Slack, HR/recruiting software, Zoom, project management platforms, etc..

• Strong interpersonal and leadership skills, with the ability to foster collaboration and build a positive organizational culture.

• Experience or knowledge of board governance practices, including agenda planning, documentation, and committee coordination.

• Proficiency in managing remote teams and implementing tools for virtual collaboration.

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.

• Ability to handle confidential information with discretion and professionalism.

• Able to work effectively in a dynamic team environment

• Fluent in English; Proficiency in French (written and spoken) an advantage.

• Knowledge or interest in drug discovery or AI, a bonus

Job environment

The Conscience team works virtually in a remote environment built around Slack, Zoom, collaborative docs, and email, along with structured in-person time as needed (regular staff retreats, working meetings). We do not have a central office. We provide every employee with the essential work tools like a laptop and other peripherals. Remote work allows for some work hour flexibility, which is helpful when managing life commitments and family. Most roles include some travel as needed.

We offer a competitive salary with benefits (medical, dental, vision and an RRSP matching program through Sunlife) and a generous time off policy.

While we’re legally based in Canada, our approach to drug discovery and science is global. We believe that collaboration can happen in every corner of the world, from the most established leaders to also the most unlikely of partners. With that in mind, we invite candidates from a broad range of backgrounds and experiences, including those from historically marginalized or underestimated groups — women, indigenous people, people with disabilities, people of colour, formerly incarcerated people, people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and/or gender nonconforming, first and second generation immigrants, and people from low-income families. A diversity of lived experiences makes our work, and our network community, stronger.

Salary and benefits

The salary range for this position is $85,000 - $100,000 CAD, to be determined by the successful candidate’s relevant skills, training, and experience. In addition, we offer a competitive benefits package that includes enhanced medical, pharmacare, dental, and disability coverage, along with annual matched RRSP contributions. We provide a minimum of 4 weeks paid vacation annually, plus flexible work hours, as part of a hybrid work environment.

About Conscience

Conscience Medicines Network (Conscience) is a Canadian non-profit based in Toronto, launched with support from the Structural Genomics Consortium, and a $49M grant from the Canadian government. We narrow in on areas of market failure – places where traditional models have left people behind with few options, and not enough support, like rare diseases, antimicrobial resistance, and pandemic preparedness.

Conscience will focus on two things:

• A global approach to open science that will bring new medicines forward for communities that otherwise would be left behind; and,

• Advancing the infrastructure to make AI a viable tool for drug discovery, using a competitive model that will benchmark predictions in the lab and share data openly.

Together, we think those two things can make medicines more accessible and affordable.

We’re creating incentives to attract attention and investment in neglected areas that often go unnoticed due to market failures. The end result will be more and faster innovation in AI drug discovery, new medicines, and more equitable access to medicines for everyone, across Canada, and around the world.

This job posting will close on January 10th (or until a suitable candidates is found).