The posting
About the Opportunity
Over the next two years, Emancipet will add at least three new clinics across multiple U.S. metropolitan markets, adding roughly 50 staff and serving more than 50,000 additional animals each year. For the past two years, the organization has prepared for this growth by raising significant strategic funds and strengthening its foundation. This role is the pivot point between preparing to grow and the first stages of growth.
Position Summary
The Director of Administration owns the administrative backbone of Emancipet. Reporting directly to the CEO, this role takes responsibility for the shared administrative functions that support a 200-person, multi-site organization: governance and board support, executive support, non-clinical operating procedures, organization-wide compliance reporting, internal meeting cadence, and the shared-services work (such as mail and intake) that today is spread across Finance, Development, and People & Culture.
This is a working leadership role, not a C-suite position. The Director builds and runs the processes personally, trains the front-line staff who execute them, and coordinates the administrative staff across departments through a defined dotted-line relationship. Success in this role means the administrative functions run reliably without executive attention, information moves across departments instead of staying inside them, and the organization is ready to add clinics without adding friction.
Scope and Structure
- Reporting line. Reports to the CEO. Not a member of the executive team; attends executive team meetings as requested.
- Dotted-line leadership. Each organizational team (Executive, Operations, Medical, People & Culture, Finance/IT/Data, Development/Communications) has responsibility for administrative functions. Those staff members who provide those functions remain managed by their department head, who retains responsibility for hiring, performance reviews, pay, and corrective action. The Director of Administration sets administrative standards and cross-department processes, provides training, assigns shared-services work within agreed limits, and provides written input into each administrative staff member's performance review.
- Shared-services staff. Hourly and front-line staff in Development / Marketing, Finance, Development, and People & Culture who perform shared administrative functions have a shared responsibility to this role for those functions. The Director designs the process and trains the staff; the department head remains the manager of record.
- Escalation. Where a department head and the Director of Administration disagree on priorities for a shared staff member, the department head's operational needs take precedence, or the matter is otherwise resolved between them, or organizational leadership.
Key Responsibilities
Administrative Leadership and Shared Services
- Take ownership of administrative functions that currently have no clear home, document the process, and train front-line staff across departments to execute it consistently.
- Establish administrative standards for onsite and hybrid work, including workflows, document handling, and shared office systems.
- Build and lead the administrative staff network across departments: regular check-ins, shared training, and a common set of tools and expectations.
- Lead the administrative planning and execution of the headquarters office move.
Governance and Executive Support
- Manage board and committee logistics: meeting calendar, materials, minutes, policy records, and follow-up on action items.
- Maintain the organization's governance records, including bylaws, policies, board resolutions, and required filings, in coordination with Finance and outside counsel.
- Provide executive support to the CEO, including calendar management, meeting preparation, and coordination with the executive team.
Process, Procedures, and Internal Communication
- Work with department leaders to develop, document, and maintain non-clinical standard operating procedures, and keep a central, current library of them.
- Coordinate the organization-wide staff meeting and the shared-services staff meeting: agenda, logistics, materials, and follow-through.
- Improve how information moves between departments; identify silos and propose practical fixes.
Compliance Reporting
- Build and maintain an organization-wide compliance calendar and quarterly compliance report that consolidates the requirements each department owns (employment, licensing, facilities, governance, grants, insurance, and similar) and tracks status.
- Coordinate with People & Culture, Finance, and outside advisors on compliance items; the Director reports and coordinates but does not replace the department that owns each requirement.
Systems and Budget
- Become proficient in the organization's core administrative platforms (HRIS, accounting, reporting, Microsoft 365) and identify opportunities to simplify administrative workflows.
- Develop and monitor the administrative operating budget in partnership with Finance; identify savings and resource needs.
Growth Readiness
- Translate organizational goals into administrative plans for new clinic openings: what administrative support each new site needs, who provides it, and when.
- Scale administrative processes so they hold up as clinics and staff are added.
What Success Looks Like
First 90 days
- Shared-services mail and intake process documented, staffed, and running with trained front-line staff.
- Dotted-line relationship established with each department's administrative staff, including a regular meeting cadence.
- Governance calendar and board materials process transitioned and running on schedule.
- Administrative plan for the office move in place.
First year
- Organization-wide compliance calendar built and the first quarterly compliance report delivered.
- Non-clinical SOP library established with the highest-priority procedures documented.
- Organization-wide and shared-services staff meetings running on a consistent cadence with clear follow-through.
- Administrative support model defined for the first new clinic opening.
Qualifications
Required
- Six or more years of progressive experience in administration, operations, or business management, including at least two years leading an administrative function or team.
- Bachelor's degree in business administration, management, public administration, or a related field, or equivalent experience.
- Experience supporting a board of directors or similar governing body, including meeting logistics, minutes, and policy records.
- Demonstrated experience documenting processes and building standard operating procedures that other people use.
- Working knowledge of core business systems such as an HRIS, accounting software, and reporting tools, and comfort learning new platforms quickly.
- Strong project management skills: able to run several workstreams at once and bring them to completion.
- Exceptional communication and emotional intelligence, with the ability to work equally well with front-line staff, department leaders, and the board.
- High degree of discretion and sound judgment with confidential information.
Preferred
- Experience in a nonprofit, healthcare, veterinary, or multi-site organization.
- Experience leading staff through a dotted-line or matrixed structure.
- Experience with an office relocation or similar facilities project.
- Experience building an administrative function during a period of organizational growth.
Working Conditions
- Hybrid schedule with regular onsite presence at Austin headquarters; onsite presence will be greater during the office move and board meeting cycles.
- Occasional travel to clinic locations, including new markets as they open.
- Standard office environment; must be able to work at a computer for extended periods and occasionally lift up to 25 pounds (mail, materials, office move).
Compensation & Benefits
The Director of Administration position is full-time, with a salary range of $90,000–125,000, depending on experience.
Emancipet offers a comprehensive benefits package, including:
- Generous Paid Time Off – 9 paid holidays and 120 hours of PTO, increasing with tenure, with the ability to roll over 40 hours each year.
- 401(k) Plan – Emancipet match of 50% of your contribution, up to 5% of your annual pay.
- Health Insurance – 100% Emancipet-paid coverage for employees and their children, with zero co-pays, zero out-of-pocket expenses, and most common prescriptions at $0.
- Dental & Vision Insurance – 100% Emancipet-paid coverage for employees and their children.
- Telehealth – 100% Emancipet-paid telehealth for your entire household, partner/spouse, and all children under 26, regardless of insurance status. This provides $0 visits for urgent care, mental and behavioral health care, pharmacy, and health advocacy services.
- Life AD&D Insurance – 100% Emancipet-paid employee coverage, including estate planning service, travel assistance, and identity theft protection.
- Voluntary Benefits – Additional coverage options, including accident, cancer, supplemental life, short- and long-term disability, and more.
- Support for Your Pets – $324 per year in free services or products through Emancipet.
Equal Opportunity
Emancipet is an equal opportunity employer. We make employment decisions without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.
