Operations & People Manager

About Triangle and BADIL

Triangle Global is a development consulting and advisory firm working across the Global South, with a particular focus on West Asia. It delivers research, evaluation, policy advice, programme design, and strategic communications for international organisations, governments, and civil-society partners. BADIL, The Alternative Policy Institute, is Triangle’s public-facing think tank and investigative journalism platform. Since 2022, BADIL has combined rigorous policy research, data-driven reporting, and compelling multimedia storytelling to advance progressive debate on governance, socio-economic reform, conflict, and justice. Triangle and BADIL operate as one integrated organisation, sharing leadership, staff, operational systems, and multidisciplinary expertise. As both arms continue to grow, we are strengthening the internal structures that support our people and sustain high-quality delivery. We seek a Operations & People Manager who can provide dependable operational leadership across the organisation, strengthen HR and financial systems, and serve as a trusted anchor for both management and the wider team.

Role purpose

The Operations & People Manager is the senior operational anchor for Triangle and its hybrid media and policy arm BADIL. The role ensures that the organisation is well run, that managers and staff have dependable systems around them, and that important issues do not fall between teams. It combines hands-on operational leadership, people and HR management, financial oversight, and delivery of the organisation's staff wellbeing and resilience programme. This is not a purely administrative or advisory post. The successful candidate will have the authority and judgement to establish routines, assign ownership, follow up on commitments, surface risks early, and bring issues to resolution. They will be a trusted point of contact for staff and a reliable partner to management, able to hold the organisation together during both normal operations and periods of pressure. The role also require someone who is confident with technology and how it supports organisational efficiency and outcomes during the age of AI. The Operations & People Manager directly supervises the Office Manager, a long-standing team member with deep institutional knowledge, and should use their experience as a core organisational asset.

Core Mandate 

Create the operational discipline, people systems and continuity arrangements that allow the organisation and its staff to perform sustainably in a volatile environment.

The Person We Are Looking For 

A mature operator who can be the organisational rock for management: close to the team, confident with numbers, disciplined about systems, and trusted to handle the issues that keep a company functioning well.

Key responsibilities

1. Organisational operations and management support

• Act as management's go-to person for day-to-day operations, ensuring that decisions are translated into clear actions, owners and deadlines.
• Establish a predictable operating rhythm across the company, including management touchpoints, team coordination, action tracking and timely escalation of problems.
• Maintain a clear overview of cross-team priorities, workload pressures, deadlines, leave and operational dependencies; intervene early where delivery or staff wellbeing is at risk.
• Develop, document and improve practical policies, procedures and controls without creating unnecessary bureaucracy.
• Oversee office administration, procurement, vendors, insurance, records, assets, facilities and other core operational requirements, delegating effectively to the Office Manager.
• Prepare concise operational briefs and recommendations for management, with clear options, risks and decisions required.
• Lead business continuity planning and coordinate the organisation's response during disruption, staff absence, security incidents or sudden workload spikes.
  
  

2. People, HR and team cohesion

• Serve as the first trusted point of contact for routine HR and people matters, handling sensitive information with discretion and escalating serious issues appropriately.
• Own BambooHR administration, rollout, and data quality, including staff records, leave, absences, contracts, key documents, onboarding tasks, performance records and reporting.
• Design and run a consistent onboarding and offboarding process so that every new staff member receives the information, access, induction and early support needed to succeed.
• Establish and enforce an organisation-wide calendar of regular manager check-ins, probation reviews and formal performance reviews; support managers to prepare for and conduct them well.
• Coordinate recruitment processes, role descriptions, interview logistics, reference checks, offers and employment documentation in collaboration with management.
• Monitor workload, leave patterns, staff concerns, morale and emerging retention risks, while maintaining appropriate confidentiality and boundaries.
• Plan and coordinate staff retreats, reflection sessions, team-building activities and other moments that strengthen cohesion and organisational culture.
• Help managers address performance, communication and interpersonal issues fairly, promptly and consistently, in line with company policy and applicable labour requirements.
• Bulid out an existing modest roster to provide a responsive tool for staff and consultant recruitment as well as surge mechanism to cover critical absences, respond to workload spikes.
  
  

3. Staff wellbeing and organisational resilience

• Coordinate a credible staff wellbeing offer, including access to appropriate support, reflection and recovery spaces, as well as practical staff-care measures.
• Strengthen systems for workload monitoring, leave and absence management, staff follow-up, onboarding, continuity planning and internal communication.
• Select and manage external HR, wellbeing, facilitation or specialist providers where required, including scopes of work, procurement, contracting, safeguarding of information and quality control.
• Track progress against agreed milestones and prepare proportionate internal and donor reporting, capturing practical learning and adaptations without creating a parallel MEL bureaucracy.
• Embed useful systems, habits and processes into normal organisational practice so that the programme leaves a durable legacy beyond the funding period.
  
  

4. Financial oversight and accounting administration

• Maintain a reliable operational view of budgets, commitments, expenditure, invoices, payroll inputs and grant balances, working closely with the finance function and external accountant as applicable.
• Review supporting documentation, expense claims and payment requests for completeness, coding, authorisation and consistency with budgets and internal controls.
• Monitor grant budgets, flag variances early, maintain an accurate audit trail and support timely financial reporting.
• Read and interpret management accounts, cash-flow information and budget-versus-actual reports; investigate discrepancies and translate financial information into clear operational implications for management.
• Strengthen basic financial and administrative controls, including segregation of duties, approval flows, document retention and procurement records.
• Coordinate with accountants, auditors, banks, and funders as required, while ensuring that statutory or specialist accounting remains with appropriately qualified professionals.

5. Digital Systems, Project Management and AI Integration

• Lead the organisation-wide rollout of project-management tools through Microsoft Teams, establishing consistent systems for workplans, task allocation, deadlines, document management and progress tracking.
• Integrate relevant Microsoft 365 tools where relevant including Planner, Lists, SharePoint and Power Automate, to strengthen coordination, accountability and management oversight.
• Review existing IT systems and workflows, identify inefficiencies or duplication, and implement practical improvements across Triangle and BADIL.
• Lead the responsible integration of AI into operational, administrative and project-management workflows to reduce repetitive work and improve productivity.
• Develop clear guidance and provide practical staff training on approved digital and AI tools, including data protection, confidentiality, accuracy and human oversight.
• Monitor staff adoption and system effectiveness, addressing implementation barriers and ensuring that new tools simplify rather than complicate everyday work.

6. Line management of the Office Manager

• Set clear objectives, priorities and service standards for the Office Manager and review progress through regular one-to-ones.
• Delegate day-to-day administrative work appropriately while retaining accountability for quality, timeliness and follow-through.
• Draw on the Office Manager's institutional knowledge when improving systems, and ensure changes are practical and grounded in how the company operates.
• Support the Office Manager's development, recognise their contribution and build an effective, respectful working partnership.
• Create enough role clarity to avoid duplication, gaps or the unnecessary upward escalation of routine matters.

Candidate profile

Essential experience and capabilities

• At least 7 years of progressively responsible experience across operations, HR/people management, administration, programme management or a closely related field, including meaningful responsibility for supervising others.
• Demonstrated success as a senior operational problem-solver in a small or medium-sized organisation where the role required both strategic judgement and hands-on delivery.
• Strong working knowledge of the employee lifecycle, including recruitment, onboarding, performance management, leave, employee relations, HR records and offboarding.
• Financial literacy and practical accounting administration skills. The candidate must be comfortable with budgets, management accounts, payroll inputs, invoices, reconciliations, expense controls and grant expenditure, even if they are not a qualified accountant.
• Experience using an HR information system; direct experience with BambooHR or simiar HR software is strongly preferred.
• Ability to build simple systems, make them usable, secure management and staff adoption, and follow through until they are consistently applied.
• Strong project-management skills, including work-planning, procurement, vendor management, budget monitoring, risk management and concise reporting.
• Sound judgement in handling confidential, sensitive and emotionally difficult people matters, with clear professional boundaries.
• Excellent written and spoken English. Professional Arabic is strongly preferred.
• Relevant university degree or professional training in business administration, HR, finance, accounting, organisational development or a related discipline; substantial equivalent experience will be considered.

Desirable experience

• Experience in Lebanon or another volatile, conflict-affected or high-pressure operating context.
• Experience in a mission-driven consultancy, think tank, media organisation, NGO or other multi-disciplinary professional environment.
• Knowledge of Lebanese labour and employment requirements, or the ability to work confidently with specialist advice.
• Experience implementing staff wellbeing, duty-of-care, psychosocial support, organisational development or business-continuity initiatives.
• Experience with donor-funded organisational support, including budget tracking and narrative or financial reporting.

Personal qualities

• Steady under pressure: calm, dependable and able to create order without adding drama.
• Trusted and discreet: approachable to staff while maintaining confidentiality and management confidence.
• Firm but fair: willing to hold people accountable, have difficult conversations and protect agreed standards.
• Highly organised: able to manage details without losing sight of organisational priorities and risk.
• Low ego and collaborative: respects the knowledge of long-serving colleagues and strengthens others rather than centralising everything personally.
• Practical and resourceful: looks for workable solutions, closes loops and follows through.
• Emotionally intelligent: understands team dynamics and staff strain without confusing empathy with avoidance of accountability.

Candidates will be asked to provide a cover letter and conduct a pre-interview assessment. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted. References may be requested.