DescriptionABOUT CRADLES TO CRAYONS:
Cradles to Crayons (C2C), founded in 2002, provides children living in homeless or low-income situations, with the essential items they need to thrive—at home, at school, and at play. We supply clothing, shoes, diapers, school supplies, and more, free of charge. Our vision is that one day all children will have the essentials they need to thrive.
Two in 5 kids in the United States are currently facing Clothing Insecurity, going without basic essentials like pants, shoes, diapers, and school supplies during their critical development years. Three of the top 10 reasons kids miss school are rooted in Clothing Insecurity—just one example of the significant short- and long-term social and economic costs when these needs go unmet. Cradles to Crayons keeps Clothing Insecurity at the core of our mission and is the only large-scale nonprofit organization to focus on this resource gap. Since its founding, Cradles to Crayons has distributed more than six million customized packages of essentials to children in Massachusetts, Greater Philadelphia, Chicagoland, and nationally.
Cradles to Crayons takes a two-pronged approach to mitigating Clothing Insecurity:
1. In-person Engagement—through tens of thousands of children and adults volunteering at our Giving Factory warehouses to sort and package high volumes of new and like-new donations from our communities for our Service Partners to distribute to the children they serve.
2. Advocacy and Awareness—Cradles to Crayons is uniquely positioned to raise Clothing Insecurity as a national issue through awareness campaigns, data/evaluation, and legislative outreach.
Cradles to Crayons’ strong financial health and ongoing effectiveness and reliability have helped it earn a Four-Star Rating from Charity Navigator every year since 2009. C2C has a budget of $20M for FY26 and a total staff of approximately 100.
POSITION OVERVIEW:
The Operations Associate is responsible for managing C2C Chicago’s day-to-day inbound and outbound transportation schedule. This role coordinates logistics for staff driver(s) and/or external transportation vendors, both paid and pro-bono.
In partnership with the Senior Director of Operations, the Operations Associate also supports the upkeep and maintenance of C2C-owned and rented property, including vehicles, the Giving Factory, outdoor donation receptacles and other capital assets. This role requires strong organizational, technology and communication skills, as it involves balancing multiple priorities and working with a wide range of stakeholders.
All Cradles to Crayons team members contribute to a culture of shared mission by participating in one volunteer shift per month.
MAJOR RESPONSIBILITIES:
- Model and lead a positive “One Cradles” culture, underpinned by Cradles’ Cultural Values and related behaviors.
- Develop and finalize Standard Operating Procedures applicable to the team’s function that ensure functionality and standardization.
Logistics
- Coordinate the transportation of donated products to the Giving Factory and the distribution of goods to partnering organizations.
- Maintain an ongoing calendar for all inbound and outbound transportation needs.
- Prepare and finalize routing for C2C’s driver(s), properly preparing them for the day and weeks ahead.
- Collaborate with team members to ensure a successful logistics plan is in place for all C2C events held outside of the Giving Factory.
- Maintain relationships with our logistics vendors both paid and in-kind and ensure they are equipped with everything they need to be successful in their work with us.
- Create new efficiencies where needed as we grow our fleet and capacity for pick-ups and deliveries.
Property Maintenance
- Coordinate vendors for the maintenance of buildings, grounds, vehicles and warehouse equipment which includes maintaining a regular schedule of preventive maintenance as well as reacting swiftly to needs as they arise.
- Understand the resources required to maintain federal, state, and local requirements.
Other requirements
- Keep supervisor up to date on areas of responsibility and report problems or issues promptly.
- Attend and participate in all C2C meetings as required.
- Complete special projects and miscellaneous assignments as assigned.
Operations and Giving Factory production (as needed)
- Perform the duties needed to run volunteer stations
- Assist the Operations team with the fulfilment of Everyday and Emergency Essentials requests
- Perform other warehouse, inventory, receiving and distribution tasks as directed
- Receive gently used donations as outlined in the Material Handling Policy
- Unload pallets of incoming donations and purchases from delivery trucks
- Load vehicles designated for delivery.
- Assist the Senior Director of Operations with the movement, organization and tracking of inventory
- Other duties as assigned
PERFORMANCE MEASURES:
- Highest standard of customer service should be maintained.
- All work is performed timely with attention to detail.
- Good communication exists with other staff members, volunteers, in-kind donors and distribution partners.
- Work is done in a safe and responsible manner.
- Assistance and support is provided to others as needed.
- Management is properly informed of issues as they arise.
- Functions are completed in accordance with established C2C standards, policies, and procedures.
REQUIRED EXPERIENCE/KNOWLEDGE/SKILLS/ABILITIES:
- Passion for Cradles to Crayons’ mission.
- 1-2 years of experience in a logistics and/or warehouse environment.
- Proficiency using technology and computer applications (Salesforce, Outlook, Word, Excel) to organize data and/or manage schedules. Experience with Salesforce and Geopointe preferred.
- Strong organizational, communication and problem-solving skills with attention to detail.
- Ability to manage multiple priorities and work with a variety of stakeholders.
- Ability to work some evening and weekend hours.
- Valid driver’s license required; professional experience driving trucks or vans a plus.
- Physically able to walk up and down stairs, stand for long periods, and bending, reaching, pushing, pulling and lift up to 80 lbs.
- Fluency in spoken and written English
COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS:
The estimated starting salary for this position is $24.00 per hour.
Cradles to Crayons is committed to pay equity and uses geographic benchmarks to ensure fair compensation. The compensation offered to the successful candidate may vary from the posted range based on work experience, education, and/or skill level, among other things.
This is a benefits-eligible position. Cradles to Crayons offers a generous benefits package, which includes, but is not limited to:
- Health benefits including medical, dental, vision and a Health Reimbursement Arrangement
- A monthly cell phone and internet usage stipend
- Employer-sponsored short- and long-term disability and basic life insurance
- Retirement plan matching
- Annual professional development stipend
DIVERSITY IS OUR STRENGTH:
Diversity and Inclusiveness are core values at Cradles to Crayons, and we continuously strive to be a team where everyone feels welcome and supported. It is the policy of Cradles to Crayons to provide equal employment opportunities without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, marital status, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information and/or any other protected characteristic under applicable law. Individuals from underrepresented groups are especially encouraged to apply.
WORKING CONDITIONS:
This is a warehouse environment and normal changes in temperature are to be expected while working inside the warehouse or outside, on or around the loading dock. There are no hazardous or significantly unpleasant conditions.
ACCOMMODATION:
In accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, it is possible that requirements may be modified to reasonably accommodate disabled individuals. However, no accommodations will be made by Cradles to Crayons which may pose serious health or safety risks to the employee or others, or which impose undue hardships on the organization.
TO APPLY:
Please submit a resume with relevant experience to https://www.cradlestocrayons.org/what-we-do/careers/
