How to apply for Project Director, California Reparations Education Initiative (Tides Center FSP)

About Tides

Tides Center provides fiscal sponsorship to social change initiatives. It offers infrastructure and operational support so leaders can focus on their mission. This role is a fiscal sponsorship project, meaning you would be employed by Tides Center but work solely on the California Reparations Education Initiative.

About the role

The Project Director runs the operations for a statewide reparations education and communications initiative. You are the first hire, so you build the operational foundation, manage advisory board and working group coordination, and serve as the main contact for Tides Center's fiscal sponsorship team. The work supports public support for comprehensive reparations funding and programming in California.

A typical day

A typical day might include a check-in with the advisory board chair, a working group meeting on communications strategy, and updating Tides Center on a compliance or budget matter. You could also spend time drafting an operations plan, answering emails from coalition partners, and tracking progress on education campaign deliverables. Since you are the first hire, much of your day is about building processes and keeping the initiative organized.

Who Tides is looking for

• Has experience launching or running a new project or initiative, including setting up systems, compliance, and administration from scratch.
• Can coordinate high-level strategy with advisory boards and community working groups while also handling day-to-day tasks like scheduling, reporting, and budget tracking.
• Understands reparations, racial justice, or California policy work, ideally from direct involvement in coalitions or advocacy campaigns.
• Is comfortable being the only staff member at the start and can work independently in a remote setting.

Tips for this application

• In your cover letter, name the California Reparations Task Force and explain how this initiative builds on its work. Show you know the history.
• Give one concrete example of a time you built operational systems (e.g., compliance, reporting, or admin processes) for a new project or coalition.
• Explain how you have worked with advisory boards or community-led working groups. Be specific about your role in coordinating them, not just participating.
• Since this is a fiscal sponsorship project at Tides Center, mention any experience you have working with a fiscal sponsor or within a larger nonprofit infrastructure. If you lack that, say you are ready to learn Tides Center's processes.
• Address the remote nature of the role. Describe how you manage communication and accountability across dispersed teams.

What to cover in your cover letter

['Your ability to build operational foundations for a new initiative, including compliance, administration, and team coordination.', 'Your familiarity with reparations, California policy, or racial justice coalitions, and why this initiative matters to you.', 'Your experience serving as a primary liaison between a project and a fiscal sponsor or parent organization.', 'Your comfort with wearing multiple hats and doing both high-level strategy and hands-on execution.']

Research before applying

• Read the final report and recommendations of the California Reparations Task Force. Know the key proposals and the timeline.
• Study Tides Center's fiscal sponsorship model. Understand what services they provide and what your role as the project contact entails.
• Look up existing California reparations coalitions, advocacy groups, and community organizations that might be involved in this initiative.
• Search for any public communications or campaigns about California reparations funding to see what arguments and messages are already in use.

Likely interview topics

Based on the job description, expect questions about:

• How would you set up the operational foundation for this initiative in the first 90 days?
• Describe a time you coordinated an advisory board and working groups with different priorities. How did you keep them aligned?
• What do you know about the California Reparations Task Force and its recommendations? How would you translate that into an education and communications campaign?
• How would you handle compliance and reporting requirements as the primary contact for Tides Center's fiscal sponsorship team?
• This is a remote, first-hire role. How do you stay organized and accountable without a daily in-person team?

Common mistakes to avoid

• Writing a generic cover letter that could apply to any nonprofit director role. This position requires specific knowledge of California reparations work.
• Focusing only on high-level strategy without showing you can do administrative and compliance tasks. The job description says you will wear multiple hats.
• Ignoring the fiscal sponsorship context. Not mentioning Tides Center or how you would work with a fiscal sponsor suggests you did not read the details.