Application Guide

How to Apply for Senior Operations Analyst, Legal, Risk & Compliance

at Tides

🏢 About Tides

Tides is a nonprofit and philanthropic organization uniquely focused on advancing social justice by shifting power to communities of color and other historically marginalized groups. Unlike traditional foundations, Tides works across the social sector to provide infrastructure and support for movements, making it an ideal place for those who want their work to drive systemic change.

About This Role

As a Senior Operations Analyst on the Legal, Risk & Compliance team, you will own the intake, prioritization, and service delivery framework for complex legal and compliance matters, directly impacting how Tides supports its mission. Your work will involve researching nonprofit regulatory requirements, defining contract review criteria, and advising on compliance strategies, ensuring the organization operates effectively while minimizing risk.

💡 A Day in the Life

A typical day might start by reviewing the LRC intake queue, triaging new requests from various departments, and assigning priority based on regulatory deadlines. You could then research a new state law affecting grantmaking, draft a compliance memo, and later meet with the contracts team to refine intake criteria for high-volume agreements. The afternoon might involve updating Salesforce dashboards to track key metrics and preparing a report for the general counsel on risk trends.

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🎯 Who Tides Is Looking For

  • Has 5+ years of paralegal or legal compliance experience in a nonprofit or corporate law environment, with a paralegal certificate preferred.
  • Demonstrates exceptional organizational skills and attention to detail, able to multitask and reprioritize in a fast-paced setting.
  • Has experience drafting legal memoranda or similar documents summarizing laws, regulations, or policies.
  • Is familiar with Salesforce and comfortable using data to drive operational improvements.

📝 Tips for Applying to Tides

1

Tailor your resume to highlight specific experience with nonprofit regulatory compliance, especially areas like tax-exempt status, lobbying limits, or grant compliance.

2

Quantify your achievements in previous roles, such as the number of contracts reviewed or the efficiency improvements you implemented.

3

In your cover letter, explicitly connect your past work to Tides' mission of social justice and shifting power to marginalized communities.

4

If you have a paralegal certificate, highlight it prominently; if not, emphasize relevant coursework or certifications.

5

Research Tides' recent initiatives or partnerships (e.g., their work with the Black-led Movement Fund) and mention how your skills could support those efforts.

✉️ What to Emphasize in Your Cover Letter

['Your experience with legal intake systems and developing prioritization frameworks for high-volume matters.', 'Your ability to research and synthesize complex regulatory requirements into actionable recommendations.', "Your familiarity with Salesforce or similar CRM tools and how you've used data to improve compliance operations.", "Your passion for social justice and how your legal/operations background can advance Tides' mission."]

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🔍 Research Before Applying

To stand out, make sure you've researched:

  • → Understand Tides' structure: it operates as a nonprofit accelerator, fiscal sponsor, and philanthropic partner—learn how these functions interact.
  • → Review Tides' recent impact reports or blog posts, especially those highlighting legal or compliance challenges they've addressed.
  • → Familiarize yourself with key regulations affecting nonprofits, such as IRS 501(c)(3) rules, lobbying limits, and state charitable solicitation laws.
  • → Look into Tides' commitment to racial equity and how they embed that into internal operations, not just grantmaking.
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💬 Prepare for These Interview Topics

Based on this role, you may be asked about:

1 Describe a time you improved a legal intake or prioritization process. What metrics did you use to measure success?
2 How would you assess the risk of a new contract or regulatory change for a nonprofit? Walk us through your approach.
3 How do you stay current on nonprofit regulatory changes (e.g., IRS rules, state lobbying laws)?
4 Tell us about a time you had to reprioritize multiple urgent legal matters. How did you decide what to do first?
5 How would you use Salesforce to track compliance tasks and generate reports for the LRC team?
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⚠️ Common Mistakes to Avoid

  • Submitting a generic cover letter that doesn't mention Tides' mission or specific work—this role is mission-driven.
  • Overlooking the remote aspect: failing to demonstrate experience working independently and managing your own schedule.
  • Ignoring the Salesforce requirement: if you lack direct experience, don't claim it; instead, show transferable skills with other CRM systems.

📅 Application Timeline

This position is open until filled. However, we recommend applying as soon as possible as roles at mission-driven organizations tend to fill quickly.

Typical hiring timeline:

1

Application Review

1-2 weeks

2

Initial Screening

Phone call or written assessment

3

Interviews

1-2 rounds, usually virtual

✓

Offer

Congratulations!

Ready to Apply?

Good luck with your application to Tides!

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