WHAT IS OUR COMPANY CULTURE?

Happy Raptor Distilling’s mission is to create premium rum inspired by our culture, our community, and the things that bring us joy. This is not a typical hospitality job. As a multifaceted distillery, we operate as a production and manufacturing facility, an events venue, a tour attraction, a community hub, a tasting room, a corporate office, and a brand. We are a startup in rapid growth with high standards and a minimal budget. We work hard (sometimes really hard in the summer heat), and things can change quickly. Most importantly, we’re growing fast by supporting and relying on one another, prioritizing our personal and mental health, and constantly checking in to ensure we each have the tools to meet expectations. We value equity, trust, collaboration, creativity, and open communication. We hire for these qualities first, and experience second.

WHAT SHOULD YOU KNOW ABOUT THIS POSITION? 

This position is a much-needed and highly valued addition to Happy Raptor! The operations assistant will work directly with the Director of Operations and Happy Raptor leadership to facilitate the essential, day-to-day operations of the company. They will serve as an essential liaison between all departments, including leadership, operations, tasting room, events and partnerships, marketing, and production. 

WHAT ARE THE QUALITIES WE NEED IN AN OPERATIONS ASSISTANT?

• Understanding of and dedication to the company’s mission and vision.
• A consistent tendency to over-communicate with leadership and colleagues when it comes to balancing priorities and deadlines.
• Excellent time management and organizational skills, understanding the careful balance between planning in advance and the urgent execution of last-minute needs or changes.
• The patience, flexibility, and positivity necessary to keep up with countless minutiae in an ever-changing, busy, startup environment.
• A strong sense of professionalism and punctuality when responding to internal and external inquiries and deadlines.
• An authentic love for New Orleans and our community.
• Whole-hearted dedication to the team, while still respecting your own boundaries and those of your colleagues.
• Self-sufficiency, curiosity, and a “let me look it up” attitude.
• A deep appreciation for a well-functioning spreadsheet.

WHAT ARE THE JOB RESPONSIBILITIES?

Leadership Assistance

• Manage daily calendars for senior leadership.
• Return partner and client calls to schedule meetings or follow-up on behalf of senior leadership.
• Book professional travel and itineraries for leadership (and other team members, when necessary)
• Complete some limited personal errands for the CEO and CBO, but only when agreed upon in advance (ex: scheduling appointments, making returns, mailing packages)

 General Operations & Technical Assistance

• Manage, organize, and maintain files in Google Drive, including how-to documents, checklists, recipe spreadsheets, and trackers.
• Monitor and respond to general email accounts
• Create, schedule, and send reminders for team-wide meetings.
• Manage agenda, notes, and action items follow up at team meetings from start to finish, including the preparation of agendas, the taking, sharing, and archiving of notes, and inputting individual team action items into relevant digital platforms. 
• Assist in the planning and implementation of internal events (ex: staff retreat, team dinners).
• Run errands related to administrative needs.
• Oversee ordering and inventory of administrative supplies, including some merch, marketing and event items (when necessary).
• Greet guests and clients and ensure they’re welcome and comfortable until they can be assisted by management or a member of the tasting room team.
• Manage Happy Raptor’s administrative platforms, including Asana, Slack, Google Drive, LastPass, and Google Workspace.
• Facilitate the onboarding and offboarding of team members, in coordination with the Director of Operations. 
• Oversee organization and cleanliness of the general team areas, including the hallway shelves and storage areas, with the assistance of the tasting room manager.

Events & Marketing Assistance

• Provide coverage for the Marketing Manager during their time-off, including sending out a pre-completed newsletter and posting pre-planned content on social media.
• Hire, schedule, and facilitate setup for pop-up food and arts vendors, under the guidance of the Events & Partnerships Manager
• Assist in the implementation of partnered events, including the ordering of supplies, printing and laminating menu graphics, and creating simple signage (as needed)
• Ongoing updating and maintenance of the happyraptor.com events calendar
• Design and update tasting room chalkboards, as needed
• Assist in the upkeep and maintenance of events and partnership trackers, in coordination with the Events & Partnerships Manager
• Order holiday decorations and oversee decoration setup and strike
• Provide assistance in general event setup and cleanup, when necessary
• Create drafts and archive event contracts, when necessary, and in coordination with the Events & Partnerships Manager

WHO SHOULD APPLY?:

Happy Raptor is an equal opportunity employer, and we strongly encourage candidates of all backgrounds to apply. Historically, distilling can be an exclusionary industry - Happy Raptor is not about that. We love to teach and we love learners. The ideal team member for this position should be able to communicate in English (reading, writing and speaking) and knowledge of other languages is an advantage.