Thanks for taking the time to write this, Joy! I like your clear and engaging writing style, and the length and structure of the post.
Things I’ve done in the past that fall under ops (and haven’t been mentioned before)
Working with all sorts of (external) people:
Volunteers and interns (writing job adverts, coming up with policies and performance reviews, coordination between people and projects)
Members: I worked in a small NGO with 300 members, so I’d be the person to send out updates, answer any questions and do all the admin stuff, plus organising events
Comms things
Newsletters and keeping the website up to date
CRM
small scale Data analysis
Things I’m now doing as an Executive Assistant:
Personal things such as booking doctors appointments, arranging travels and vaccines, phone contracts, sublets, passport renewals, expenses—anything that saves the person I’m supporting some time
Comms: I’m drafting emails in somebody elses voice which is interesting and exciting
Scheduling and getting familiar with all the time zones
Project management
Just a lot of detail oriented, watch team backup, to make sure things don’t drop and deadlines are in check
Some more random thoughts:
I feel like group organisers could make great ops people, because they often have to do a bit of everything. So if you’ve enjoyed being the person holding the group together and making things happen, it could be a good indicator that you’d like ops
Operations sometimes looks easy from the outside, and mostly people only notice you if/when things go wrong (because normally, you remove obstacles before they appear for others)
“If it would feel like a relief to have someone’s permission to go, you have mine.”
This resonates and feels important, thanks for including this, Julia! <3