Careers

Native Governance Center is a Native-led nonprofit dedicated to assisting Native nations in strengthening their governance systems and capacity to exercise sovereignty. While originally founded to support the 23 Native nations sharing geography with MN, ND, and SD, we have strategically piloted growth beyond this region and hope to continue to expand offerings with thoughtfulness toward needs identified by communities.

We opened our doors in 2016, so we are relatively young. We are constantly growing, changing, and innovating. We like to say “let’s try it!” instead of living by the “we’ve always done it that way” motto, knowing we will learn from each experience.

Everything we do is driven by our values; from organizational development to program delivery to deciding on our annual group Halloween costume, our values help to guide us. We’re collaborative in our approach, listening to input from our team, our nations, and the research we were founded on, to inform our actions and decisions. We love GIFs and memes and try to find ways to use them as often as possible. We encourage respectful candor, authenticity, and balance on our team.

Since 2020, NGC has operated as a fully remote workplace, with our team members located across various Tribal Nations and states. This model has allowed us to build a dedicated and geographically diverse team. However, we also acknowledge the limitations of a purely virtual environment for the human connection and collaboration that comes with in-person interaction. As such, there will be positions within NGC that require a hybrid work model that will incorporate both remote work and in-person opportunities. This will likely involve some in-person events and potential travel. We encourage you to consider the benefits and drawbacks of this flexible work arrangement to ensure it suits your preferences. A reliable, high-speed internet connection remains a requirement for all NGC employees.

Finally, NGC is an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to providing a work environment in which all individuals are treated with respect and dignity and are free from all forms of harassment and discrimination.

If this sounds like your kind of place, we would love for you to reach out.

What You’ll Be Doing:

• Directly and proactively supporting the Executive Director in daily administration, including schedule and project management, correspondence, and acting as the liaison to the Board of Directors.
• Providing administrative support to senior leadership, including scheduling meetings and managing travel itineraries.
• Maintaining office operations, including taking calls, responding to emails, interfacing with stakeholders, supply management, and internal organization calendar
• Maintaining confidence and protecting operations by keeping information confidential.
• Providing logistics and support planning for all staff meetings and other internal events
• Collaborating with the leadership team on special initiatives, projects, and events, offering administrative and strategic support to advance the organization’s mission.
• Overseeing and executing Board and committee logistics and projects.
• Planning Board and committee meetings and events.
• Supporting team members who serve as Committee Liaisons.

What Skills You Need for Success:

• Fantastic time management: You’re all about staying on schedule, being mindful of the time it takes to do a task, and will proactively reach out after meetings with action items.
• Excellent communication: You’re able to communicate directly and clearly with diverse groups of stakeholders. You’re compelling in your delivery and feel confident engaging in one-on-one and group settings.
• Attention to detail: You notice typos, are consistent in your follow-through, and include all the attachments on an email. You are comprehensive in crafting your to-do list and adjust on the fly.
• Technology savvy: Using software is second nature to you. If you haven’t used specific programs and software, you will be able to pick it up with relative ease.
• Native nation rebuilding approach: You recognize that the standard approach of working may not always be a cultural match for staff or the organization. You apply the Native nation rebuilding principles and NGC’s values to your decisions.

• Salary: $50,000–55,0000
• Status: Full-time, non-exempt, salaried
• Wellness benefits: NGC pays 100% of the cost of our wellness benefits, including health, dental, vision, life insurance, and short- and long-term disability. Employees, spouses, and children are eligible.
• Paid time off: Year 1-3 of employment, staff may accrue up to 216 hours (5.4 weeks) of PTO, to be used for sick and vacation time. ● Paid holidays: 10 floating holidays (must be used in calendar year)
• Paid closures: Paid office closure from Christmas Eve–New Year’s Day; Half day Friday from Memorial Day–Labor Day.
• Workplace flexibility: We are a remote-first work environment, meaning you will be primarily working from office and non-office environments. Employees might be asked to come to the office occasionally. This position will be hybrid and will require some in-office meetings in St. Paul, MN. Staff are given a monthly stipend to offset any technology, home office, or shared workplace costs incurred.
• Professional development: We offer generous stipends for professional development as well as in-house growth and training opportunities.