Chief Operating Officer

Role Description 

The chief operating officer, a newly created position, will report to the executive director, serve as a member of the executive management team, and hold overall responsibility for COMPANY’s operational effectiveness, lead strategic and work planning processes, and directly supervise finance, administration, human resources, and information technology. 

Responsibilities 

Strategic Leadership 

• Manage strategic and annual work planning processes 
• As a member of executive management team, promote organizational effectiveness 
• Lead, mentor, supervise, and hold accountable a team of five finance, human resources (HR), and operations professionals, in addition to external consultants and vendors 

Financial Management 

• Lead COMPANY’s financial strategy, ensuring short- and long-term sustainability 
• Oversee short- and long-term fiscal planning, including monitoring and reporting, budgeting and forecasting 
• Optimize COMPANY’s fiscal policies, controls, and compliance systems, including grant management 
• Support board finance and audit committees and serve as liaison to board treasurer 
• Ensure adherence to funder requirements, and oversee compliance with tax, labor, licensing, and reporting requirements in the United States and abroad 

Human Resources 

• Promote best practices in organizational management, performance management, and leadership development 
• Supervise efforts to recruit, retain, develop, and inspire COMPANY’s highly qualified and committed staff 
• Optimize HR policies and procedures to ensure compliance as well as consistency, fairness, accountability, and transparency 
• Cultivate an organizational culture that reflects COMPANY’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion 
• Support a learning culture that engenders knowledge sharing, feedback, continuous growth, and retention 

Operations and Information Technology 

• Streamline and standardize operations with an eye toward continuous process improvement 
• Develop COMPANY’s information technology strategy and systems, including knowledge management and data security; manage external IT consultants and oversee technology 
• With support from pro bono counsel, manage vendor contracts, real estate leases, memoranda of understanding, and consultant agreements 
• Manage COMPANY’s offices, including re-opening post-COVID-19 pandemic 
• Support efforts to protect physical and digital staff security 

Qualifications of the Ideal Candidate 

• 15+ years of senior management experience working cross-functionally across finance, operations, human resources, and IT in complex organizations; nonprofit experience strongly preferred 
• Demonstrated finance expertise, including budgeting, multi-year forecasting, modeling, accounting, and reporting 
• Commitment to COMPANY’s mission, cultural competency, and international experience 
• Proven ability to navigate complex nonprofit compliance and risk management issues 
• Ability to steward organizational culture, including leading diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives 
• Exceptional emotional intelligence and interpersonal skills 
• Bachelor’s degree required; advanced degree or equivalent experience preferred