Chief Operating Officer

Who we are

You’re reading this job description because somebody taught you how. You became “somebody” as a result. At HOPE, we’re building a world in which everybody gets to be somebody. We’re putting girls and children with disabilities first by prioritizing equity and safe, inclusive, nurturing practices and environments as essential foundations for learning and overall well-being of the children we serve. We are on a mission to ensure every kid, everywhere in Africa is successful. We help school and system leaders build, implement and sustain education and health ecosystems that live at the intersection of research and equity.

What you will do

HOPE is entering an exciting phase of growth and deepened impact and we are looking for a Chief Operating Officer to build and strengthen our internal operations and infrastructure so we are poised to deliver on our ambitious goals. This role reports to and partners with the Chief Executive Officer and is perfect for someone who is a strategic, visionary leader who is excited to build and lead a successful and growing education services organization.  The Chief Operating Officer will help manage day-to-day operations, driving key initiatives and acting as a trusted advisor to the Chief Executive Officer while collaborating cross functionally to ensure org-wide alignment and operational efficiency. This position offers a unique opportunity to make a significant impact as we grow and scale to ensure every kid, everywhere in Africa, is safe, healthy and successful.

In summary, the Chief Operating Officer will represent the CEO in his absence, oversee the organization’s operations, financial auditing and tax filing, data, technology, administrative, compliance, legal and HR functions. Associates and support could be provided when there is a need.

In the short term, the Chief Operating Officer will have the following responsibilities:

Strategic Planning and Execution

• Collaborate with the executive team to establish the long-term strategic plan, associated operational plans, and processes to evaluate progress against goals
• Define operational metrics and dashboards to ensure transparency of operational performance across the organization
• Monitor progress towards strategic goals and objectives and key results, driving routine metrics reviews while ensuring alignment and accountability across divisions; make recommendations to optimize org-wide outcomes
• Act as a strategic advisor to the CEO, and ensure that HOPE optimizes its efficiency, productivity, and achievement of short- and long-term goals
• With the Chief People and Learning Officer, determine long-term operational capacity needed to reach operational goals
• Lead special projects related to the health and growth of HOPE

Operations Leadership and Management

• Define, lead and execute the operations strategy aligned with HOPE’s overall organizational goals and objectives
• Lead a mission-driven, high-performing operations division that consistently delivers exceptional results across all HOPE operations including staff-wide processes, procurement, contract management, technology management, workflow optimization, and events management
• Recruit, train, and retain top talent for a growing operations division, fostering a culture of accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement.
• Build HOPE’s overall operations infrastructure and processes to ensure that the HOPE team experiences predictable rhythms, logical and clearly defined processes, and outstanding customer service
• Create systems and processes that streamline operations across the organization
• Oversee large, often cross-functional organizational projects to improve and innovate operations
• Monitor operational processes through periodic systems-reviews, user feedback, and metrics to ensure that operations are healthy, efficient and effective

Revenue and Finance Leadership

• With the Director of Partnerships, develop and implement a comprehensive revenue growth strategy aligned with the company’s long-term strategic plan and annual goals
• Work with the Director of Partnerships to meet required revenue generation goals and build the necessary revenue infrastructure for long-term sustainability
• Own and manage the financial planning and forecasting based on needed and anticipated revenue and models of partnership portfolios
• Align and support the executive team for their revenue generation responsibilities including engaging the Chief Program Officer in renewal conversations and prioritizing the CEO’s involvement in fundraising and revenue generation
• Liaise with partner organizations on funding, and service providers on finance, accounting, compliance, and other back office functions

You are someone who has the following qualifications

You would be a great match for this role if you are a:

• Professional with 10+ years of experience leading operations and organizational development
• Visionary builder: You embody the unique ability to envision the bigger, strategic picture and create detailed project plans and roll-up your sleeves to realize a vision. You work with others to collaboratively set a vision so that everyone talks about “our vision”. You always ensure that the vision for the future of an organization takes into account best-in-class benchmarks, an analysis of the overall market, and a SWOT analysis of the organization. You build with an eye towards sustainable systems over time, not just resolving today’s current pain points. You prioritize both quantitative and qualitative data to inform your decisions. You also have outstanding organizational skills with an overall execution orientation and high attention to detail.
• Team developer: You grow revenue and operational processes, yes, but you also grow people and culture. You are thoughtful, planned and systematic in your people management. You develop the skills and mindsets of your direct reports and also unify the larger organization on shared processes and mindsets. You get excited watching others develop their skills and apply their knowledge for the benefit of the organization. You think of the larger HOPE staff as “your team” and invest in both relationship building and change management, thoughtfully leading others through the development of the organization.
• Continuous improvement expert: You have a deep compulsion to make things better. You always see opportunities to continuously improve and build further. You believe “good enough” is a temporal statement, not a permanent characteristic of systems and processes. You skillfully uncover not just obvious pain points but opportunities to refine systems. And you put your excellent problem solving skills to work to figure out how to prioritize improvements across an organization.

To ensure that you are set up for success for the growth of the role and the organization, you should also possess:

• Financial acumen and an understanding of financial forecasting, management, accounting and strategic budgeting
• Knowledge of organizational compliance and constraints for growing organizations

It would be a plus if you had:

• Legal experience with organizational compliance, administration, HR, tax and financial auditing processes
• Led long-term strategic planning functions for a rapidly growing, nonprofit organization
• Knowledge of labor laws

You are someone who shares our values

• Be cosmically urgent: You move with cosmic urgency–the vital urge to change things in a way that will benefit all people so everyone feels a sense of “somebodyness.”
• Stay constantly curious:  You ask “how might we?” when solving challenges.
• Pursue excellence over perfection: You prioritize individuals and the interactions that will move people to achieve outcomes over following a process that won’t get them there.
• Do hard things in a human way: You choose courage over comfort by facing difficult tasks and conversations rather than avoiding them.
• Invest in our collective success: You get your hands dirty; you will never say, “That’s not my job,” “That’s not my problem to solve,” or “I don’t care.”

Compensation

Compensation: This is a full-time staff, exempt position with a competitive salary. Because of our strong commitment to equity and growth, HOPE’s staff’s compensations grow as we grow, too.

Benefits: We provide all full-time employees with a competitive benefits package that includes comprehensive medical, dental and vision insurance plans, annual leave and holiday calendar.

Perks: HOPE offers perks such as paid rest days after work-related travel; stipends for wellness, and professional development and learning opportunities; a community with as much support as your heart desires; and much, much, more!

Expectations to know

Travel:  Travel is an essential part of how we support our partners, collaborate with our team, and fulfill our mission. Schedule and timing for local and international travels may vary by team and role, and may change as the organization’s needs continue to evolve. The Chief Operating Officer should expect to travel up to 35% of the year.