The client is seeking a Chief Operations Officer (COO) to help drive transformation and growth and to support current and future constituents. Reporting to the Chief Executive Officer, the COO will lead operational teams spanning areas such as Customer Experience, Scholarship Programs, Enterprise Project Portfolio Management, Project Management Office, Procurement, and Vendor Management, delivering operational excellence through both direct leadership and cross-team collaboration.
Key responsibilities include assessing and managing current operational practices across the newly defined scope, implementing the organization’s operational strategy in collaboration with the CEO, strategy leadership, and peers, and taking ownership of key issues and risks by applying tactical short- and medium-term solutions. The COO will establish practices of operational excellence, lead, manage, and develop a high-performing and diverse team of subject-matter experts, and partner with senior leaders to examine and optimize key organizational processes to improve experience and outcomes while strengthening a culture of continuous improvement.
The ideal candidate will have demonstrated success across relevant professional experiences and may apply military service in place of formal education requirements. They are expected to have at least 15 years of experience leading large teams and budgets, with experience managing multiple operational functions such as Operations, Knowledge Management and process improvement, Customer Experience, enterprise portfolio and PMO, scholarship or similar programs, and procurement. Additional expectations include experience leading large vendor teams and managing key vendor relationships, experience supporting organizational growth and transformation, and alignment with the organization’s mission.