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Chief Operating Officer

Remote

Position Overview

The Chief Operating Officer (COO) will oversee the strategic management of America’s Promise Alliance (APA), ensuring excellent execution in pursuit of our ambitious goals, stewarding our organizational evolution, and contributing to the successful development and implementation of APA’s next five-year strategic plan. Reporting to the CEO and working in collaboration with APA’s leadership team and Board of Directors, this COO role is responsible for a broad set of responsibilities at the epicenter of APA’s impact and growth. The ideal candidate for this role will bring C-level leadership experience, along with strong instincts on how to sustain a high-performing and inclusive culture during times of rapid growth and change.

After 25 years of pioneering collective action work, in 2022, America’s Promise Alliance launched a comprehensive next chapter and new strategy. The centerpiece of that new strategy is our reimagined Alliance Community, which now serves 150 member organizations and 700+ executive leaders. This position plays a critical role in the development and success of that strategy. Learn more about our reimagined Alliance community and our 2022-2026 strategic plan.

 

Responsibilities

Our COO will manage a high-performing, diverse, and evolving team. This work will include developing the people, processes, systems, and infrastructure necessary for our continued success as the organization scales. Below is an articulation of key responsibilities for this role.

 

Organizational Leadership 

The COO will lead, manage and model effective leadership, both within the teams directly managed by the role and for the organization more broadly. Core responsibilities in this area include: 

  • Lead the development of annual goal setting, operating plans, and budgets.
  • Support the development and operationalization of APA’s 2027 – 2031 strategic plan.
  • Lead the stewardship and evolution of APA’s organizational culture. Serve as a strategic leader of change management efforts, ensuring APA evolves its culture, structure, and systems effectively during periods of growth and transformation.
  • Partner with APA’s CEO and Chief of Staff to ensure the APA leadership team operates in a way that is efficient, effective, and meets organizational needs.
  • Work closely with the APA Board of Directors, including management of the Board Finance Committee.
  • Lead select Alliance community special initiatives, working directly with our member organization CEOs and leadership teams.
  • Provide effective management of the teams and leaders that report directly to the COO (Talent, Finance, Administration, Research & Organizational Learning).
  • Represent APA with external stakeholders and partners.  
  • Support APA fundraising efforts.

 

Talent, Culture, and Human Resources 

We anticipate near-term growth of the APA team to support an expanding and dynamic Alliance community. In partnership with the Talent & Culture team, COO responsibilities in this area include: 

  • Lead the design and execution of how APA’s org chart evolves as the organization scales.
  • Oversee all APA hiring and strategies for recruiting top talent to the organization.
  • Oversee policies and implementation related to performance management, promotion, retention, satisfaction, training, and professional development for APA staff.
  • Oversee the way APA nurtures an organizational culture that achieves excellence in execution and an ability to meet ambitious goals, while ensuring APA is a great place to work and develop professionally for our staff.
  • Oversee employee benefits annually.

 

Research, Evaluation, and Organizational Performance & Learning 

The COO will lead APA’s efforts to develop field-leading research, evaluate the efficacy of its community, and foster an environment of continuous learning and improvement among staff. In partnership with the Research & Evaluation team, the COO will:

  • Oversee the process through which our Alliance community develops annual research agendas, the execution of that research in partnership with Mathematica, and our efforts to bring our research findings to the field, fostering new innovation and increased investments in our issue areas.
  • Oversee the development and execution of our annual Alliance Impact study and the design and implementation of evaluation for each program offering in our Alliance community.
  • Lead the APA staff in quarterly and annual review of progress against our performance goals, surfacing key learnings and identifying areas for improvement.
  • Develop the processes through which all teams at APA foster a culture of continuous learning and improvement.

 

Budget and Finance 

The COO will provide the finance strategy and fiscal management necessary for APA to achieve its goals and maintain its position of financial strength. In partnership with the Finance team, the COO will:

  • Develop a 5-year financial model to support APA’s 2027-2031 strategic plan; lead a multi-year financial planning process to steward APA’s financial health. 
  • Develop and manage annual budgets.  
  • Establish strategic financial goals, monitor APA’s performance against those goals, and recommend adjustments when necessary. 
  • Conduct regular financial analyses; forecasting costs related to different strategic choices, and oversee the development of budgets for new projects. 
  • Serve as a liaison to the Board of Directors and point person for the Board Finance Committee.  
  • Oversee investment strategy and serve as liaison with APA’s external investment manager to ensure compliance with APA’s Investment Policy Statement.
  • Oversee financial and governance policies and procedures. 
  • Oversee the audit process, filing of the annual IRS Form 990 and state charitable registration filings.   

 

Administration, Technology, Operations, Legal, and Facilities 

The COO will lead all administrative work for APA. The APA team is fully remote, and staff are located across the country, but APA maintains an office headquarters in Washington, DC. Working in partnership with the Operations team, the COO will:

  • Direct and maintain policies and procedures to ensure APA’s compliance with federal and state employment laws. Represent APA as the lead in all legal matters, in partnership with APA’s external legal counsel. 
  • Oversee all contracts, partnership agreements, and consulting relationships.  
  • Lead negotiations and manage ongoing vendor relationships for various operational functions. 
  • Provide strategic oversight of the technology strategy and implementation that supports APA staff, ensuring systems and platforms effectively support data-driven decision-making, collaboration, and operational scale.
  • Ensure effective training for APA staff, monitor execution, and evolve systems as necessary.
  • Serve as the primary point person for APA’s office and real estate stakeholders, including managing our subleasing agreements and reducing our lease liability over time.
  • Anticipate gaps, opportunities, and challenges as they relate to operations and administrative systems, developing new solutions to drive collaboration and deepen impact. 

 

Alliance Community Infrastructure & Processes 

In addition to managing the internal operations of APA, the COO will also work closely with various leaders to develop and build scalable infrastructure for the growth of our Alliance community. In this area, the COO will: 

  • Oversee the financial and membership model for our Alliance community, ensuring strong growth and retention of our community, while leveraging opportunities for earned income. Ensure APA meets its earned income goals annually.
  • Support the infrastructure for member recruitment, enrollment, management, retention, and the processing of membership fees.
  • Understand and deploy the technology tools that can best support the Alliance community as we scale.
  • Ensure data quality and utilization across all Alliance programming and functions.
  • Ensure all Alliance systems and processes come together to facilitate a seamless and efficient experience for Alliance members and APA staff.

 

Experience & Competencies 

 

Experience

In this role, we are looking for candidates who have significant experience in the following areas:

  • 10+ years of senior leadership experience, including deep knowledge of the nonprofit field and APA issue areas.
  • Previous experience in C-level roles of leading national nonprofits.
  • Deep experience in operations leadership, including strategy, research and evaluation, finance, talent, human resources, legal, and technology.
  • Experience leading organizational culture and performance work.
  • Experience working with leadership teams, Board of Directors, and external stakeholders to develop and implement organizational strategy.
  • Able to identify gaps, opportunities and strengths within an organization's infrastructure, and to provide innovative strategies to improve processes and systems.
  • Experience working in one or more of APA's issue areas, including: K12 education, youth development, postsecondary to workforce pathways, and democratic and civic engagement.

 

Competencies

In this role, we are looking for candidates who display the following competencies: 

  • Efficacy and comfort in high-change, high growth environments.
  • A systems-level thinker, able to translate complexity into clarity, and experience leading change management during times of significant organizational evolution.
  • Proven ability to enthusiastically lead and mobilize diverse, high-performing, and layered teams.
  • An ability to work and manage across lines of difference, approaching conversations and decisions with humility, thought, and care.
  • An adept facilitator who can contribute to Alliance programming and work in partnership with the CEOs and executive teams of our member organizations.

 

Location, Compensation, & Benefits

  • APA is searching for the best talent regardless of location, as such please note that APA’s team is largely remote and location is flexible within the United States.
  • Salary and benefits will be competitive and commensurate with experience with a range of $225,000-$275,000.
  • America’s Promise Alliance offers a generous benefits package that extends beyond health care coverage to help provide team members with a work-life balance that includes professional development, retirement savings, self-managed vacation, and more.

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