Chief Operating Officer

This is a senior enterprise leadership role responsible for translating organizational strategy into coordinated execution, sustainable operations, and measurable impact.
The COO will serve as a strategic partner to the CEO and an active member of the Strategic Management Team, connecting priorities across multiple functions and regions.
The role integrates people and culture, business intelligence, evaluation and research, legal affairs, finance, risk, and operational performance.
You will help align resources, budgets, staffing, fundraising commitments, organizational capacity, and evidence to support long-term sustainability.
Success requires the ability to move comfortably between strategic decisions and operational detail while leading through collaboration, trust, and influence.
The position operates across a complex international and multicultural environment with distributed teams, partners, and institutional structures.
It offers an opportunity to shape organizational systems and leadership practices while advancing feminist values, equity, inclusion, and mission-driven impact.

• Demonstrated experience in a senior executive or enterprise-wide leadership role within a complex international nonprofit, philanthropic, social-impact, mission-driven, or similarly complex organization.
• Experience leading or integrating multiple organizational functions, such as finance, people and culture, operations, legal or compliance, organizational data, strategy implementation, or business development.
• Strong financial literacy and demonstrated experience using budgets, forecasts, financial analysis, and resource planning to guide strategic decisions.
• Experience connecting organizational strategy with measurable outcomes, operational capacity, resources, and long-term sustainability.
• Experience working across countries, cultures, legal environments, or distributed teams, with the ability to navigate complex institutional contexts.
• Proven ability to build productive relationships with senior colleagues, boards, employees, partners, donors, advisers, and other stakeholders.
• Demonstrated experience leading organizational change, strengthening systems without creating unnecessary bureaucracy, supporting functional leaders, and fostering collective accountability.
• Strong judgment and discretion when handling sensitive organizational, legal, financial, people, or reputational matters.
• Understanding of partnership-based organizations and approaches that remain responsive to partner priorities.
• Professional fluency in English is required; Spanish, Portuguese, or French is an asset.
• A clear commitment to feminist principles, sexual and reproductive health and rights, racial justice, gender justice, equity, inclusion, and leadership from the Global South.
• Ability to operate strategically while remaining attentive to implementation and operational detail.
• Strong collaborative leadership style combined with the confidence to make difficult decisions, establish accountability, and respect functional expertise.
• Transparent, reliable, calm, and resilient approach to leadership, with a commitment to shared leadership, sound delegation, and collective governance.
• Ability to create clarity in ambiguous situations and effectively balance long-term organizational priorities with immediate operational needs.
• No single professional pathway is required; relevant backgrounds may include operations, finance, organizational strategy, people and culture, international nonprofit leadership, philanthropy, social enterprise, or another comparable field.
• Understanding of safeguarding principles in both U.S. and international contexts, with willingness to comply with applicable safeguarding policies and standards.