Position Announcement:​ Chief Operating Officer

Bring your systems-building, outcomes-focused expertise to DEPLOY/US, a cutting edge organization accelerating genuinely bipartisan solutions to climate change, as our Chief Operating Officer. 

ABOUT DEPLOY/US

DEPLOY/US is a convener, funder, and accelerator of climate leadership across the political spectrum. Our goal is ambitious, durable decarbonization policies. With a bipartisan team and board, we are the only organization in the country focused on building the capacities, amplifying the voices, and scaling the impact of the Ecoright field — the ecosystem of civic enterprises and leaders, plus allied funders, working right-of-center on climate change, as a crucial foundation for bipartisan action. 

DEPLOY/US is growing rapidly in scale and impact, with ambitious plans for the next few years. We have a highly mission-driven, collaborative, and learning-oriented organizational culture that is in the service of impact. We are committed to and value individual and team wellness.

We seek an experienced nonprofit systems builder who can embrace and maintain this culture as we continue to grow while mapping the pathways to achieving our objectives and expanding on our successes. The successful Chief Operating Officer (COO) will lead the design of thoughtful, measurable plans and metrics and create systems for:

  • Evaluating emerging opportunities and multiple courses of action against their potential for impact and resource tradeoffs; 

  • Supporting and growing a lean team that will efficiently accomplish the organization’s work;

  • Accountability and feedback; and,

  • Continuous improvement.


Recent coverage of DEPLOY/US work:

  • Vox cites DEPLOY/US as one of 11 of “the most high-impact, cost-effective, evidence based organizations.”

  • Founders' Pledge recommends DEPLOY/US as a “promising bet to improve US climate policy, increasing the likelihood of further bipartisan policy wins and making the US climate response more robust, as polarization along partisan lines presents a major risk to continued US climate leadership.”   

  • Robert Eccles interviews of DEPLOY/US CEO and VP Programs:  Conversation with Andrea Yodsampa and Alex Bozmoski of DEPLOY/US about Accelerating Bipartisan Climate Action

POSITION SUMMARY 

DEPLOY/US is seeking a full-time Chief Operating Officer who:

  • Thrives in the fast-paced context of issue-based campaigns and/or start-up environments with accelerated growth trajectories; 

  • Has an excellent track record of building teams and developing and implementing systems and processes to deliver results; and

  • Is inspired and energized by DEPLOY/US’ mission to advance ambitious, bipartisan US climate policy, as well as DEPLOY/US’ unique strategy and role as a systems orchestrator — connecting, funding, amplifying, creating strategies with, and growing the ranks of the Ecoright field.

Reporting to the CEO, this is an opportunity to join our leadership team at a critical juncture for US climate action and a pivotal moment in DEPLOY/US’ development. We have experienced substantial growth in both resources and impact in just the past few years. While the left-of-center field of climate nonprofits has grown over decades, DEPLOY/US is unique in raising substantial funding that we invest in the under-resourced Ecoright field —  the field of conservative, climate-forward civil society organizations and leaders, as well as allies engaging key constituencies in support of decarbonization (e.g.,  business, military, faith, youth, policy) — while bolstering the effectiveness and efficiency of this field. We seek to accelerate this work with a 20X increase in our grantmaking over the next few years, supplemented with on-the-ground support, infrastructure, and fieldwide assessment and learning to build the power and impact of the Ecoright field as a crucial foundation for advancing bipartisan climate policy. 

RESPONSIBILITIES

The COO will work collaboratively across the organization, including with the CEO, Executive Vice President, Vice President of Finance, and Vice President of Impact and Learning, our growing staff and our board of directors, to ensure that DEPLOY/US stewards and aligns its human and financial resources to accomplish its ambitious goals. Across a high-performing and rapidly scaling organization, the COO will weave strategy and operations together for impact.

DEPLOY/US seeks a trusted leader who will ensure we pursue clearly articulated and shared objectives toward our strategic goals; identify efficiencies, and balance both ambitions and pragmatic realities to reach our objectives sustainably and in a manner we can replicate. We anticipate this will include: developing and improving operational planning and accountability systems and processes, including Standard Operating Procedures, in collaboration with key members of the Leadership Team; anticipating and leading in building internal capacity for rapid, continued, and successful growth; collaborating with other members of the Leadership Team to build a high-performing team grounded in DEPLOY/US' values and culture; and overseeing collaboration across the organization to translate DEPLOY/US' strategy and values to action.

We anticipate that the COO will be responsible for the following, in collaboration with the other members of the leadership team: 

  • Develop and lead processes to refine and evolve how DEPLOY/US' current strategy intersects with operations.

  • Create and maintain alignment between DEPLOY/US' strategy and the allocation of its human and financial resources, including:

    • Creating and leading processes to support successful response to emerging opportunities, discerning which are worth pursuing and implications for resource allocations and other commitments.

    • Streamlining decision-making and execution of key workstreams.

    • Communicating about the above processes and resulting decisions, on an ongoing basis, with the leadership team, broader staff, and board.

  • Oversee planning and processes to staff the organization commensurate with growth goals. This likely includes identifying new positions in collaboration with the team; leading searches for key roles (potentially with outside support); and collaborating with the relevant staff to effectively onboard and integrate new team members.

  • Bring together DEPLOY/US staff to set multi-year goals across functional areas, identify and retain focus on priorities, apply a standard operating procedure for evaluating emergent opportunities, and align long- and near-term objectives with budget planning. 

  • Cultivate a strong organizational culture that embodies DEPLOY/US' values and inspires and motivates internal and external stakeholders to advance DEPLOY/US' mission.

QUALIFICATIONS

  • In the context of fast-paced, rapidly growing organizations and/or campaigns, significant experience and a record of accomplishment in:

    • Designing, building, and executing robust operational systems and processes.

    • Identifying, recruiting, and effectively filling key staff positions to anticipate and support successful rapid growth.

    • Facilitating the implementation of strategy, leading annual planning and budgeting, and balancing responsiveness to opportunity with commitment to medium- and long-term goals. 

    • Establishing and/or overseeing core organizational infrastructure, such as human resources, finance, information technology, communications, or revenue/business development.

  • Demonstrated ability to encourage teams and staff, including actively coaching, mentoring and leading through rapid growth and the associated opportunities and challenges, all while holding staff accountable and deepening our values- and mission-driven organizational culture.

  • Strong understanding of nonprofit organizational frameworks, strategic priorities, and funding opportunities and proven success in strategy development, implementation and tactical execution.

  • Substantive experience and expertise relative to DEPLOY/US’ work (e.g., environmental, climate, bipartisan, and/or right-of-center nonprofit or policy experience) is beneficial, but not required.

  • Understanding and appreciation of DEPLOY/US’ mission to advance ambitious, bipartisan US climate leadership, as well as DEPLOY/US’ unique strategy.

  • Exceptional personal integrity, strong work ethic, and continuous learning orientation.

  • Ability to work independently and as part of a remote, mission-driven team 

  • Inspired by serving as part of a bipartisan team.

  • Versatility and agility to adapt, as needed, in a fast-paced, innovative work environment.  

  • Willingness to travel, as required. 

  • Eligible to work in the United States.

COMPENSATION

This is a full-time salaried position. DEPLOY/US offers a very competitive total compensation and benefits package including medical, dental, vision, disability, life insurance, 401K match, generous PTO allowance and more. (Salary range available for serious candidate inquiries.)

PROCESS 

DEPLOY/US is supported in this search by CoCo Search/Carolyn O’Brien Consulting, LLC. Please submit an application, including your resume and a thoughtful cover letter to this link. Applications without a cover letter will not be considered. 

LOCATION

Boston, MA preferred but not required. DEPLOY/US has a distributed team that works remotely. This position will require regularly scheduled time in-person in the Boston area as well as periodic travel to other US-based meetings. Candidates not in the Boston area must be willing to travel periodically.

DEPLOY/US is an Equal Opportunity Employer and welcomes candidates regardless of age, race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, gender, sexual orientation, disability, medical history, and other non-merit characteristics.