Chief Administrative Officer

lifeworksaustin.org; Austin, Northern (TX, KY); Hybrid; USD 147,000 - 195,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

PTO 24 days/year

11 paid holidays/year

Premium-free medical plan with $100/mo

Retirement savings plan with 50% match

Job summary

LifeWorks is seeking a Chief Administrative Officer to join its Executive team in Austin, TX. The CAO will steward LifeWorks’ operational, administrative, and risk infrastructure, leading Risk Management, Facilities, Administrative Operations, and Technology to ensure safe, reliable, and scalable systems across multiple sites and programs.

The role requires a senior leader with strong cross-functional collaboration, strategic thinking, and implementation discipline, focused on continuous

Qualifications

• Requires a Bachelor's degree in business, public administration, nonprofit management, or related field.
• Master’s degree preferred.
• Seasoned senior leader with 8+ years of progressive leadership experience in administrative, operational, or organizational management roles.

Responsibilities

• Acts as strategic thought partner to the CEO and Executive Team on operational risk, administrative strategy, and enterprise-wide initiatives.
• Translates organizational strategy into administrative, technology, facilities, and risk management priorities and execution plans.
• Establishes risk management frameworks to protect staff, clients, assets, and reputation.
• Provides executive oversight for agency facilities, maintenance, and safety across LifeWorks locations.
• Leads and aligns administrative functions to support program operations without impacting clinical/services delivery.
• Ensures governance, controls, and accountability for technology investments and infrastructure.

Skills

Executive leadership

Risk management

Facilities management

Technology governance

Strategic planning

Communication skills

Nonprofit experience

Education

Bachelor's degree in business, public administration, nonprofit management, or related field

Master’s degree preferred

Job description

South Site
3700 S 1st St
Austin, TX 78704, USA

Description

LifeWorksofAustin, TX is looking for a Chief Administrative Officer to join our Executive team! The Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) is a senior executive leader responsible for stewarding and strengthening LifeWorks’ operational, administrative, and risk infrastructure in service of the organization’s mission, strategy, and long-term sustainability. The CAO provides executive leadership of Risk Management, Facilities, Administrative Operations, and Technology, ensuring the interdependent systems supporting LifeWorks’ people, programs, clients, and physical locations are safe, reliable, scalable, and aligned with organizational strategy. Owns and continuously improves the agency’s operating model, including cross-functional workflows, processes and service standards to drive efficiency, consistency and staff and client experiences. The CAO translates organizational strategy into effective systems, service standards and cross-functional processes. The CAO balances strategic leadership with disciplined execution, developing leaders, systems, and organizational capacity that promote continuity and safety that allow LifeWorks to operate effectively across a multi-site, multi-program nonprofit environment.

This full time, exempt position earns a competitive rate ranging from $146,939.00-$194,727.00 annually, depending upon experience. Benefits are also included, which consist of 24 PTO days per year (accrued); 11 paid holidays per year; a premium-free employee medical plan with $100 per month HSA contribution (plus other affordable employee or family medical, dental, and vision options!); a retirement savings plan with 50% match on the first 6% of contributions, and much more!

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Executive Leadership and Strategic Partnership:
  • Acts as a strategic thought partner to the CEO and Executive Team regarding operational risk, administrative strategy, and enterprise-wide initiatives.
  • Serves as a key member of the Executive Team, participating in organizational strategy, policy development, and long-term planning.
  • Translates organizational strategy into clear administrative, technology, facilities, and risk management priorities and execution plans.
  • Identifies emerging organizational risks, capacity constraints, and infrastructure needs and develops proactive strategies to address them.
  • Leads or sponsors significant cross-functional initiatives requiring coordination across multiple departments.
  • Establishes and monitors operational performance metrics to assess effectiveness, identify risks, and inform decision making.
  • Provides clear, data-informed recommendations to executive leadership and the Board as appropriate.
  • Participates in Board meetings or committees as requested by the CEO.
• Operational Risk & Organizational Resilience:
  • Ensures the agency maintains effective risk management frameworks, policies, and procedures to protect staff, clients, assets, and reputation.
  • Establishes systems to identify, assess, prioritize, mitigate, monitor, and communicate significant organizational risks.
  • Oversees enterprise-wide business continuity and emergency preparedness, response, and recovery planning to ensure continuity of critical operations across programs, sites, facilities and systems.
  • Promotes an organizational culture of thoughtful, proactive risk management.
  • Establishes clear roles, decision rights, escalation protocols, and communication processes for organizational emergencies and significant operational incidents.
  • Ensures appropriate organizational response, review, documentation, and learning following critical incidents, with an emphasis on prevention and continuous improvement.
  • Establishes appropriate enterprise vendor governance, contract-management standards, and risk controls in partnership with the CFO, CEO, CPPLO, and other organizational leaders.
  • Ensures significant operational risks are appropriately escalated to executive leadership and the Board.
• Facilities Management:
  • Provides executive leadership for LifeWorks’ agency facilities and maintenance operations, including preventive and corrective maintenance, safety, security, accessibility, space planning, in-kind inventory management, and facilities-related emergency response.
  • Develops a long-term facilities maintenance strategy aligned with organizational growth, program needs, workforce needs, client experience, and financial sustainability.
  • Ensures facilities are safe, welcoming, functional, well-maintained, and compliant with applicable regulatory, accreditation, funder, and organizational requirements.
  • Establishes facilities performance standards and preventive-maintenance systems designed to reduce risk, improve reliability, and responsibly steward organizational resources.
  • Oversees facilities-related vendor strategy, procurement, contract performance, and service quality.
  • Ensures clear roles, handoffs, and accountability between facilities operations and affordable-housing/property-management functions.
• Provides executive oversight and strategic direction for LifeWorks’ enterprise technology infrastructure.
• Ensures the agency’s technology strategy aligns with organizational goals, program needs, and future growth.
• Oversees technology asset management, network infrastructure, end-user systems and support, telecommunications, cybersecurity, system reliability, disaster recovery, and technology continuity.
• Ensures appropriate governance, controls, and accountability for technology investments, vendors, technology lifecycle planning and replacement, and major infrastructure initiatives.
• Ensures appropriate organizational controls related to cybersecurity, data privacy, access management, technology continuity, and infrastructure risk.
• Partners with organizational leadership to assess technology needs and infrastructure implications associated with digital transformation, data systems, analytics, and emerging technologies.
• Ensures clear governance and effective integration between technology infrastructure and organizational data systems.
• Administrative & Workplace Operations:
  • Provides executive oversight and strategic direction for agencywide administrative operations.
  • Ensures front- and back-of-house administrative services provide consistent, welcoming, efficient, and client-centered support across LifeWorks locations.
  • Establishes appropriate standards and controls for physical access and site security, including access management, visitor management, and coordination of security-related systems and vendors.
  • Ensures effective records management and storage practices, including appropriate retention, access, security, and disposition of physical and administrative records, in coordination with applicable organizational functions.
  • Ensures administrative staffing models, workflows, and service standards are aligned with organizational needs, site complexity, and client volume.
  • Ensures administrative functions effectively support program operations without assuming responsibility for clinical or programmatic services.
• People Leadership & Organizational Accountability:
  • Responsible for the hiring, orientation, training, supervision, evaluation, and dismissal of direct reports, including senior leadership positions, in accordance with Agency policies and procedures. Ensures staff are informed, their activities are well coordinated, and they have the necessary resources to carry out their work.
  • Establishes and maintains clear governance structures, decision rights, and escalation pathways across assigned functions.
  • Promotes strong cross-functional collaboration between technology, facilities, administration, programs, and other departments to ensure coordinated and defensible organizational practices.
  • Establishes appropriate service standards and performance measures across assigned functions, using data and stakeholder feedback to evaluate responsiveness, reliability, effectiveness, and user experience.
  • Ensures their departments comply with all requirements outlined by funding sources, licensure and accrediting bodies, the program, and the agency. These requirements may pertain to data, paperwork, training, processes, and procedures, among other things.
  • Represents their departments at leadership meetings as appropriate and communicates agency and leadership decisions to their teams.
  • Prepares for and actively participates in supervision meetings and all other required meetings or trainings.

QUALIFICATIONS

• Requires a Bachelor’s degree in business, public administration, nonprofit management, or a related field; Master’s degree preferred; and
• Requires 8+ years of progressive leadership experience in administrative, operational, or organizational management roles; and
• Minimum 5 years of senior-level management experience overseeing multiple functional areas; or
• Equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Minimum of 5 years supervisory experience.
• Sound judgment and experience navigating organizational risk, compliance, and crisis situations.
• Demonstrated experience leading complex, cross-functional teams in a multi-site, multi-program organization.
• Nonprofit, public sector, or human services experience preferred.
• Experience with risk management, facilities, and technology governance strongly preferred.
• Demonstrated ability to balance operational detail with executive-level perspective.
• Strong strategic thinking and systems-level problem-solving skills.
• Ability to lead through influence, collaboration, and clear accountability.
• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to translate complex issues for diverse audiences both verbally and in writing.
• High degree of integrity, discretion, and professionalism.

ABOUT LIFEWORKS
With more than 50 years of experience working with youth experiencing homelessness, youth aging out of foster care, young adults, and young parents, LifeWorks is committed to solving youth homelessness through housing, mental health, education, and workforce services. Our vision is a Central Texas where every young person has a place to call home, a sense of belonging, and the support to pursue a life they love.

We provide a full range of support services for vulnerable youth, ensuring that every young person has access to a safe home, the chance to heal, and opportunities to learn and work. Through innovative problem-solving, shared accountability, and evidence-based solutions, we are relentless in achieving real, sustainable, and measurable results for the clients we serve.

A career at LifeWorks offers opportunities to grow professionally while making an immediate, lasting impact on the lives of youth and families in our community. Join us in building a future where every young person has the stability and support to thrive.

Equal Opportunity Employer
This employer is required to notify all applicants of their rights pursuant to federal employment laws.For further information, please review the Know Your Rights notice from the Department of Labor.