Chief Administrative Officer

mPower, Inc.; Rockville (MD); On-site; USD 180,000 - 280,000; Full time

Job summary

A federal government contracting organization is seeking a Chief Administrative Officer to lead internal operations and ensure scalability during growth. Responsibilities include overseeing people operations, simplifying workflows, and partnering with executive leadership. Candidates should have over 15 years of relevant experience, with direct leadership in people operations. This role supports the organization's mission-driven culture and strives to enhance operational efficiency. Competitive opportunity for a seasoned executive within a thriving company.

Qualifications

• 15+ years of experience in operations, administration, or enterprise support.
• Experience in a growing federal government contracting organization.
• Direct leadership over people operations and talent-related functions.
• Demonstrated ability to partner closely with executive leadership, exercising independent judgment while aligning to shared strategic direction.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the executive owner of the internal operating system.
• Reduce operational friction by simplifying workflows.
• Partner closely with executive leadership on key functions.
• Ensure that back-office functions operate efficiently as a lean but high-impact support capability.
• Own and evolve the company’s talent and people operations strategy, including HR, recruiting, onboarding, performance management, and employee experience.
• Build management capability across back-office operations, coaching emerging leaders and strengthening accountability.
• Ensure that culture, communication cadence, and people practices scale intentionally alongside the business.
• Partner closely with the President & CTO and CEO on finance, contracts, IT, and compliance functions, providing operational oversight and execution support.
• Lead or support systems modernization efforts (e.g., HRIS, compliance tooling, internal operations platforms).
• Oversee operational readiness for current and future certifications and regulatory requirements (e.g., ISO 9001, ISO 20000, ISO 27001, CMMC).
• Maintain a proactive risk management posture across internal operations.
• Act as a strategic and tactical partner to the CEO and President & CTO, translating strategic direction into executable operational plans.
• Operate with high autonomy within defined areas of ownership, while collaborating closely on cross-cutting decisions.
• Represent mPower with employees, clients, partners, and industry stakeholders as appropriate.
• Support, and in some cases drive, mPower’s continued growth through internal initiatives and changes as well as externally-facing engagements with clients and industry, which may require public speaking.

Skills

Leadership

Operational management

Risk management

People operations

Education

Bachelor’s degree in business administration or relevant field

Job description

mPower, Inc. (mPower) is seeking a Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) to be a core member of mPower’s executive leadership team and serve as the executive owner of the company’s internal operating model during a period of sustained growth and increasing complexity. This role will exist to ensure that mPower’s people, processes, systems, and infrastructure scale intentionally and effectively—so that we can continue delivering exceptional mission-driven outcomes for our employees and clients. This role will report to the CEO and work in partnership with the President & CTO, holding broad operational authority and being a complementary executive position designed to reduce operational friction, improve decision velocity, and elevate talent performance across the organization. This role is designed to support mPower’s continued growth toward an enterprise-ready operating model, while preserving the company’s mission-driven culture and human-centered approach.

About the Role

This role will report to the CEO and work in partnership with the President & CTO, holding broad operational authority and being a complementary executive position designed to reduce operational friction, improve decision velocity, and elevate talent performance across the organization. This role is designed to support mPower’s continued growth toward an enterprise-ready operating model, while preserving the company’s mission-driven culture and human-centered approach.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the executive owner of mPower’s internal operating system, including people operations, facilities, infrastructure, and administrative services
• Assess current-state operations, identify gaps and risks, and lead the design and implementation of scalable departments, processes, and governance models.
• Reduce operational friction by simplifying workflows, clarifying roles and responsibilities, and addressing process debt.
• Ensure that back-office functions operate efficiently as a lean but high-impact support capability.
• Own and evolve the company’s talent and people operations strategy, including HR, recruiting, onboarding, performance management, and employee experience.
• Build management capability across back-office operations, coaching emerging leaders and strengthening accountability.
• Ensure that culture, communication cadence, and people practices scale intentionally alongside the business.
• Partner closely with the President & CTO and CEO on finance, contracts, IT, and compliance functions, providing operational oversight and execution support.
• Lead or support systems modernization efforts (e.g., HRIS, compliance tooling, internal operations platforms).
• Oversee operational readiness for current and future certifications and regulatory requirements (e.g., ISO 9001, ISO 20000, ISO 27001, CMMC).
• Maintain a proactive risk management posture across internal operations.
• Act as a strategic and tactical partner to the CEO and President & CTO, translating strategic direction into executable operational plans.
• Operate with high autonomy within defined areas of ownership, while collaborating closely on cross-cutting decisions.
• Represent mPower with employees, clients, partners, and industry stakeholders as appropriate.
• Support, and in some cases drive, mPower’s continued growth through internal initiatives and changes as well as externally-facing engagements with clients and industry, which may require public speaking.

Qualifications

• 15+ years of progressive experience in internal operations, administration, people operations, or enterprise support functions, with at least 5 years operating at the executive or senior‑leadership level.
• Bachelor’s degree, or higher, in a relevant field such as business administration, management, accounting/finance, etc.
• Demonstrated experience scaling internal operations in a growing federal government contracting organization, including building or formalizing departments, systems, and management structures.
• Direct leadership experience over people operations and talent‑related functions (e.g., HR, recruiting, workforce planning, performance management).
• Proven ability to operate effectively in environments where structures, processes, and roles are still being built and refined.
• Experience supporting complex, regulated, or mission‑driven organizations; federal services, research, or health‑related environments strongly preferred.
• Practical familiarity with compliance, audit, and certification environments (e.g., ISO, CMMI, security or quality frameworks), even if not the primary owner.
• Demonstrated ability to partner closely with executive leadership, exercising independent judgment while aligning to shared strategic direction.
• Demonstrated ability to effectively and professionally represent a business; its culture, portfolio, and mission; and its leadership both publicly and internally to employees.

mPower, Inc. is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer. Qualified applicants or employees will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, ethnic or national origin, ancestry, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, pregnancy (including childbirth or related condition), citizenship, familial status, mental or physical disability status, veteran status, genetic information, other non‑disqualifying disability, or any other characteristic protected by law.