Chief Administrative Officer

Elizabeth Dole Foundation; Washington, Baltimore (District of Columbia, MD); On-site; USD 150,000 - 230,000; Full time

Job summary

The Elizabeth Dole Foundation seeks a Chief Administrative Officer to architect and own the organization’s core administrative infrastructure in Washington, DC. You will lead finance, HR, data/IT, legal coordination, and evaluation, building scalable systems and reporting frameworks to support rapid growth.

Reporting to the CEO, you will translate high-level strategy into practical operations, ensuring discipline and agility across all internal functions while upholding the Foundation’s values.

Qualifications

• Senior operational leader with experience overseeing finance, HR, IT and program evaluation.
• Proven ability to design scalable internal systems and governance structures.
• Track record of building or scaling human resources capabilities in a growing organization.

Responsibilities

• Oversee finance, HR, data/IT, legal coordination, and evaluation functions.
• Design and scale internal systems, governance frameworks, and reporting structures.
• Partner with the CEO to translate strategic vision into actionable operational programs.

Skills

Strategic leadership

Operational excellence

Finance & budgeting

HR & talent management

Data governance & IT coordination

Legal coordination

Program evaluation

Tools

ERP systems

HRIS

Data analytics tools

Job description

The Elizabeth Dole Foundation (EDF) seeks a strategic, operational, and discipline-oriented Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) to architect, own, and monitor the organization's core administrative infrastructure, including finance, human resources, data and IT, evaluation, legal, office administration, and operations. The CAO will design, build, and scale the institutional capacity and reliable internal systems, shared governance frameworks, measurement, and data-driven reporting structures required to support performance and sustain EDF's rapid expansion. Reporting to the Chief Executive Officer, the CAO will serve as a strategic operational leader who translates high-level corporate vision into actionable internal systems without creating unnecessary bureaucracy. This leader will drive operational discipline and long-term organizational agility across EDF's internal functions while modeling the Foundation's values of Selfless Service, Integrity, and Courage.

Founded in 2012, EDF is the nation's preeminent organization empowering, supporting, and honoring America's 14.3 million military caregivers, spouses, parents, family members, and friends who care for our nation's wounded, ill, or injured veterans. EDF has a budget of $20 Million, a staff of 45 and its office is located in Washington, DC. Its mission is to empower military and veteran caregivers, their families, and communities through programs, partnerships, and advocacy that drive innovation and sustainable solutions.

This person will bring extensive senior operational leadership experience and will strategically oversee and integrate finance, HR, data, IT, legal coordination, evaluation, and administrative operations. The CAO will have proven experience building scalable internal systems and governance structures and a track record of building or scaling human resources capabilities.