Chief Operating Officer

Legarza Sports and More; San Carlos (CA); On-site; USD 175,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

Legarza Sports and More is seeking a COO to lead daily operations, align departments to strategy, and drive scalable growth while preserving the culture and personal connections that define Legarza.

The role requires guiding directors, managing budgets and performance, and building durable systems across programs, regions, and partnerships. A strong track record in youth-focused or multi-site service organizations is highly valued.

Qualifications

• Approximately 10 or more years of progressively responsible professional experience.
• At least five years of experience managing managers or department leaders.
• Senior leadership experience in a multi-location, service-oriented organization.
• Direct responsibility for budgets, financial performance, labor management, and operational results.
• Experience leading an organization with hourly, seasonal, part-time, or geographically dispersed employees.
• A demonstrated ability to build systems and accountability without losing culture or personal connection.
• Experience addressing difficult personnel and performance issues directly and constructively.
• Strong written, verbal, organizational, and analytical skills.
• Sound judgment and the ability to make decisions without unnecessary escalation.
• The confidence to work closely with a founder or owner, including the ability to challenge ideas respectfully and then execute aligned decisions.
• A bachelor's degree or equivalent combination of education and relevant operating experience.
• Experience in youth development, education, camps, recreation, athletics, childcare, hospitality, franchising, or another multi-site service business is valuable but not required.
• Basketball or sports expertise is not required.

Responsibilities

• Lead, develop, and hold accountable Legarza's directors, regional leaders, and department managers.
• Translate company strategy into clear departmental priorities, responsibilities, and measurable goals.
• Lead weekly executive and leadership meetings.
• Create alignment across programs, regions, and administrative departments.
• Establish a consistent rhythm for communication, decision-making, follow-through, and performance management.
• Build a leadership team capable of operating effectively without excessive dependence on the President/Owner.
• Oversee staffing, scheduling, program readiness, customer service, school services, facility coordination, equipment, and administrative execution.
• Ensure that programs are properly staffed, prepared, supported, and evaluated.
• Identify recurring operational problems and create durable systems to address them.
• Improve coordination between the office, field leadership, coaches, schools, families, and facility partners.
• Maintain high standards while avoiding unnecessary bureaucracy.
• Preserve and strengthen Legarza's mission of developing youth through play.
• Create clear expectations and meaningful accountability at every level of the organization.
• Coach existing leaders and help them grow in responsibility, judgment, and effectiveness.
• Make thoughtful but timely decisions regarding hiring, development, performance improvement, and separation.
• Build a culture in which people feel supported, communicate directly, take ownership, and follow through on commitments.
• Ensure that growth does not come at the expense of program quality or the experience of children and families.
• Partner with the President/Owner and finance leadership to develop annual budgets, forecasts, and operating targets.
• Monitor revenue, labor costs, program profitability, enrollment, customer retention, and other key performance indicators.
• Hold department leaders accountable for financial and operational results.
• Identify opportunities to improve margins, efficiency, capacity, and resource allocation.
• Evaluate new programs and growth opportunities with appropriate operational and financial discipline.
• Provide the President/Owner with concise, accurate reporting on business performance, risks, and priorities.
• Build scalable systems that support expansion across programs, locations, and communities.
• Improve the company's use of technology, data, documentation, and standard operating procedures.
• Strengthen leadership succession and reduce dependence on any single individual.
• Support the integration of new programs, partnerships, locations, and potential acquisitions.
• Help create a more valuable and durable organization for employees, families, partners, and owners.

Skills

Senior leadership experience in amulti

Direct responsibility for budgets, "fi

Experience addressing difficult staff/

Strong written, verbal, organizational

Education

A bachelor's degree or equivalent combination of education and relevant operating experience.

Job description

Position: Full-time, primarily in person

Reports to: President/Owner

Compensation: $175,000-$210,000 base salary, plus performance-based bonus and benefits

Legarza has been developing youth through play since 1989. What began as a basketball camp has grown into a multi-program youth-development organization serving communities throughout the San Francisco Bay Area.

Our programs now include basketball, all-sports, volleyball, soccer, baseball, cooking, S.T.E.A.M., physical education, after-school enrichment, leagues, camps, and Bay United club teams. We work closely with schools, families, coaches, facility partners, and community organizations to create positive experiences for thousands of children each year.

As Legarza enters its next stage of growth, we are seeking an experienced operating lead to strengthen the organization, develop our people, improve execution, and build a company that can scale without losing the culture and personal connection that make Legarza special.

The Opportunity

The Chief Operating Officer will assume primary responsibility for Legarza's daily operations and organizational performance. This person will lead our directors and managers, coordinate execution across departments, establish clear accountability, and ensure that our programs consistently meet Legarza's operational, financial, and cultural standards.

The COO will work closely with the President/Owner, who will remain responsible for long-term strategy, ownership decisions, major partnerships, capital allocation, and the organization's broader vision.

This is not simply an administrative or program-management position. We are looking for a company-wide leader capable of understanding the details of our work while building the people, systems, and discipline necessary to operate successfully at scale.

For the right person, demonstrated success in this role could create a path toward becoming President of the organization.

Primary Responsibilities

Organizational Leadership

• Lead, develop, and hold accountable Legarza's directors, regional leaders, and department managers.
• Translate company strategy into clear departmental priorities, responsibilities, and measurable goals.
• Lead weekly executive and leadership meetings.
• Create alignment across programs, regions, and administrative departments.
• Establish a consistent rhythm for communication, decision-making, follow-through, and performance management.
• Build a leadership team capable of operating effectively without excessive dependence on the President/Owner.

Operational Management

• Assume primary responsibility for the successful daily operation of Legarza and Bay United.
• Oversee staffing, scheduling, program readiness, customer service, school services, facility coordination, equipment, and administrative execution.
• Ensure that programs are properly staffed, prepared, supported, and evaluated.
• Identify recurring operational problems and create durable systems to address them.
• Improve coordination between the office, field leadership, coaches, schools, families, and facility partners.
• Maintain high standards while avoiding unnecessary bureaucracy.

People and Culture

• Preserve and strengthen Legarza's mission of developing youth through play.
• Create clear expectations and meaningful accountability at every level of the organization.
• Coach existing leaders and help them grow in responsibility, judgment, and effectiveness.
• Make thoughtful but timely decisions regarding hiring, development, performance improvement, and separation.
• Build a culture in which people feel supported, communicate directly, take ownership, and follow through on commitments.
• Ensure that growth does not come at the expense of program quality or the experience of children and families.

Financial and Business Performance

• Partner with the President/Owner and finance leadership to develop annual budgets, forecasts, and operating targets.
• Monitor revenue, labor costs, program profitability, enrollment, customer retention, and other key performance indicators.
• Hold department leaders accountable for financial and operational results.
• Identify opportunities to improve margins, efficiency, capacity, and resource allocation.
• Evaluate new programs and growth opportunities with appropriate operational and financial discipline.
• Provide the President/Owner with concise, accurate reporting on business performance, risks, and priorities.

Growth and Infrastructure

• Build scalable systems that support expansion across programs, locations, and communities.
• Improve the company's use of technology, data, documentation, and standard operating procedures.
• Strengthen leadership succession and reduce dependence on any single individual.
• Support the integration of new programs, partnerships, locations, and potential acquisitions.
• Help create a more valuable and durable organization for employees, families, partners, and owners.

Qualifications

We expect the strongest candidates to have:

• Approximately 10 or more years of progressively responsible professional experience.
• At least five years of experience managing managers or department leaders.
• Senior leadership experience in a multi-location, service-oriented organization.
• Direct responsibility for budgets, financial performance, labor management, and operational results.
• Experience leading an organization with hourly, seasonal, part-time, or geographically dispersed employees.
• A demonstrated ability to build systems and accountability without losing culture or personal connection.
• Experience addressing difficult personnel and performance issues directly and constructively.
• Strong written, verbal, organizational, and analytical skills.
• Sound judgment and the ability to make decisions without unnecessary escalation.
• The confidence to work closely with a founder or owner, including the ability to challenge ideas respectfully and then execute aligned decisions.
• A bachelor's degree or equivalent combination of education and relevant operating experience.

Experience in youth development, education, camps, recreation, athletics, childcare, hospitality, franchising, or another multi-site service business is valuable but not required.

Basketball or sports expertise is not required. Respect for coaches, educators, children, families, and Legarza's youth-development mission is essential.

The Ideal Candidate

The ideal candidate is both strategic and practical. They are comfortable reviewing financial results in the morning, coaching a department leader in the afternoon, and visiting a program or speaking with a school partner later that day.

They do not need to be the center of every decision. Instead, they build capable leaders, establish clarity, and create an organization that performs consistently without constant intervention.

They appreciate the entrepreneurial strengths of a founder-led company while recognizing where greater structure, delegation, and accountability are needed. They know when to listen, when to coach, when to decide, and when to act.

Most importantly, they believe that excellent business operations and meaningful youth development should strengthen one another.

Measures of Success

During the first 12 months, the COO will be expected to:

• Earn the trust and respect of Legarza's leadership team.
• Establish clear responsibilities, goals, and accountability across departments.
• Assume ownership of routine operational and personnel decisions.
• Improve consistency in staffing, scheduling, communication, and program readiness.
• Develop useful financial and operational performance reporting.
• Reduce recurring emergencies and last-minute escalations.
• Strengthen the performance and independence of existing leaders.
• Deliver agreed-upon revenue, profitability, retention, and customer-experience goals.
• Significantly reduce the organization's dependence on the President/Owner for daily operations.

Compensation

The anticipated base salary range is $175,000-$210,000, depending on experience and demonstrated ability. The position also includes a meaningful performance-based bonus tied to company profitability, organizational performance, and agreed-upon leadership goals, along with a competitive benefits package.

A long-term incentive opportunity may be available based on performance and tenure.