Chief Operating Officer (CO)

The Fairness Project; United States; Remote; USD 180,000 - 260,000; Full time

Job summary

The Fairness Project is seeking a seasoned Chief Operating Officer to translate strategy into cross-functional execution, ensuring financial sustainability and robust long-term modeling. You will sit on the executive team and coordinate finance, operations, HR, legal, technology, and risk to drive organizational health.

As part of the leadership group, you will shape the budgeting process, partner with the Board on financial reporting, and lead multi-functional initiatives that span the

Qualifications

• 10+ years of senior leadership experience, preferably as a COO or equivalent.
• Direct experience overseeing organizational finance at a senior level.
• Proven track record designing and executing business modeling, long-term financial forecasting, and cost management.
• Strong data analysis and strategic thinking skills for data-based decisions.
• Experience in nonprofit and/or unionized environment; knowledge of NDWA mission are assets.

Responsibilities

• Translate strategy into cross-functional execution with emphasis on financial sustainability.
• Lead financial strategy including long-term planning, budgeting, and reporting.
• Oversee HR, legal, technology, and risk matters with executive alignment.
• Set operational direction for infrastructure, systems, and process efficiency.
• Build dashboards and metrics with financial performance for Board visibility.

Skills

Strategic leadership

Financial forecasting

Data analysis

Cross-functional collaboration

Governance & risk

Education

Bachelor's in Business Administration or related

MBA preferred

Job description

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES

Strategic Leadership and Executive Partnership

Serve as chief operating partner to the Executive Director, translating strategy into cross-functional execution, with particular attention to financial sustainability and long-term modeling.
Sit on the executive leadership team and contribute to organization-wide strategic and financial planning.
Represent finance, operations, HR, legal, technology, and risk matters to the Board and relevant committees.
Partner with the Strategy and Impact team to assess whether current systems, capacity, risk tolerance, and resource allocation are fit for purpose, and own the operational and financial changes required to close any gaps.

Finance (via VP of Finance)

Lead financial strategy, including long-term planning, business modeling, budgeting, and reporting.
Review and approve major financial decisions, capital planning, and reserve strategy.
Ensure financial strategy is tightly aligned with organizational priorities and drives sustainable growth.
Lead engagement with the Board of Directors and Finance Committee on financial reporting and budgeting.

People & Culture (via VP of People & Culture)

Oversee the entire employee lifecycle, ensuring all staff recruitment, onboarding, development, retention, and offboarding policies and practices align with organizational values and legal requirements, and support a healthy and productive workplace culture.
Oversee labor and management relations.
Provide strategic direction on organizational design and workforce planning, including its budget implications.
Oversee the strategic design of organization-wide compensation frameworks, total rewards, and succession planning in alignment with long-term fiscal sustainability.

Operations (via Director of Operations and Events)

Set strategic direction for operational infrastructure, systems, and process efficiency.
Oversee facilities and vendor management.
Oversee the execution of internal and external events, demonstrating operational excellence and achieving program goals.

Technology (via Director of Technology)

Set strategic direction for enterprise technology infrastructure and internal digital tools, ensuring investments align with organizational priorities and budget.
Oversee vendor and platform evaluation, selection, and implementation.
Oversee data security and the organization's posture on data governance.
Ensure responsible adoption of emerging technologies that strengthen organizational effectiveness.

Legal, Compliance, and Risk Management (via General Counsel)

Oversee enterprise risk assessment and risk reporting to the Board.
Oversee risk mitigation strategy, crisis response protocols, and business continuity planning.
Oversee regulatory compliance and nonprofit governance obligations.
Oversee insurance, liability, and internal controls.

Division Leadership and Cross-Functional Integration

Mentor department heads and build high-performing, values-aligned teams.
Ensure coordination across Finance, People & Culture, Legal, Technology, and Operations so policy and process don't work at cross-purposes.
Sponsor organization-wide initiatives requiring multi-functional coordination.
Build and maintain dashboards and metrics, with financial performance central, for executive and Board visibility.

QUALIFICATIONS

Required

10+ years of senior leadership experience, preferably as a COO or equivalent, managing multi-functional teams.
Direct experience overseeing organizational finance at a senior level.
Proven track record designing and executing business modeling, long-term financial forecasting, and cost management.
Strong data analysis and strategic thinking skills, with the ability to identify trends and drive data-based decisions in a fast-paced environment.
Enough fluency in HR, legal, technology, and operations to ask sharp questions, make sound judgment calls, and go deep when a situation demands it, without needing to be the technical expert in every domain.
Systems thinking: sees how decisions in one function ripple into others (for example, how a compensation policy affects budget, or how a vendor contract creates legal or operational risk) and spots cross-purpose friction before it becomes a problem.
Trusted executive presence; able to build credibility with the Executive Director, Board, and functional leaders, and to represent operational and financial health externally (funders, auditors, regulators) and internally with equal clarity and confidence.
A collaborative, not controlling, leadership style that leads through trust, delegation, and thoughtful questioning rather than direct control of functional experts.
Strong judgment under ambiguity, particularly in risk and crisis situations; calm and clear-headed under pressure.
Discretion and integrity, given regular access to sensitive financial, legal, HR, and risk information.
Comfort building and professionalizing infrastructure, not just maintaining what exists.
Ability to translate technical and functional detail (financial, legal, HR, technology) into plain language for the Board, staff, and external stakeholders.
Experience in a nonprofit and/or unionized environment; familiarity with national nonprofits.
Alignment with NDWA's mission, vision, and values, and an understanding of the issues facing low-wage workers, immigrant communities, and women of color.

Preferred

Bachelor's degree in Business Administration or a related field; MBA preferred.
Experience working within a collective bargaining environment and partnering with union leadership.
Experience with multi-entity nonprofit structures (such as a 501(c)(3), 501(c)(4), and PAC).
Demonstrated commitment to racial, economic, and gender justice.