Chief Operating Officer: Scale Ops and Build Teams

Animal Pain Research Institute; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 150,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

Animal Pain Research Institute (APRI) is seeking an experienced operations leader to architect growth and scale our nonprofit scientific organization. You will own internal operations, enabling the executive director and program teams to advance APRI’s mission with strategic, well-structured processes.

You will build capable teams across finance, HR, legal/compliance, and fundraising operations, design scalable systems, and partner with leadership to resolve bottlenecks as we grow in size and

Qualifications

• Experience scaling organizations from a handful to 10–20+ personnel, ideally scientific or research bodies.
• 9AM–5PM CT overlap with occasional in-person collaboration in Chicago.
• Strategic thinker and decision-maker about needed capabilities and leadership roles.
• Comfortable entering unfamiliar domains and learning quickly.
• Ability to build and delegate across finance, HR, legal & compliance, vendors, and fundraising ops.
• Experience designing scalable systems and processes as organizations grow.
• Experience leading or delegating operations across multiple functions.

Responsibilities

• Architect growth: structure teams, guide hiring, and build capabilities.
• Executive partnership: support the ED and surface what needs attention.
• Owning operations: manage finance, HR, legal/compliance, vendor management, and fundraising operations.
• Oversee internal and fractional operations to keep the engine running smoothly.

Skills

Strategic thinking

Leadership

Operational design

Cross-functional collaboration

Communication

Adaptability

Problem-solving

Job description

Animal Pain Research Institute (APRI) is seeking an experienced operations leader to architect growth and scale our nonprofit scientific organization. You will own internal operations, enabling the executive director and program teams to advance APRI’s mission with strategic, well-structured processes.

You will build capable teams across finance, HR, legal/compliance, and fundraising operations, design scalable systems, and partner with leadership to resolve bottlenecks as we grow in size and