Deputy Chief Operating Officer

Switchboard Public Benefit Corp; Washington (District of Columbia); On-site; USD 185,000 - 207,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading organization in digital fundraising seeks a Deputy COO to manage operations and financial processes. This role requires strong project management skills and the ability to navigate ambiguity while supporting the company's growth. The ideal candidate will have over 10 years of experience in dynamic environments, ensuring operational efficiency and team support.

Benefits

100% health, dental, and vision coverage for employees

75% coverage for dependents

Employer-provided long-term disability and life insurance

21 days of paid time off plus federal holidays

Unlimited sick leave

12 weeks paid parental leave

401(K) match with immediate vesting

Qualifications

• 10+ years of experience in fast-paced, ambiguous environments.
• Strong operational chops with complex project management.
• Comfortable with ambiguity and able to bring structure.

Responsibilities

• Work with COO to implement systems for scale.
• Manage financial operations including billing and vendor management.
• Support HR and compliance functions.

Skills

Project Management

Communication

Change Management

Operational Efficiency

Job description

During the 2024 election cycle, Switchboard worked with over 2,700 campaigns and organizations from school board to federal races, strengthening Democratic digital fundraising and organizing programs up and down the ballot. In addition to the automated messaging platform that we launched in 2021, through which organizations have sent billions of messages, we've continued to build out an integrated suite of tools, including an emailer, forms builder, and fundraising analytics dashboards, with the goal of bringing together multiple outreach channels with powerful analytics in an easy-to-use platform.

We're looking for a high-trust, high-agency operator to join us as Deputy COO. You'll work directly with the COO to both handle the daily operational needs of the business and help us build the systems that will support our next phase of growth. We don't want to just build great products, we also want to be a great organization where people can build their careers.This is a unique opportunity to step into a broad, high-impact role at a growing company, blending execution, ownership, and strategic thinking.

We're not looking for a deep specialist - we're looking for someone who's smart, organized, and can figure things out. Someone who spots what's broken, fixes it, and builds the process so it doesn't break again. Someone who takes ownership, communicates clearly, and gets shit done.

What You'll Do

Build for Scale

• Work alongside the COO to think through and implement systems for scale.
• Identify tools, processes, and operational changes that make our work better - then own the rollout.
• Bring structure to chaos - help us move from reactive to proactive in how we operate.

Financial Operations

Billing, invoicing, A / R follow-up

• Expense and vendor management
• Bookkeeping coordination and accounting support
• Support tax and compliance workflows

People & Internal Operations

• Keep the trains running on time : office management, team event coordination, etc.
• Internal coordination and team support - making sure people have what they need to do their best work.
• Support operational HR and Compliance functions.
• Assist with IT operations, such as Mobile Device Management (MDM) setup and maintenance.
• Ensure we have a strong performance management process to support professional development of our team members.

The Catch-All (and the Glue)

• Handle one-off operational problems and help the team get unstuck when new challenges pop up.
• Think critically - we want someone who doesn't just do the thing, but asks whether it's the right thing.
• Take loose goals and ideas and turn them into action.

What You Bring

• Strong operational chops - you've managed complex projects, kept things from slipping through the cracks, and ideally handled back-office functions before.
• Low-ego, high-ownership - you're just as comfortable running a vendor call as you are picking up mail.
• Comfortable with ambiguity - a lot of this is new, and we're figuring it out together. You bring structure and clarity to messiness.
• A strong communicator - alignment is key. We're hands-off by design, so we want someone who checks in early and often and keeps things moving forward.
• 10+ years of experience operating in fast-paced, ambiguous environments - ideally in a scaling startup or similar setting - with a strong track record of cross-functional execution, change management, and end-to-end ownership of internal operations from strategy through implementation.

Compensation

• 185-207K annual salary and an equity grant depending on experience
• Switchboard covers 100% of health, dental, and vision coverage for employees and 75% for dependents
• Employer-provided long-term disability and life insurance
• 21 days of paid time off plus federal holidays
• Unlimited sick leave
• 12 weeks paid parental leave for parents of any gender, including adoptive parents
• 401(K) match with immediate vesting

Diversity

We believe the best products and companies are built by diverse teams where everyone's perspectives are heard and respected. We strongly encourage people of color, LGBTQ+, women, and members of other underrepresented groups to apply. Even if you're not sure if the role is a good fit, please apply! We are committed to providing reasonable accommodations to individuals with disabilities in the hiring process and on the job.

Candidates must be authorized to work in the US. We're unable to sponsor work visas at this time.

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