Chief Operating Officer (COO) Details

Chief Operating Officer (COO)

The Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation - Washington, DC

Employment Type : Full-Time

Title: Chief Operating Officer (COO)

Location: Washington, DC

Reports To: President & CEO

Classification: Full-time, exempt

Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation is a proven leader in the global fight to end HIV and AIDS, and an advocate for every child to live a full and healthy life into adulthood. Founded through a mother’s determination, we are driven to see a world where no other mother, child or family is devastated by this disease. For more than 30 years, EGPAF has been a leader in meeting urgent needs in pediatric HIV and AIDS in the world’s most affected regions. For more information, please visit http://www.pedaids.org .

Expressing Interest

Nicole Kamaleson, Managing Director Global Practice and Sarah Avendaño, Consultant, Executive Search of Koya Partners have been exclusively retained for this search. To express your interest in this role please submit your materials to https://talent-profile.koyapartners.com/search/4220. All inquiries and discussions will be considered strictly confidential.

The Opportunity

EGPAF is seeking a Chief Operating Officer (“COO”) to support the organization in its next chapter. Reporting to, and working closely with, the President and Chief Executive Officer, the COO will provide overall internal leadership to a dynamic and international organization. As a key member of the Executive Leadership Team (“ELT”) and leader of the Corporate Services business unit, the COO manages, collaborates, and coaches a team led by five direct reports:

• VP, Human Resources & Administration
• Senior Director, Global IT
• Senior Director, Internal Audit & Risk Management
• VP, Awards, Compliance, & International Operations
• VP, Finance and Accounting

Location

This position is located in Washington DC. Given COVID-19, the COO will be working remotely until EGPAF’s domestic offices reopen. EGPAF, along with many other organizations, are experiencing a period of adaptation and uncertainty. The COO must reflect this resilience and flexibility, while leading and inspiring teams virtually. Once it is safe to do so, the role will require 20% travel.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership

• Establish a vision and goals for overall global operational performance, including developing and executing strategies and tactics that achieve tangible results across functional teams.
• Serve as a visible and active member of the Executive Leadership Team (ELT), along with the President and CEO, Executive Vice President of Medical & Scientific Affairs, and Executive Vice President of External Affairs & Business Development.
• Drive operations strategy by assessing risks, noting opportunities for expansion/change, setting overall goals and metrics, and proposing projects or systems to enhance efficiency.
• Develop a strong, operational partnership with the CEO, the senior technical/scientific leadership, the staff, Board, and external partners to build on the organization’s successful history.

Global Operational Excellence

• Ensure that EGPAF continues to have robust operations systems and operates with maximum integrity.
• Drive global operational excellence and a top-tier customer service mindset across all Corporate Services functions by identifying internal best practices as well as engaging with other leaders in the space.
• Manage the budget and financial reporting for department activities.
• Hold the highest level of responsibility for the organization’s risk management functions; guide and advise the CEO on best practices for an organizational approach to legal issues.
• Ensure the team is following appropriate business processes, procedures, and policies.

Funding and Financial Accumen

• Ensure that finance staff maintains and strengthens robust financial management systems in accordance with USG regulations, while prioritizing the availability of real time financial data for country programs.
• Assure our systems are responsive and compliant with various donor systems.
• Streamline and integrate financial management systems across offices.
• Explore avenues to ensure that systems and cost structure are able to satisfy the requirements for a variety of funding sources, as well as respond to and attract a more diversified funding base.
• Ensure accountability for all insurance and risk management programs, audits, and auditor relationships, as well as maintaining clean audits.
• Prepare short and long-range budget modeling based on the strategic parameters.
• Assure EGPAF’s financial reports are accurate and timely, meeting the organizational needs.
• Maintain precise oversight of global and country finances, including avoidance of overspending and fraudulent activity in country.

Team Leadership

• Promote a culture of accountability, strong integrity, high performance, meaningful collaboration, and continuous improvement that values learning, a commitment to quality, and a commitment to EGPAF’s mission.
• Instill, strengthen, and promote a culture of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, & Belonging (DEIB) within the team, driving behaviors and initiatives staff will emulate.
• Recruit, motivate, and lead global teams in a manner that promotes professional development while maintaining team focus on organizational priorities and best practices.
• Build alignment and consensus within the team around organizational goals and change management.
• Demonstrate leadership in collaboration across the organization, in strong partnership with the Global Leadership Team (GLT).
• Encourage next level leadership through the mentoring of employees, assigning accountabilities, setting objectives, establishing priorities, and monitoring and evaluating results.

Candidate Profile

The candidate will possess and embrace EGPAF’s core values of passion, innovation, teamwork, leadership, integrity, excellence, and equality. The ideal candidate will also have the following professional and personal skills, competencies, and characteristics:

A Team Builder and Strong Communicator

• This leader will have strong executive presence, engender confidence and will be collaborative, while being unafraid to be the decision-maker. The COO will have a deep knowledge of the NGO space and sector and will be skilled at quickly establishing rapport and cultivating relationships across all levels of the organization. Highly articulate and a deft communicator, the COO will easily convey the organization’s successes and opportunities with passion and intensity in both formal and informal situations. The COO will embrace the culture of EGPAF, while also engaging with both peers and leaders in the sector to ascertain and implement best-in-class practices across the global organization in a productive manner. The COO will foster trust and collaboration globally among team members and possess the ability to manage through change with flexibility and poise, across multiple cultures. This leader will be capable of managing conflict and conflicting views and have the ability to be clear minded in a state of ambiguity. The COO must lead by example and demonstrate humility, openness to feedback, a strong drive for excellence, and strong emotional literacy.

Ability to Execute for Results

• As a strategic member of the ELT, the COO will conceptualize and approach problems and solutions in a proactive, constructive, and innovative manner that will result in improved performance across the organization. A problem-solver and strategic thinker with excellent reasoning skills and attention to detail, this executive has the ability to understand and deal with complexities with ease and creatively overcome obstacles to achieve goals. The COO will execute for results with a high degree of proactiveness, responsiveness, and motivation. This leader will have a proven track record of exceeding goals and have a bottom-line orientation. The COO possesses the ability to consistently make good decisions and solve complex problems through a combination of analysis, wisdom, experience, and judgement. The COO will develop and empower first-rate leaders from the bottom up and lead from the top down.

A Financial Approach

• The COO will bring demonstrated experience running a sizable and innovative finance department and the ability and confidence to ensure that EGPAF’s financial and data oversight is of the highest caliber. The COO will bring a strategic and creative financial mind with the tactical ability to “deep dive” into the details with strong quantitative and analytical skills. The COO is able to transition seamlessly between the “big picture” and minutia, establishing clear oversight of both global and country- specific finances. This leader will bring a high level of intellectual horsepower with a collaborative and service-oriented mindset. The COO must have proven experience in global budgeting, strategic forecasting and planning, and in overseeing financial, accounting, compliance, and risk management of a complex international organization. This leader must be well-versed in USG grant and contracting practices and regulations, including PEFPFAR and USAID. The COO will be skilled at presenting financial information in a clear, confident fashion to a range of constituents with varying levels of expertise.

A Passion for the Mission

• The COO will have a sincere passion for the mission of EGPAF, as well an appreciation for, and experience in, Africa. This is a leader who understands and embraces that the finance and operations functions of an organization of this caliber are dedicated to serving the overall mission of the organization, while also balancing the needs of the technical programming side with the corporate services side. The COO is an authentic, honest, and ethical person as evidenced by how they live day to day, treat others, and operate in the world of business. A servant leader, the COO will exhibit a high level of emotional intelligence, graciousness, and collegiality, as well as a personal style that embodies humility and patience with quiet confidence and strength of character.

The Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation (EGPAF) provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability or genetics. In addition to federal law requirements, EGPAF complies with applicable state and local laws governing nondiscrimination in employment in every location in which the Foundation has facilities. EGPAF does not charge any fees at any stage of the recruitment process. If you are asked to pay a fee at any stage of this recruitment, please report to fraud@pedaids.org .