Chief Operations Officer

Chief Operations Officer

About Living Classrooms

Founded in Baltimore in 1985, Living Classrooms Foundation is a Baltimore – Washington, DC nonprofit that disrupts the cycle of poverty and helps our community become safer, stronger, and healthier by meeting individuals where they are and building skills for life. Living Classrooms inspires children, youth, and adults to achieve their potential through hands-on education, workforce development, health and wellness, and violence prevention programming.

Living Classrooms has developed a distinctive competency in experiential learning – literally learning by direct experience – or what we call “learning by doing.” We utilize our environmental campuses, athletic fields, community centers, and historic ships as “living classrooms.” We work with one child, one teen, one adult, and one family at a time to identify existing barriers towards success and provide resources and opportunities to help each person reach their full potential, thus supporting stronger family units and more resilient communities.

While each of our program areas is distinct, in combination they create a powerful synergy. Our maritime heritage sites create opportunities for employment training. Our education programs use our environmental and maritime resources as living learning laboratories. Our employability programs create stronger communities that are better prepared to exercise environmental stewardship.

About the Opportunity

The role of the COO is to engage as a servant leader of the organization to facilitate the work of the Foundation programs and their impact to help children, youth and adults reach their potential academically, in the workplace, and in their lives.

Reporting Directly to the CEO, the COO is responsible for developing internal processes and systems that foster an organizational culture that centers people, transparency, and collaboration while ensuring organizational effectiveness. The COO will oversee operational functions, including human resources, facilities, IT, and program operations. As a key member of the executive team, the COO in coordination with the CEO and the CFO will have a leadership role in strategic planning, budgeting, forecasting, fundraising and will directly manage senior level staff.

Principal Duties and Responsibilities

• Participate in development/implementation of long-range strategic plans, and objectives for the Foundation.
• Maintain and build trusted relationships with key stakeholders, clients, partners, and vendors.
• Participate in recruitment and the retention and support of senior level staff.
• Participate in establishment and implementation of organizational policies and procedures.
• Interpret and implements policies, objectives, and operational procedures.
• Oversee risk and legal compliance and coordinate closely with the CFO to ensure that all contracts comply with Foundation goals and policy.
• Meet regularly with CFO to ensure that all programs and facilities are properly insured.
• Ensure an active, inclusive, and responsive DEI committee. Facilitate DEI initiatives with the support of HR and the senior leadership team.
• Participate in the development and implementation of the mission, vision, and values of the Foundation in coordination with the CEO, CFO and senior leadership team.
• Complete quarterly goals and actions with direct reports.
• Evaluate performance and recommend merit increases, promotion, and disciplinary actions.
• Delegate authority and responsibility as appropriate.
• Participate in professional development activities to keep current with relevant trends and practices. Ensure that members of senior level staff are engaged in appropriate professional development.
• Conduct meetings and develop an annual plan with goals for each division. Report performance of quarterly goals and actions. Provide quarterly report to CEO from each area of responsibility.
• In conjunction with the CEO and CFO, the COO will collaborate in setting and driving organizational vision, operational strategy and hiring needs.
• Assist the CEO with facility expansion and property acquisitions/transactions, as well as service programs/partnerships.
• Create and implement a comprehensive Foundation risk management system that includes a near miss policy.
• In partnership with the CEO, CFO and Director of Finance, oversee the process for creating multi-year financial forecasting and a participatory budgeting process for departments, ensuring long term financial stewardship.
• Analyze, recommend, and support the Foundation by improving performance on quality measures to engage in work redesign, changes in organization systems, policies and procedures, and quality improvement process and results within the organization. Success in this area will be measured by improvement in program outcomes and impacts our programs and the people we serve within those programs.
• Seek and evaluate process improvement information, materials, and methods to match specific organizational needs as outlined by management and adapt them to use in the execution of continuous quality improvement.
• Coordinate with related functions to assure appropriate information flow and understanding of overall processes.
• Collaborate with senior level staff in developing transformation strategies in the adoption of process improvement and guide staff in the implementation and execution of process improvement tools and methods to achieve continuous quality improvement for all Foundation programs.
• Undertake special projects as directed by the CEO.
• This role encompasses our regional operations and will require occasional travel to our facilities in Baltimore and the National Capital Region.
• Other duties as assigned by the CEO.

Key Qualifications

• Ten years in a senior leadership position, with specific experience in leading through growth, infrastructure building, and/or change.
• Experience effectively implementing strategic plans into work streams and tactics.
• Significant experience leading a talent management function including oversight of culture and engagement, recruitment, performance management, and professional development.
• Experience in HR, finance, budgeting, and IT.
• Highly seasoned team manager who coaches result-oriented teams to produce quality results through strong performance management, goal setting, delegation, and prioritization. Strong interpersonal, written, and oral communications and project management skills.
• Demonstrated ability to lead and facilitate change management.
• Flexibility to work in an evolving environment, with an appetite for and sensitivity to working with diverse cultures.
• Experience in managing facilities and capital projects.
• Experience promoting the growth and development of individuals through empowering, advocating, and differentiated support.
• Experience engaging colleagues and stakeholders collaboratively and building rapport and consensus.
• Ability to work cohesively with the team and lead others by example maintaining focus on servant leadership to produce quality results.
• Experience in managing IT.