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Chief Operating Officer

Employer
Jobelephant.com Inc.
Location
Los Angeles, California
Closing date
Jul 28, 2022

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Chief Operating Officer

Weingart Foundation

Los Angeles, CA

 

The Opportunity

The Weingart Foundation (“Weingart”) seeks a strategic and thoughtful Chief Operating Officer (COO) who will be responsible for managing day-to-day aspects of the Foundation, including oversight of facilities, information technology, and human resources. These functional areas are critical to the success of the Foundation’s grantmaking and help the Foundation successfully meet its strategic goals and fulfill its mission.

 

The Chief Operating Officer will be expected to work closely with the leadership team, staff, and Board in operationalizing the Foundation’s commitment to racial justice, creating a work environment that reflects the Foundation’s mission and embedding the Foundation’s values in all aspects of the day-to-day operations, processes, and decision-making. Therefore, the Foundation is seeking a high-energy, self-directed individual with an authentic alignment to the Foundation’s core values. The Chief Operating Officer will play an important role in driving the organization’s innovation and operational excellence, identifying, and implementing best-in-class systems and service to support the Foundation’s work. The ideal candidate will possess a commitment to excellent follow through and organizational skills, and the ability to move ideas from concept to implementation.

 

Reporting directly to the President & CEO, the Chief Operating Officer will lead short- and long-term strategic initiatives, manage complex projects, and serve as an indispensable thought partner to the CEO, Board of Directors, and Executive Staff. The Chief Operating Officer will be a passionate and innovative professional who will bring a combination of strategic vision, adaptive management, effective project management, and tactical implementation capabilities to the organization.

 

As a right hand to the CEO, the COO will provide necessary support to enable the CEO to focus on broad strategic initiatives, both within and beyond the organization, and will follow up on strategic and critical projects, carrying initiatives forward with the CEO, planning for and setting agendas for key meetings, and keeping the CEO apprised of important updates and developments. This leader will bring the skill and experience to integrate quickly into Weingart and work effectively with the Executive Staff, operating at maximum effectiveness.

 

About Weingart Foundation

The Weingart Foundation is a private grantmaking foundation advancing racial, social, and economic justice in Southern California. Founded in 1951 by Ben and Stella Weingart, the Foundation has provided over $1 billion in grants and loans to thousands of organizations across the region. By strengthening organizations focused on providing critical services and building power in communities of color, the Weingart Foundation is demonstrating what is possible when we invest and trust in our partners.

 

Mission

 

The Weingart Foundation partners with communities across Southern California to advance racial, social, and economic justice for all.

 

Overarching Goal and Vision

 

The Weingart Foundation seeks to achieve inclusion and opportunity for all Southern Californians, especially for those who have historically been excluded due to their race, income level, gender, religion, immigration status, disability, age, sexual orientation, or zip code.

 

To achieve this goal, the Foundation’s grantmaking program and other support are designed to strengthen the capacity and effectiveness of nonprofit organizations, collaboratives, and coalitions working to meet essential needs, expand opportunity, and eliminate structural barriers to equity by building the community power required to sustain long-term prosperity.

 

Our vision is a dynamic and effective social change sector in Southern California that is creating equitable systems and structures needed to achieve justice.

 

Core Values

 

• Courage: The work of equity and justice often involves pushing against the status quo, taking risks, and holding ourselves and others with privilege accountable in pursuit of collective goals. We strive to show courage, drawing inspiration from the courage that communities continue to show in the face of great challenges.

 

• Dignity: Every person matters and deserves a sustainable standard of living. The measure of our society is how we treat those among us who face oppression, inequity, or lack of opportunity.

 

• Innovation and Curiosity: We commit ourselves to becoming more effective by staying open to new ideas and risk and by learning from each other, from our peers, and from our partners.

 

• Partnership: We strive to break down the power imbalance between nonprofits and funders, and the silos within the social change sector. Our goal is to be an engaged and supportive partner to organizations, leveraging our resources and reach to help them achieve their own goals and amplify the power of their communities.

 

• Racial justice: Rather than addressing the symptoms of structural inequities, we seek to confront our nation’s deep history of racism and to help imagine something beyond it. We commit to using our influence, position, and resources to eliminate racist policies and practice to achieve justice, inclusion, and opportunity for all people.

 

• Respect: The people served by our work deserve our respect. We honor their dedication to improving their own lives and the lives of others in their communities, and we trust them as experts on their own experiences.

 

• Trust: Our partners know what they need, and they know what their communities need. We trust them to identify the best pathways to impact and to be responsible stewards of the resources we provide.

 

For more information on the Weingart Foundation, please visit www.weingartfnd.org.

 

Key Responsibilities

 

• Management: Oversee a wide range of strategic, operational, organizational, and technology-related initiatives within the Foundation. The COO will partner with members of the executive management team and staff to ensure the organization reaches its strategic goals.

• Functional Leadership: Oversee operations in the areas of information technology, facilities, and human resources. Set goals for improvement and establish supporting policies and procedures in these functional areas. Engage in ongoing research and information gathering to ensure the Foundation is utilizing operational strategies that are not only effective in the present, but also position the Foundation for future success. Understand and anticipate necessary changes to ensure that operations exemplify best practices.

• Employee Supervision: Manage, coach, and mentor a team of high-performing professionals to achieve operational excellence. Lead by example and maintain a climate that attracts, retains, and motivates top-quality people. In addition, the COO will supervise outsourced service providers of information technology and human resources.

• Values Integration: Model and embed the Foundation’s values throughout the organization and in all aspects of day-to-day operations and play a leadership role in driving the Foundation to be a highly functional, effective, efficient, and healthy workplace. Inspire excellence at all levels of the organization.

• Technology Operations: Enhance the role of information technology by evaluating needs across the Foundation and working closely with the third-party service provider to develop processes and implementation strategies, including staff training, to maximize technology systems and tools.

• Facilities Management: Work with the Facilities Manager to maintain and improve the Foundation’s office and meeting space to ensure it is an innovative and creative space for staff and guests to work and collaborate.

• Human Resources Support: Ensure human resources and overall operations are in alignment, with a focus on leveraging the Foundation’s third-party human resources platform.

• Continuous Improvement: Improve the quality of the Foundation’s internal systems, making the Foundation a model of excellence and best-in-class service organization.

 

Candidate Profile

 

The ideal candidate will have the following attributes and competencies:

 

Passion for the Mission and Values Alignment

The COO will share a passion for the Foundation’s vision, mission, and core values. They will demonstrate a commitment to racial justice and serving impacted communities. Driven by the mission, this leader will influence the culture and impact of Weingart through the modeling and adoption of best practices. The COO will be an inspiring and empathic individual of unquestioned integrity, ethics, and values, treating others with respect. The ideal candidate will showcase a commitment to innovation through experimentation, critical thinking, problem solving, and adaptability, upholding the core values of the Foundation.

 

Operations Management with HR Expertise

The COO will be forward-thinking, always looking for ways to leverage efficient and creative solutions to help operations function optimally for highest impact. They will understand and have the ability to provide advice and counsel related to people and culture (human resources management) and be flexible in adapting to emerging needs of Weingart as they develop.

 

This executive will also have demonstrated expertise or knowledge in a range of administrative functions (i.e., information technology, facilities, etc.), with an understanding of best practices, tools, and metrics, and be resourceful in identifying solutions or alternatives. They will be a self-motivated team player who will influence, engage, and partner with the CEO, Board of Directors, and staff at all levels throughout the organization in identifying key operational and administrative needs, opportunities, and strategies.

 

Strategic and Collaborative Mindset

The COO will be an inclusive leader and a natural collaborator with a proven track record of working in partnership with a broad range of constituents in a service capacity. They will contribute to the strategy development, learning, and management process within the Foundation’s work. This leader will play an essential organizational leadership role and will work closely with Executive Staff to successfully implement and operationalize short- and long-term initiatives and special projects. They will manage the timely delivery of cross-divisional organizational goals and will foster an environment of adaptive and transparent leadership to adjust to changing circumstances or new data. The ideal candidate will have demonstrated experience in mentoring and coaching others within a team of diverse levels of expertise along with an ability to lead the team using collaboration, dependability, empathy, and humility.

 

Board Liaison and Project Management Capability

Working with a sense of urgency, the COO will have excellent project management and organizational skills, with the ability to set and juggle multiple priorities while managing projects or initiatives and supporting Board Meetings and staff communication as needed. They will fulfill administrative duties needed by the Board and assume additional duties promoting board engagement and communication. Successful candidates will be able to set priorities, make informed and timely decisions, and execute on deadlines and deliverables while keeping the best interests of the organization in mind. As such, the COO must be highly organized, detail-oriented, assess risks appropriately, and have an eye for organization-wide compliance with the ability to follow appropriate rules, regulations, policies, procedures, governance bylaws, and federal, state, and municipal laws.

 

Relationship Builder and Excellent Communication Skills

The COO will be skilled at building and sustaining excellent relationships and communicating effectively with various constituencies. The COO will be personable and approachable with a collegial demeanor and openness to diverse perspectives. They will have an ability to develop relationships based on trust, confidence, and respect, and build effective coalitions to move an agenda forward. Possessing the ability to understand and appreciate a mission-driven environment that has a strong sense of community, the COO will proactively solicit others’ views and feedback, make appropriate adjustments, and generate buy-in throughout the organization for ongoing projects and initiatives before making key decisions. Maintaining a high degree of emotional intelligence and political sophistication, the COO must have and bring their exceptional interpersonal and listening skills to this critical role in order to effectively work with Executive Staff, Board of Directors, grantees, collaborative partners, contractors, and vendors, among others.

 

Additionally, this individual will have excellent written, verbal, and visual communication skills with exceptional presentation skills. The COO will work collaboratively with Executive Staff to develop communication plans and ensure frequent, transparent, and effective dissemination of information throughout the Foundation.

 

Compensation & Benefits

 

The annual base salary for this role will be based on a range, starting at $180,000 and commensurate with the successful candidate’s skills and experience. The Foundation also provides a generous benefits package. This is a full-time, exempt position and will require the candidate to be present and onsite in the Downtown LA office.

 

Contact

 

Koya Partners, the executive search firm that specializes in mission-driven search, has been exclusively retained for this engagement. Michelle Bonoan and Jennifer Smith of Koya Partners have been exclusively retained for this search. To express interest in this role, please submit your materials https://talent-profile.diversifiedsearchgroup.com/search/v2/18352, or email Michelle and Jennifer directly at mbonoan@koyapartners.com and jsmith@koyapartners.com. All inquiries and discussions will be considered strictly confidential.

 

Koya Partners is committed to providing reasonable accommodation to individuals living with disabilities. If you are a qualified individual living with a disability and need assistance expressing interest online, please email NonprofitSearchOps@divsearch.com. If you are selected for an interview, you will receive additional information regarding how to request an accommodation for the interview process.

 

The Weingart Foundation is an equal opportunity employer.

 

Given the Foundation’s focus on racial and socio-economic justice, we welcome candidates from impacted communities. People of color, people with disabilities, people with diverse cultural and gender identities, and people with relevant lived experience, are all strongly encouraged to apply.

 

About Koya Partners

 

Koya Partners, a part of Diversified Search Group, is a leading executive search and strategic advising firm dedicated to connecting exceptionally talented people with mission-driven clients. Our founding philosophy—The Right Person in the Right Place Can Change the World—guides our work as we partner with nonprofits & NGOs, institutions of higher education, responsible businesses, and social enterprises in local communities and around the world.

 

For more information about Koya Partners, visit www.koyapartners.com.

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