Chief Operating Officer:
The White House Project, a national nonpartisan nonprofit committed to advancing women’s leadership, is seeking a results-driven individual to serve as Chief Operating Officer(COO). The individual who assumes this role is joining The White House Project at a pivotal time in the organization’s history as founder Marie Wilson transitions to a new role at President Emeritus and Tiffany Dufu, former Vice President, Development & Administration assumes the role of President. This is an exciting moment for the nonprofit sector and the women’s movement, as it represents an intergenerational leadership transition that embodies the values and mission of the organization. In addition, the leadership transition positions The White House Project to secure new sources of revenue and visibility as we hone our strategy, execute our core competencies and achieve scale to achieve the greatest social impact.
Organization Background
The White House Project is committed to moving a richly diverse, critical mass of women into public positions up to and including the U.S. presidency. Founded twelve years ago, we have developed a unique and cutting-edge training approach to promoting civic engagement by women of all backgrounds. Out of 11,000 alumnae, 53% are women of color, 67% are under 35, and 43% come from lower-income households. Today we are recognized as being on the forefront of a progressive movement that is inexorably changing the demographics and focus of policy-making in this country.
The approach of The White House Project in advancing women’s leadership remains unique as we sit at the nexus of politics, business and popular culture. In addition to our award-winning political leadership training program, The White House Project works with members of our Corporate Council, which includes Fortune companies such as Ernst & Young, American Express, Best Buy and Google, to advance women’s leadership in business. We also leverage popular culture to shift the public’s perception of women as leaders through our annual EPIC Awards and partnerships such as O, The Oprah Magazine on Women Rule!, Participant Productions on the Fair Game film release, and Mattel on President Barbie.
The White House Project was founded in 1998 by Marie Wilson, an advocate of women’s issues for more than 30 years, co-creator of Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day and author of Closing the Leadership Gap: Why Women Can and Must Help Run the World (Viking 2004). Before launching The White House Project, Ms. Wilson spent nearly two decades as President of the Ms. Foundation for Women.
The White House Project is governed by a distinguished Board that is chaired by Beth Brooke, Global Vice Chair Ernst & Young, and includes Geraldine Laybourne, Founder Oxygen Media, Susan Taylor, Former Editorial Director ESSENCE Magazine, Julie Gilbert, President Wolf Means Business, and actress Geena Davis.
Headquartered in New York City, The White House Project has offices in Colorado, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin.
Opportunity
The White House Project is seeking a dedicated nonprofit management expert who is looking to join an entrepreneurial team charged with executing a new organizational strategy to scale its training programs and achieve dramatic social impact. To manage this growth and ensure constant innovative progress, the COO will focus on all internal functions by leading efforts to enhance operating efficiencies, overseeing cross-departmental projects and facilitate continued growth through a results-oriented management style. In this nonprofit generalist role, the COO will work alongside a high functioning executive team and new President to grow the organization while simultaneously honing infrastructure that will allow for sustainable expansion into the distant future.
Responsibilities:
- Collaborate with the President and executive team to implement new strategic plan.
- Coordinate closely with National Directors of Political Programming, Corporate Programming, External Affairs and the President to drive cross-departmental systems, initiatives and communication that result in high quality programs and maximum impact.
- Manage outsourced accountant and oversee all financial and business planning activities including budgeting, P&L, financial reporting and investigation of strategic financing options.
- Manage Director of IT to implement and lead a new technology and social media strategy designed to support the training programs and all development and marketing efforts.
- Oversee the human resource function, including the development and implementation of effective recruiting, hiring, compensation, benefits, and training and professional development policies.
- Lead the strategic planning for and implementation of all core operational functions including compliance, risk management, contracts, facilities management, data and information systems management.
- Provide staff support and guidance to the Board of Directors and act as staff liaison to relevant board committees.
Who We’re Looking For
The new COO is someone interested in being a core member of the re-engineering team of an organization with a strong brand and track record, poised to experience dramatic growth in the next 3-5 years. They are nimble and thrive in fast-paced environments where they wear multiple hats and where their work has high proportional impact. They are motivated by the mission to drive process forward despite all obstacles, appropriately engaging others along the way and leveraging the diversity of the group to achieve the most innovative outcome. They take the work very seriously – but not themselves – and have a great sense of humor. The ideal candidate possesses the attributes of that rare nonprofit programmatic and/or management professional whose skills include both the art of relationship building and the science of systems development/outcome delivery. They are able to quickly and successfully shift gears between the big picture and the smallest day-to-day details. Candidates with passion, knowledge and experience with social justice movements and the barriers and opportunities for women’s leadership are encouraged to apply. The position requires a Bachelors Degree (Master’s Degree / MBA preferred) and 6-10+ years of nonprofit people and process management experience.
Compensation:
- Competitive Salary and an excellent benefits package including full medical, dental, vision and 403(b) plan.
How To Apply
- Applications will not be reviewed without a cover letter describing your interests and qualifications.
- Your resume (in Word format) should be sent to: jobs@thewhitehouseproject.org.
- In order to expedite the internal sorting and reviewing process, please write your name (Last, First) and COO Position in the subject line.
The White House Project engages employees without regard to race, color, religion, creed, age, gender, marital status, sexual orientation or any other characteristic covered by law. All who believe they meet the stated qualifications are invited to apply. The White House Project is an equal opportunity employer.
