BioCrossroads - Chief Operating Officer

Central Indiana Corporate Partnership•Indianapolis, IN

About The Position

BioCrossroads, an initiative of CEOs of Indiana Corporate Partnership (CICP), is Indiana’s leading life sciences industry sector organization. It brings together the state’s life science and healthcare industry leaders, world-class research organizations, innovators, entrepreneurs, investors, philanthropy, and the public sector to advance the sector within the BioHeartland Indiana. BioHeartland Indiana is where biosciences solutions are invented, made, and moved, generating significant patents, exporting life science products, and contributing over $100B in economic impact. For over 25 years, BioCrossroads has been instrumental in growing the life science economy in BioHeartland Indiana. The Chief Operating Officer (COO) is BioCrossroads’ senior operational leader, responsible for translating organizational strategy into execution. This role leads the organization’s operating model, aligns enterprise priorities, and ensures effective, disciplined execution across projects, partnerships, people, and resources. Working closely with the President & CEO, the COO provides day-to-day leadership for internal operations, leadership team execution, organizational performance, and resource alignment. While the President & CEO focuses on organizational direction, strategic relationships, vision, and external representation, the COO operationalizes this vision through clear operating plans, leadership accountability, resource alignment, and cross-functional coordination. The COO leads BioCrossroads' internal operations, workforce development, and communications and marketing teams, directly supervising functional leaders. Through coordination, coaching, performance management, and accountability, the COO drives operational excellence and ensures alignment of organizational capacity, resources, and priorities to advance Indiana’s life science sector through its strategic pillars: innovation/entrepreneurship, manufacturing expansion, workforce development, and thought leadership.

Requirements

Senior operational leader
Translates organizational strategy into execution
Leads the organization’s operating model
Aligns enterprise priorities
Ensures effective disciplined execution across projects, partnerships, people, and resources
Provides day-to-day leadership across internal operations
Leads leadership team execution
Manages organizational performance
Manages resource alignment
Operationalizes vision
Ensures strategic priorities are effectively executed through clear operating plans
Ensures leadership accountability
Ensures resource alignment
Ensures cross-functional coordination
Leads internal operations team
Leads workforce development team
Leads communications and marketing teams
Directly supervises functional leaders
Drives operational excellence
Ensures organizational capacity, resources, and priorities remain aligned
Supports strategic execution and organizational alignment
Manages organizational operating rhythm
Translates strategic direction into actionable plans
Monitors progress and ensures accountability
Identifies operational barriers and implements solutions
Supports leadership team planning and execution
Manages leadership team management and coordination
Fosters a culture of accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement
Provides operational leadership and coordination across Innovation and Catalyze Indiana
Provides coaching, guidance, and leadership support
Empowers functional leaders
Ensures effective coordination across all teams
Facilitates leadership team planning, decision-making, and problem-solving
Monitors organizational performance
Ensures leadership team members have clarity, support, and resources
Manages organizational planning and resource stewardship
Develops and implements annual operating plans
Leads budget planning and resource allocation processes
Ensures grants, contracts, and strategic initiatives are effectively coordinated, staffed, and executed
Supports revenue planning, funding strategies and operations
Supports operational implementation of grant- and partner-funded initiatives
Anticipates organizational risks, capacity constraints, and operating needs
Recommends actions to strengthen long-term effectiveness and sustainability
Manages project and initiative integration
Coordinates activities across major lines of work
Ensures initiatives are aligned with organizational priorities, partner needs, and strategic objectives
Ensures initiatives are prioritized and sequenced
Establishes processes that improve coordination, communication, and resource allocation
Monitors organizational project portfolios
Helps leadership teams prioritize efforts
Manages data, performance, and operational excellence
Ensures effective use of data to inform decision-making and demonstrate impact
Develops operational systems that support performance and long-term sustainability
Supports the development of dashboards, reporting tools, and performance reviews
Manages CICP and Ecosystem Coordination
Engages CICP initiatives
Identifies opportunities for collaboration
Ensures effective engagement across the ecosystem
Ensures BioCrossroads’ work remains connected to the needs of Indiana's life science sector
Ensures BioCrossroads’ initiatives complement and strengthen the broader CICP portfolio
Manages governance and organizational stewardship
Supports Board of Directors engagement, planning, and reporting
Assists in organizational planning and governance activities
Ensures organizational commitments, grant requirements, and reporting obligations are fulfilled
Contributes to long-term organizational sustainability and growth

Responsibilities

Establish and manage the organizational operating rhythm, including planning, prioritization, accountability, performance review, and cross-functional decision-making.
Translate strategic direction established by the President & CEO into actionable organizational plans, priorities, and performance expectations.
Operationalize BioCrossroads’ strategic plan and annual operating priorities, monitoring progress and ensuring accountability across teams.
Identify operational barriers and implement solutions that improve organizational effectiveness and efficiency.
Support leadership team planning and execution processes to ensure priorities, projects, and resources remain coordinated and focused on organizational objectives.
Directly supervise BioCrossroads’ operations, workforce development, and communications and marketing functional leaders, fostering a culture of accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement.
Provide operational leadership and coordination across Innovation and Catalyze Indiana, and other major organizational priorities to ensure work is aligned, resourced, and executed effectively.
Provide coaching, guidance, and leadership support while empowering functional leaders to manage their respective areas of expertise and responsibility.
Ensure effective coordination across all teams and other organizational functions.
Facilitate leadership team planning, decision-making, and problem-solving processes that strengthen organizational effectiveness, clarify ownership, and ensure timely resolution of cross-functional issues.
Monitor organizational performance across functional areas, helping leaders identify opportunities, address challenges, and remove barriers to success.
Ensure leadership team members have the clarity, support, and resources necessary to successfully execute their responsibilities.
Develop and implement annual operating plans that support the strategic priorities established by the President & CEO and organizational leadership.
Lead budget planning and resource allocation processes in partnership with CICP and BioCrossroads leadership, ensuring financial decisions align with strategic priorities, operating capacity, and funding commitments.
Ensure grants, contracts, and strategic initiatives are effectively coordinated, staffed, and executed in alignment with organizational commitments and funding requirements.
Partner with the President & CEO to support revenue planning, funding strategies and operations, and the operational implementation of grant- and partner-funded initiatives.
Anticipate organizational risks, capacity constraints, and operating needs, and recommend actions to strengthen BioCrossroads’ long-term effectiveness and sustainability.
Coordinate activities across BioCrossroads’ major lines of work, ensuring initiatives are aligned with organizational priorities, partner needs, and strategic objectives.
Ensure initiatives are prioritized and sequenced in alignment with organizational capacity and strategic direction.
Establish processes that improve coordination, communication, and resource allocation across teams.
Monitor organizational project portfolios and help leadership teams prioritize efforts based on impact and capacity.
Ensure effective use of data to inform decision-making and demonstrate impact.
Develop operational systems that support performance and long-term sustainability.
Support the development of dashboards, reporting tools, and performance reviews that strengthen organizational accountability.
Partner with the President & CEO to engage CICP initiatives, identify opportunities for collaboration, and ensure effective engagement across the ecosystem.
Ensure BioCrossroads’ work remains connected to the needs of Indiana's life science sector.
Help ensure BioCrossroads’ initiatives complement and strengthen the broader CICP portfolio.
Support Board of Directors engagement, planning, and reporting.
Assist the President & CEO in organizational planning and governance activities.
Ensure organizational commitments, grant requirements, and reporting obligations are fulfilled.
Contribute to long-term organizational sustainability and growth.