Chief Operating Officer (COO)

Challenged Athletes INC•San Diego, CA

7d•$150,000 - $170,000•Hybrid

About The Position

The Chief Operating Officer (COO) role is a new position at the Challenged Athletes Foundation® (CAF), a world leader in helping individuals with physical challenges get involved and stay involved in sports and fitness. The COO will help lead the organization through its next phase of growth and impact. Reporting directly to the Chief Executive Director, the COO will serve as a key strategic partner, ensuring alignment between vision, operations, people, and performance across the organization. This role requires an experienced leader who can maintain and build upon the organization's culture while simultaneously guiding the organization through the change management necessary to secure its future. The ideal candidate is highly strategic, financially sophisticated, and thrives at the intersection of leadership, accountability, and execution. This individual will play a critical role in strengthening organizational performance while helping build a culture where leaders think and operate like true owners of their departments.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree required.
Minimum of 7-10 years of progressive nonprofit leadership experience.
Demonstrated experience leading operational functions within a nonprofit organization.
Strong financial acumen, including budget development, financial analysis, forecasting, and resource management.
Experience overseeing multiple departments and leading cross-functional teams.
Proven ability to develop strategic plans and translate them into measurable operational outcomes.
Experience utilizing data, reporting, and performance metrics to drive organizational improvement.
Excellent leadership, communication, interpersonal, and relationship-building skills.
Strong analytical, organizational, and problem-solving abilities.
Demonstrated success managing change and improving organizational processes.
Ability to work effectively with executive leadership, board members, staff, volunteers, donors, and community stakeholders.
Commitment to CAF's mission and values.
Willingness to travel and work occasional evenings and weekends as required.

Nice To Haves

Master's degree in Business Administration, Nonprofit Management, Public Administration, or related field preferred.

Responsibilities

Translate organizational strategy into actionable operational plans, priorities, and performance objectives in partnership with the Chief Executive Director.
Directly support the Chief Accounting Officer, Chief Marketing Officer, Chief Programs Officer, and the HR function.
Assist in establishing department goals aligned with organizational priorities.
Remove roadblocks, assist in establishing and operationalizing plans, and align departmental projects to enable team impact.
In partnership with the Chief Accounting Officer, be engaged in the development, implementation, and monitoring of annual budgets.
Maintain accountability for organizational resource allocation, ensuring investments align with strategic priorities and operational requirements.
Monitor department financial performance and recommend corrective actions when performance deviates from budget or plan.
Identify and implement cost-effective solutions that improve organizational efficiency while maintaining service quality and mission impact.
Lead organizational process improvement initiatives, including workflow redesign, standardization, and continuous improvement efforts.
Oversee organizational reporting systems and create performance dashboards to ensure timely, accurate, and actionable information is available to leadership.
Establish and monitor KPIs and organizational metrics that measure operational, programmatic, and financial performance.
Utilize operational and financial data to support strategic planning, decision-making, and organizational sustainability.
Drive technology adoption and process integration initiatives.