Chief Operating Officer (Reproductive Healthcare)

Upstream USA•Boston, MA

6d•Hybrid

About The Position

Upstream USA is a national, nonpartisan nonprofit focused on equitable, patient-centered contraceptive care. The Chief Operating Officer (COO) is a member of the senior leadership team, reports to the CEO, and leads execution of the organization’s strategy to scale its growth, effectiveness, and nationwide impact. The COO owns all current and future programs, guiding them from launch through growth, measurement, and adaptation in a rapidly changing contraceptive-care marketplace. The role combines operational leadership with responsibility for driving ambitious, large-scale impact. The COO partners with the Vice President of Strategy and Innovation to scale tested innovations, leads marketing and sales for existing and new programs, and uses performance measures to improve program outcomes. The position also oversees finances for operating activities, assesses organizational operational needs, contributes to Board processes and materials, and fosters a mission-centered culture focused on clear outcomes, accountability, and continuous improvement. Location is flexible. The role requires up to 20% business travel, typically once or twice per month for multiple days, including visits to healthcare partners, leadership meetings, regional operational gatherings, team retreats, and organization-wide gatherings. Upstream uses a hybrid work environment and expects staff to attend work-related in-person meetings and functions as needed and to maintain reliable phone and internet access when working from home. The hiring range is $325,000–$350,000 USD.

Requirements

Demonstrated ability to deliver outcomes against stretch targets and commitments and overcome obstacles.
Comfort and effectiveness in making decisions and building a culture of accountability for results.
Diligence in performance management, follow-up, milestone monitoring, KPI tracking, and performance measurement.
Strong analytical capabilities and strategic orientation, with the ability to identify and prioritize operational drivers of success.
Ability to align execution with strategy and articulate a market-facing plan with priorities, metrics, and milestones.
Strategic orientation toward customers and market dynamics, including identifying opportunities to improve programs in line with organizational priorities.
Demonstrated ability to collaborate and build effective relationships with diverse internal and external stakeholders.
Ability to build trust and respect, create productive team dynamics, and drive alignment around decisions and priorities.
Ability to negotiate and facilitate when required.
Effectiveness in developing and managing high-performance teams, coaching employees, and motivating team members to take ownership.
Ability to align others around a vision, strategic direction, and priorities while balancing independent leadership with inviting input.
Ability to attend work-related in-person meetings and functions as needed.
Reliable access to phone and internet for connectivity when working from home.
Ability to travel up to 20% of the time, typically once or twice per month for multiple days.

Responsibilities

Own Upstream’s current and future programs end-to-end, including launching, scaling, learning, adapting, and driving continued growth.
Partner with the Vice President of Strategy and Innovation to take tested innovations to scale, assess what works, and prioritize investments with the highest potential.
Lead and execute marketing and sales for existing core programs and new innovative programs as they launch.
Understand and communicate program impact using existing and new measurement approaches, and set clear expectations for program growth and impact.
Adapt programs based on measurement and performance indicators to support continuous improvement, growth, scale, and responsiveness to marketplace changes.
Manage finances for all operating activities.
Assess organizational operational needs and address gaps.
Contribute to Board-related processes and materials.
Foster a mission-centered culture that embraces change and growth and drives toward clearly defined, data-informed outcomes.
Model integrity, trust, reliability, respect for diverse perspectives, resilience, and fun.
Drive accountability for results, monitor milestones and KPIs, and support performance management and follow-up.
Align program execution with strategy, customer needs, and market dynamics.
Build relationships and alignment with diverse internal and external stakeholders and facilitate decisions and priorities.
Develop and manage high-performance teams, coach employees, and motivate team members to own their responsibilities and targets.