Chief Operating Officer (COO)

ABOUT THE ORGANIZATION
There are 2.2 million Americans who do not have running water or basic plumbing, while at least 44 million more do not have clean water that is safe to drink. Founded in 2012, DigDeep is a human rights non-profit organization working to ensure that every American has equitable access to clean, running water and sanitation forever. DigDeep seeks to close America’s Water Gap in our lifetimes through a four-pronged Impact Model incorporating community-led solutions, innovative research, public engagement, and sector-building.
DigDeep is growing fast. The organization won the 2018 US Water Prize for its Navajo Water Project, which has brought clean, running water to hundreds of Native families across New Mexico, Arizona, and Utah. Now we’re expanding that work across the country. Our operating budget has more than doubled to north of $5M; we’ve built new relationships with major foundations, trade groups, and companies who are passionate about our work, and we have a grassroots donor base of more than 40,000 Americans behind us.
You can learn more about DigDeep at www.digdeep.org.
ABOUT THE POSITION
As DigDeep enters the next phase of its organizational growth, it is seeking a Chief Operating Officer. Reporting into the Founder/CEO, the COO will provide input and vision into all aspects of the organization’s strategy, with a focus on internal operations and administration. The COO will be a strategic partner to the Founder/CEO and other members of the senior leadership team, as they consider opportunities for impact and the implications of those opportunities for DigDeep and its constituents. The COO will build best-in-class operational support for Team DigDeep, support our implementation of DEI+B values, build administrative processes, and support board engagement. They will lead a team of three operations staff members.
Responsibilities include, but are not limited to:
STRATEGY & LEADERSHIP
-Leading the upcoming organization-wide strategic planning cycle
-Managing the organization’s strategic finance processes, including organization-wide budgeting, ensuring sustainable growth and supporting the financial strategy of departmental leaders across the organization
-Investigating and assessing, in partnership with other senior leaders, new partnerships and programmatic opportunities for DigDeep as we grow
-Stepping in for the CEO for public speaking opportunities, leading meetings and partnerships with senior team members at other organizations, and generally where appropriate
-Collaborating with the Founder/CEO to grow and activate DigDeep’s Board of Directors
-Providing strong day-to-day leadership and an ability to communicate with a broad range of stakeholders in a wide array of contexts to ensure all team members and clients are heard and understood.
MANAGEMENT & COACHING
-Supporting the senior leadership team to ensure all internal decision-making uses an equity lens
-Evaluating performance and identifying opportunities to make DigDeep’s work more impactful or efficient by analyzing and interpreting key programmatic data and organizational metrics, and making recommendations based on them
-Building relationships with staff across the organization to coach and develop a strong team empowered to achieve success in their careers, both at DigDeep and beyond
SYSTEMS & CULTURE
-Leading the design and improvement of systems, processes and communication protocols, including performance management, to ensure the organization and its staff perform at a high level, while building a culture of collaboration and belonging
-Overseeing the performance evaluation of DigDeep’s operations and programs, and collaborating with teams to leverage findings to drive program evolution, performance management, communications, fundraising and strategy
Working closely with the senior leadership and our Culture & Operations Manager to create and communicate policies that promote company culture and a diverse, equitable, and inclusive work environment where team members of all identities feel a sense of belonging
Leading the team that is responsible for making sure that finance, audit, HR, benefits, hiring, culture, board reporting, facilities administration and more are operating with efficiency
CANDIDATE REQUIREMENTS:
The ideal candidate will possess the following qualifications:
-You have a wide sense of the possible and believe anything is “figure-out-able”
-You are innovative and adaptive, and dedicated to professional growth based on lessons learned and open to receiving constructive feedback
-You bring deep analytical skills, and experience utilizing and interpreting financial models
-You relate openly and comfortably with diverse groups of people, including colleagues at all levels and internal/external stakeholders from a wide variety of backgrounds
-You gain the trust of others through your honesty, integrity, and authenticity
-You’ve led other non-profits, organizations, and/or departments through growth periods and know how to set the policies and structures that promote great outcomes
-You’ve designed and implemented operational processes that promote collaboration, break down silos, and expand impact across the HR, talent management, and finance functional areas
-You’ve led teams and give thoughtful positive & constructive feedback, developing talent to reach their potential, all through the lens of equity, inclusion and belonging
-You believe in DigDeep’s mission to ensure that every American has access to the clean, running water they need to thrive, and are eager to work with a dedicated team of colleagues and partners to execute the organization’s Impact Model.
Associated topics: administrative assistant, assistant, asso, beverage, facilities, front office, operation, operations director, records management, support

Related Post