Chief Operating Officer - Military veterans preferred

COMMUNITIES UNLIMITED

Chief of Operations and Engagement Position Profile

Communities Unlimited (CU) seeks a holistic systems thinker and team builder to support our growth and deepen our impact in rural communities in seven southern states. The ideal candidate will have experience building and strengthening organizational operations and engagement to drive organizational success across multiple teams in multiple locations. The ideal candidate will also be able to break down barriers, solve problems, and align internal stakeholders to ensure efficient day- to-day functioning while maximizing the impact of CU’s programs. An appreciation for, but not necessarily experience with, CU’s work to unwind generations of inequity in rural communities in our footprint and ensure healthy water, healthy food, healthy businesses, healthy communities and healthy lives is preferred.

Summary

Founded in 1975, Communities Unlimited (CU) is a Community Development Financial Institution and a rural development hub that has built a strong history of delivering technical assistance and capital across eight program areas to rural communities in seven southern states: Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Texas. Our service area is home to 45% of the nation’s persistent poverty counties.

CU provides comprehensive services to rural communities including 1) technical assistance and loans for rural water and wastewater systems, 2) technical assistance and loans to support small businesses, and 3) consumer loans for home improvement, private wells and septic systems. In the last three years, CU has loaned $9M and leveraged $344M to provide rural low-income areas access to healthy water and safe wastewater systems. CU’s program areas are funded by multiple sources with complicated sets of compliance requirements. For instance, the loan fund has more than 30 revenue sources including seven federal grants.

CU is the Southern regional partner of the Rural Community Assistance Partnership (RCAP) and the Partners for Rural Transformation.

Headquartered in Fayetteville, Arkansas, CU staff has grown from 46 to 112 since 2014. Our staff is located in offices throughout our seven state region. The Chief Operations and Engagement Officer is a new position designed to support CU’s growth and will be an integral member of the Executive Leadership Team. Other members include: the CEO, CFO and the Chief Strategy Officer.

CU’s financial position is strong with Total Assets of $38 million and only $17 million in in liabilities in the form of Program Related Investments and loans for relending. CU maintains a 3-month operating reserve to ensure the ability to provide critical services during times of crisis or in the event of funding gaps or delays.

The Position

Reporting to the CEO, the Chief Operations and Engagement Officer will be responsible for the effective and efficient operations of the organization, ensuring that all departments work together seamlessly to achieve CU’s goals. The COO will supervise a team of 4 direct and 8 indirect reports including a Human Resources manager.

Summary of Essential Job Duties

• Human Relations
  1. Support and supervise Human Resource Manager including working through staff complaints, performance improvement measures and termination of employees.
  2. Ensure organization is compliant with Affirmative Action regulations. Due to the percentage of federal funding that CU receives, CU must follow federal rules related to Affirmative Action in hiring.

• Information Systems
  1. Support and supervise IT manager to maintain and upgrade organization’s and internal users’ equipment and software.
  2. Stay informed about and recommend cost effective advances in IT systems and software that can benefit the organization’s effectiveness and efficiency.
  3. Ensure protection of IT assets with utmost attention to the integrity, security and privacy of all data maintained.
  4. Increase staff members use of and appreciation for how technology can help CU grow and thrive.

• Communications
  1. Support and supervise Area Director for Strategic Communications to ensure strong messaging of the organization’s work and successes.
  2. Ensure that all staff have the communications tools and collateral for outreach and events.

• Impact Data and Research
  1. Support and supervise Director of Impact Data and Research to fully implement and integrate a PowerBI solution to integrate the impact data collected by all of CU program areas.
  2. Support the continued integration of the Geospatial Information System Team in the work of the program teams where appropriate.
  3. Coordinate research work and communications with the needs of Program Directors and CEO presenting to a variety of stakeholders and audiences.
• Training
  1. Manage new staff orientation.
  2. Develop internal training program to ensure all staff have skills and knowledge to effectively promote all programs of the organization (strategic blending).
  3. Implement regular Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging training opportunities.
  4. Maximize the use of CU’s Learning Management System for internal and external users.
• Ensuring Compliance
  1. Complete all annual compliance reporting required by federal grants and contracts.
  2. Ensure organization is compliant with all Civil Rights, ADA and Affirmative Action compliance requirements.
• Facility Maintenance
  1. Oversee maintenance of Fayetteville office building.
  2. Develop and implement a maintenance budget.

Required Education and Experience Requirements:

Communities Unlimited, Inc. is an EOE M/F/Disability/Veteran employer, provider and lender. The successful candidate will meet one or more of the requirements below:

1. Master’s degree in business, public administration, non-profit management, operations management or a closely related field is preferred with experience managing a team of at least 5 direct reports responsible for distinct areas of operation.
2. Experienced Executive Director of a non-profit with 5 years of experience managing complex organizations with teams of 15 or more employees.
3. Experienced Chief Operating Officer with 7 years of experience managing at least two of the four areas of operations (information technology, communications, human resources and data analytics/research)

Other required items: Valid driver’s license required or ability to secure valid driver’s license. Must be eligible to work in the United States of America.

Additional Desired Skills and Experience

1. Demonstrated skills in business operations management.
2. Demonstrated ability to build systems and communicate/train other staff on their use.
3. Strong capacity to communicate effectively (both verbal and written).
4. Demonstrated knowledge of IT systems and infrastructure.
5. Demonstrated experience overseeing data collection and analysis.
6. Experience addressing human resource challenges and interfacing with human resources professionals.
7. Strong skills in connecting staff needs with existing solutions and ability to develop new solutions.
8. Manage and support the professional development of all operations/support team members.
9. Work well under pressure, meeting multiple and often competing deadlines.
10. Track record of advancing commitment to diversity and inclusion.
11. Ability to attract, develop, and retain talented individuals; create an environment that ensures staff realize their highest potential and support the organization as a whole to meet future challenges.
12. Experience in leading teams and supervising the work of others.
13. Experience in nonprofit administration a plus.
14. Demonstrated resourcefulness in setting priorities and guiding investments in people and systems.
15. Ability to demonstrate a high level of integrity, strong interpersonal skills, and advanced accountability to deadlines.
16. An excellent and active listener who can quickly gather, synthesize, and act on feedback from diverse sources.
17. Strong computer literacy; familiarity with Office 365 or Microsoft Office software.

Tools Used in Job

Computer, internet, smart phone (texting, email, photos, videos, social media, and calls), web-based databases for data-entry, Microsoft Office/Office365 including Outlook, Word, Excel and PowerPoint is required. Use of additional software for project related activities may be required.

Work Environment

The work environment characteristics described above are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential job functions.

Communities Unlimited offers generous Medical/Dental/Vision benefits with the organization paying the significant majority of the cost. Company paid long-term disability; automatic company 401K contribution once new hires are eligible; 401K match; 12 paid holidays; two weeks paid vacation awarded upon hire (Prorated based upon date of hire); new hires begin accumulating sick leave immediately upon hire at a rate of 8 hours per month. Communities Unlimited reimburses all employees for travel expenses.

An Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, or protected veteran status and will not be discriminated against on the basis of disability.