Chief Operating Officer

Chief Operating Officer (COO) 
Corporate Division 

CLASSIFICATION: Full Time, Exempt 

REPORTS TO: President & CEO 

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ABOUT IGNITE PHILANTHROPY  

Our Mission: To connect people, ideas, and capital to fuel community solutions.  

Aspiring to maximize the power of giving, Ignite Philanthropy (Ignite) works with private donors and non-profit organizations to leverage their resources and ideas to achieve greater impact in the communities they serve. Ignite serves the entire philanthropic and non-profit sector—from individuals, companies and foundations seeking to manage and enhance their charitable giving to non-profits looking for an experienced partner to help raise capital to accomplish their mission. In 2022, Ignite helped raise over $60MM in philanthropic support for its non-profit clients and supported its foundation clients to grant $13.5MM to hundreds of non-profit organizations. Recognized as a 2021 Cincinnati Business Courier Fast 55 Nominee, Ignite has 25 full-time team members and invests in its people, processes, and technology to deliver unparalleled service to its philanthropic and non-profit clients and community.  

POSITION DESCRIPTION 

The Chief Operating Officer is responsible for leading and managing corporate strategy and operations. The COO directly oversees company finance and accounting, human resources, talent development, DEI and company culture, legal, internal communications, IT, and company-wide change management. This position reports to the CEO, leads a team of three corporate team members and maintains company vendor and professional partner relationships. The COO serves on Ignite’s Leadership Team and effectively employs corporate resources to support Ignite’s diverse team in achieving their client, company and personal growth goals.

ROLES & RESPONSIBILITIES 

Oversee the growth and development of Ignite’s team: 

• Provide strategic leadership to the human resources function, including supervision to the HR Manager and elevation of company standards. 
• Set standards for the highest quality in human resources functions, including recruitment and retention, training and development, employee relations, performance evaluation, and policy and procedure creation. 
• Guide the organization to expand its professional development program and comprehensive DEI strategies (internal and external efforts). 
• Lead employees to co-create team development opportunities.
• Create internal communications calendar and oversee communications to the Ignite team.
• Seek external opportunities and resources to bring into Ignite that benefit staff by developing stronger individuals and teams.  
• Serve as a thought leader on Ignite’s Leadership Team for matters pertaining to the team’s growth, development and retention.
• Act as a champion and driver for employee well-being and workplace equity.

Lead company planning and implementation: 

• Facilitate weekly Leadership Team meetings, quarterly planning meetings and the annual retreat to ensure the Leadership Team’s successful execution and oversight of the company’s yearly and quarterly goals.  
• Build and adapt processes/scorecards to monitor KPIs and key business initiatives.  Assess the progress of ongoing goals and initiatives and work with the Leadership Team to execute successfully.
• Lead change management efforts, as needed, that drive new or reimagined business initiatives.
• Assist in the development and growth of the company, including serving as a key thought leader to shape company growth strategy and new business strategy development. 
• Own the communication for all planning and leadership initiatives.

Lead company technology, finance, legal and operations: 

• Develop vision and lead initiatives to optimize technology applications (e.g., CRM, project management, funding databases) to empower the Ignite team to deliver best-in-class client services.
• Oversee all technology platforms and vendor relationships to support the work of the team and clients.
• Manage the finance and accounting function of the company. Work closely with outsourced professional service providers to ensure timely and accurate budgeting, forecasting and bookkeeping activities.
• Serve as the point of contact for company legal counsel and advise the CEO on risk management and legal matters for the company.
• Provide oversight to ensure company policies and procedures are documented and followed.  
• Oversee facility operations to ensure oversight and maintenance of the company office and office operations.
• Work with the Leadership Team to create the company communications strategy and manage team members and external vendors to execute it.

Exemplify company culture:

• Exemplify Ignite core principles and drive strategies to infuse Ignites core values across its daily operations: 
  • Solutions Driven – Our work is rooted in our ability to develop solutions to help our clients achieve their philanthropic goals. We take the lead in co-creating the path to our client’s success.  
  • Adaptive – Building the right strategy requires us to remain humble, so we may continually learn and adapt. We embrace listening, questioning, and experimentation as the foundation of our adaptive mindset.  
  • Team-Centered – No single individual has the knowledge and experience to successfully navigate all aspects of our work. We thrive by taking a team approach, ensuring that we bring diverse tools and talent to successfully tackle our clients’ complex challenges.  
  • Service Minded – Through the generosity of our clients, we serve our community by maximizing the power of giving. We lead by example, personifying the spirit of the sector we serve.  

SKILLS AND ATTRIBUTES 

Ignite Philanthropy seeks an individual who is inspired by the impact of the non-profit sector and is driven to deliver highly professional work. The Chief Operating Officer will be working with a high-performing team in a fast-paced environment and will ideally have the following skills and attributes:  

• Talent development. Demonstrate how to build the capacity and capabilities of people, assessing skill levels, identifying gaps, and cultivating potential talent.   
• Growth mindset. Think creatively about how to solve problems, overcome obstacles, motivate people, and find the successful path to the desired outcomes.  
• Drive to execution. Balance the demands of many projects simultaneously while still reaching internal and external deadlines and goals.   
• Strategy activation. Anticipate the next steps in complex processes and put that insight into action.  
• Technology literacy. Display command of software and databases used in the execution of this role, including Microsoft Office products, Salesforce, Hive, and other software applications necessary to fulfill the obligations of the role. 
• Systems mindset. Utilize knowledge of systems to ensure the organization executes effectively and understand when changes are needed.   
• Exceptional leadership skills. Manage a team of staff members to ensure the delivery of high-quality work and provide strategic counsel on business matters.
• Strong interpersonal skills. Display desire and ability to work in a team environment to achieve objectives and a champion for utilizing a co-creation approach. 
• Exceptional verbal and written communication. Ensure staff and client communications are high quality and professional in content and appearance.
• Non-profit and philanthropy passion. Possess knowledge of the Greater Cincinnati region non-profit sector, civic leaders, and sector stakeholders. 

We are an Equal Opportunity Employer and strongly encourage a diverse pool of candidates to apply. Ignite Philanthropy is fully committed to equality of opportunity in all aspects of employment and workplace culture.