Full-Time Chief Operating Officer
Job Description
Department: International Office
Reports to: Chief Executive Officer
Supervises: Country Director, Financial Director, and Capacity Building Fellows
Location: Yirimadjo, Mali 9 months/year and San Francisco, USA 3 months/year
Organizational Profile:
Muso is a global health organization working in Mali. We believe that every person has the right to access health care, and we are committed to designing innovative health care systems to make that right a reality. Our mission is to eliminate preventable deaths in the world’s most vulnerable communities. After having demonstrated success in our current area of intervention, we are planning to replicate our innovative health care system in rural Mali and then take our model to scale. For more information about Muso’s work, please visit www.projectmuso.org.
Position Description:
The Chief Operating Officer (COO) plays a critical leadership role building Muso’s organizational capacity and preparing Muso for growth and scale. The COO provides mentorship, support, and supervision to the administrative, financial, and program leadership of the organization in Mali and the United States, reporting directly to the CEO. The COO plays a central role in guiding Muso’s growth and development at this critical juncture for the organization and the hundreds of thousands of community members we will serve.
The COO will be based primarily at Muso’s headquarters in Yirimadjo, Mali, with 3 months/year in the United States, primarily in San Francisco. The full-time position requires a commitment and passion for social justice work, excellent management skills, fiscal management savvy, and the capacity to take on new and unexpected challenges while providing consistent, strategic leadership. French fluency is required.
Primary Responsibilities:
1. Systems Star: Build administrative capacity through supporting, mentoring, and collaborating with the senior staff, strengthening systems of organizational management, including human resources management, administrative protocols and procedures. This process will strengthen and, where necessary, revise existing organizational structures to ensure effective team communication, morale, workflow, reporting relationships, and continuous quality improvement. (20%)
2. Delivering on Muso’s Strategic Plan: Ensure that the team has the capacity and resources to achieve the programmatic and impact milestones in Muso’s strategic plan and to meet our commitments to funders. Support the senior staff to improve operational systems (development, review, and ongoing revision of program action plans, analysis and problem solving of program implementation challenges, real-time data sharing, on time submission of program progress reports). (20%)
3. Transparent until it Hurts: Build financial management capacity by mentoring and supervising Muso’s Financial Director who is leading the development and implementation of our new financial management systems to enable Muso to scale in a radically transparent and efficient way. Provide fiscal oversight, reviewing monthly and annual budgets and making approval recommendations to the CEO. Oversee fiscal compliance, including optimization of Muso’s online accounting platform (Xero), generating financial statements and reports for governance purposes, and preparing for annual audits and US 990 tax filings. Provide support and oversight to the US based Operations Associate on day-to-day accounting duties. Support the US based Director of Development and Communications in obtaining data for grant proposals and ensuring an efficient system for tracking restricted grant funds. Ensure strong overall alignment between programmatic and organizational needs, organizational capacity, and spending. (25%)
5. Team Builder: Provide mentorship to the Mali-based Human Resources Director to ensure that team members get the necessary support from Muso’s international office to excel in their roles while facilitating excellent communication and teamwork across programs and cultures. Support the CEO by developing and overseeing human resources strategies and policies in the United States. (15%)
6. Better than Better: Supervise and mentor the efforts of Muso’s Health Systems Capacity Building Fellows as they identify key strategies for improving Muso’s work. (10%)
7. Partnering to Scale: In close collaboration and partnership with the Country Director and Operations Director, cultivate relationships with both existing and potential partners and supporters within Mali, amongst multilateral aid organizations, bilateral aid organizations, other non-governmental organizations, public sector partners (particularly at all levels of the Ministry of Health), and community partners. (5%)
8. Building the Movement: Meet with key partners and supporters in the United States in collaboration with the Director of Development and the CEO, sharing strategic priorities and program impact. (5%)
Minimum Qualifications:
● A passion for social justice, global health equity, and eliminating preventable deaths in the world’s most vulnerable communities
● A minimum of 3-5 years experience working in a management, operations, capacity building, and/or financial oversight role with an international nonprofit organization or social enterprise
● Ability to support diverse teams in developing, executing and adapting plans to achieve their strategic goals
● Strong competency in budgeting, including the development, review and approval of budgets
● A background of implementing, overseeing and improving operational systems in developing country contexts
● Prior experience in human resources and facilitating effective team processes across cultures
● Exceptional management skills including the ability to help individual team members tap into their greatest strengths and address growth areas
● A demonstrated track record of supporting staff during periods of organizational transition and growth
● Thorough understanding of financial management systems and accounting software (Xero, Quickbooks or equivalent)
● Prior experience working with accounting professionals to complete annual nonprofit audits and US 990 tax returns
● Partnership development and fundraising experience a plus
● Ability to work collaboratively and confidently with diverse stakeholders, exercising leadership to bring about the change necessary to achieve progress
● Excellent cross-cultural communications skills
● Adaptability, patience and a sense of humor
● French Fluency required
Reporting/Supervision
The COO will report directly to the CEO. She/He will receive a performance review after 3 months and then annually.
Compensation and Benefits:
In addition to the position salary (DOE), health benefits are included. The position receives up to 20 days of vacation annually, and 1 sick day per month based on the date of hire.
Period of Engagement:
The initial period of engagement is two years, and may be renewed by mutual agreement at the end of that period.