Title: Chief Operating Officer

Reports to: Chief Executive Officer

Location: Portland, Oregon; hybrid work options available including at Children’s Institute’s downtown offices

Job Classification: Exempt, 1 FTE (40 hours per week)

Salary: $167,000 – $185,000

Closing: Open until filled

To Apply: Please apply on the Motus Recruiting and Staffing website

Persons of color and members of other underrepresented groups are strongly encouraged to apply. Please contact Director of People & Culture, Whitney Wong, at whitney@childinst.org with any accommodation requests.

Children’s Institute (CI) has always worked passionately to improve outcomes for Oregon’s kids. Since our founding in 2003, we’ve come to know that a brighter future for our state rests on a foundation of love and care for every child and family. We’re committed to shifting these systems toward justice. And we invite you to join us.

To meet our goals, we advocate for strategic investments in high-quality early childhood education and healthy development, the most effective strategies to improve long-term outcomes for children, with a focus on children who experience barriers to opportunity due to race, poverty, disability, and geographic location.

Our advocacy and implementation efforts strive to connect research, lived experience, and community voice as we work to ensure that more children who experience barriers to opportunity succeed in kindergarten and meet third grade benchmarks.

CI prioritizes an integrated, team-based work approach and a flexible, collegial work environment and a culture of inclusion and belonging that centers our values of honor, equity, learning, innovation and connectedness.

Position Description

The Chief Operating Officer will play a pivotal role in leading the strategic and operational management of Children’s Institute. This key leadership position involves collaborating with internal and external teams, supporting the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and the leadership team, while executing priority projects to ensure organizational sustainability and long-term success. The Chief Operating Officer will also serve as a thought partner to promote inclusion and equity within the organization’s culture.

Responsibilities

Strategic Planning and Execution

• Develop and implement long-term goals aligned with the organization’s mission and strategic objectives.
• Evaluate progress and adjust strategies in real-time to address challenges and opportunities.
• Collaborate with the leadership team to inspire stakeholders and advance the strategic plan.
• Represent the organization to external stakeholders and nurture strategic partnerships.
• Embody a commitment to Children’s Institute’s values and conduct yourself with unquestionable integrity.
• Create accountabilities, development goals and set objectives.

Operational Resource Development and Financial Oversight

• Improve current processes and coordinate organizational procedures and resources.
• Enhance and direct business operations.
• Strategize resource and revenue approaches with the CEO and leadership team and coordinate operational procedures.
• Maintain and improve financial systems and internal controls.
• Develop strategies to secure earned revenue.
• Support financial reporting and compliance activities.
• Manage retirement investment accounts and relationships with financial partners.

Position Qualifications  

• 5 to 7 years of nonprofit management experience, including 3 to 5 years of senior-level management in operations or finance, or
  Minimum 8-10 years of progressive leadership experience in complex organizations.
• Proven track record in team leadership, cross-functional collaboration, and project delivery.
• Experience in contract management and negotiation, with a preference for government grants management.
• MBA or related field preferred, or equivalent work experience.
  Note: The qualifications listed are flexible, and a combination of education and experience will be considered.
  Top of Form

Benefits

• Employer fully paid medical/dental coverage
• Employer fully paid long-term disability coverage
• Employer fully paid life insurance, accidental death, and employee assistance plan
• 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan with qualified match and contribution
• 125 Flexible Benefits Plan
• Commuter stipend
• Cell phone stipend
• Professional Development Stipend
• Annual office closure between December 26th and January 1st
• Three weeks paid time off
• Two weeks sick leave
• Eleven paid holidays, plus two floating holidays
• Paid time off to celebrate your birthday
• Paid time off to volunteer in CI’s community
• •  

Equal Employment Statement 

Children’s Institute is an equal opportunity employer. It is the policy of CI to provide equal employment opportunity in accordance with applicable law to all qualified individuals without regard to race, color, creed, religion, age, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, marital status, military status, political opinion, national origin, familial status, mental and physical ability, source of income, or any other status protected by federal, state, or local law in all personnel actions. Personnel actions include recruitment, selection, promotion, compensation, training, and termination. Relations between employees shall be based on mutual respect, and regard for the effectiveness and well-being of the organization.

Reasonable Accommodation Statement 

Consistent with applicable disability law, Children’s Institute will provide reasonable accommodations to assist qualified applicants or employees with disabilities to participate in the job application process, to perform the essential functions of a job, and to enjoy the same benefits and privileges of employment applicable to similarly situated employees without disabilities, provided the accommodation would not impose an “undue hardship” on the operation of CI. 

Mandatory COVID-19 Vaccination Policy 

Children’s Institute agrees to follow the internal protocols for partner organizations and school districts as a condition of employment for all employees unless they are granted reasonable accommodation under applicable law.

Title: Project Impact Manager

Reports to: Development Director

Location: Open to applicants in Oregon; options available to work at Children’s Institute offices in downtown Portland (hybrid)

Travel: 10-15%

Job Classification: Exempt, 1 FTE (40 hours per week)

Salary: $93,000, based on Children’s Institute compensation plan

Closing: Applications must be received by 5pm on March 13th, 2024

To Apply: Please email resume and cover letter to jobs.ci@childinst.org with “Project Impact Manager” in the subject line.

Persons of color and members of other underrepresented groups are strongly encouraged to apply. Please contact Director of People & Culture, Whitney Wong, at whitney@childinst.org with any accommodation requests.

At Children’s Institute (CI), our mission is to shift systems toward justice for families so that all children in Oregon, prenatal to grade five, have access to opportunity. We advocate for and secure public investments in early childhood programs and services, and work directly with school communities to improve the learning experience for children.

We are keenly focused on children who experience barriers to opportunity due to race, poverty, disability, language, and geographic location. And we strive to connect research, lived experience, and community voice as we work to ensure that more children succeed in kindergarten, meet third grade benchmarks, and thrive in their early childhood experiences.

CI prioritizes an integrated, team-based work approach and a flexible, collegial work environment grounded in our values of honor, equity, learning, connectedness, and innovation

Position Description

The Project Impact Manager position is an exciting new role that will lead to developing and implementing the Children’s Institute’s fee-for-service strategy and impact expansion based on providing professional services.

Since Children’s Institute’s launch in 2003, the majority of our revenue has come from foundation grants (85-95%), demonstrating strong support from local and national foundations. CI has identified several lines of work that we believe can grow to diversify and generate revenue for our organization while increasing our reach and impact. Demand for CI is high, and we have a strong reputation, so we feel it is the right time to develop this new arm of our organization to align preschool with early elementary grades. We expect to significantly scale the Early Learning Academy (ELA) and Early School Success (ESS) in the next five years.

The Project Impact Manager position will be an innovative and entrepreneurial leader working with our cross-functional team to build on the groundwork and take us through the planning, launch, and implementation phases. We anticipate the time from planning to launch will be 1-2 years and moving to full implementation in subsequent years. We expect to scale Project Impact significantly over the next five years.

Responsibilities

• Supported by a cross-functional staff team, the Project Impact Manager will lead the organization through the preparation, launch, and implementation of this new strategy focused on fee-for-service coaching, consulting, and professional learning.
• Collaborate with CI’s team and select external partners to develop and design scalable, equity-centered, inclusive professional learning for educators, leaders, and community partners focused on alignment of preschool with early elementary grades.
• Develop a professional service model informed by our past success in strategic thinking, coaching and professional development, research, and advocacy by addressing market needs and leveraging CI’s value proposition.
• Concurrent with the implementation and planning phases, The Project Impact Manager will be trained in CI’s methodology and practice to deliver and scale services as they are launched.
• Ensure our services are informed by child development, equity, and improvement science research.
• Demonstrate a personal and professional commitment to advancing equity.
• Engage in supportive processes and practices of an inclusive work culture.
• Support and advance meaningful inclusion and self-determination of marginalized communities within programmatic work.

Planning & Launch phase (1-2 years)

• Develop the social enterprise case for CI’s new fee-for-service line of work inclusive of market research, landscape analysis, and cost structures.
• Develop the organizational structure needed to build and scale a new line of work.
• Identify and build relationships with potential participants and customers.
• Partner with the Development and Policy teams to explore public funding opportunities, including local, state, and federal funding sources.
• Partner with the Communications team to develop marketing materials.
• Develop recruitment strategies for future participants and customers.
• Develop, iterate, and achieve long-term scaling goals and plan.

Service Preparation and Provision

• Learn and implement Children’s Institute’s methodology, style, and skills for providing coaching, consulting, and professional learning.
• In collaboration with School-based Initiatives and Director of Research and Strategy:
• Plan and facilitate meetings and professional learning to support school-based initiatives district partners.
• Integrate racial justice and equity principles while planning and facilitating meetings and professional learning.
• Provide guidance to partner school districts in instructional leadership, child development, and classroom practices that support optimal learning environments for young children (PK-5th grade).
• Establish and maintain collaborative relationships with a range of educators to support ongoing work with partner districts.
• Manage participant/customer communications and feedback.

Other Responsibilities

• Leads ongoing Project Impact and School-based team meetings, partner meetings, and professional learning activities.
• Post planning and launch phases, scale Project Impact to meet the growth and market needs.
• Other duties as assigned.

Position Qualifications  

Any satisfactory combination of experience and education that ensures the ability of an individual to perform the duties and responsibilities of this position may substitute for the stated qualifications.

Required Skills and Experiences

• Demonstrated experience launching new innovative programs or services and scaling them to financial viability; ideally includes elements of early state business model design, testing, evaluation, and project management to support expansion.
• A strong commitment to and practice of advancing racial and economic equity and demonstrated ability to honor children and center their brilliance in the work.
• Demonstrated experience in successful delivery of project milestones, including effective troubleshooting and problem-solving.
• Strong organizational and communications skills, with experience adapting messaging to multiple audiences.
• Highly motivated with strong attention to detail when accomplishing a task, including monitoring, and checking work while organizing time and resources efficiently.
• Excellent verbal communication and writing skills with an ability to translate complex information into simple concepts.
• Demonstrated ability to build trust with and be a thought partner to external and internal stakeholders and potential customers/partners.
• A self-manager with an entrepreneurial mindset who is independent, collaborative, motivated, takes initiative, thinks outside the box, and has a growth mindset.
• Ability to prioritize projects to meet deadlines while ensuring that those impacted are given the opportunity to contribute.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Suite, Google, Canva, and Zoom and use of video to deliver professional learning.
• Oregon driver’s license for travel to school sites across Oregon.

Preferred Skills and Experiences

• 3-5 years of experience in early learning (Birth-3rd grade) settings.
• Experience designing and delivering professional learning for early learning educators (PK-5), including online and hybrid formats.
• Experience scaling of professional learning (e.g.: train-the-trainer, program expansion).
• Experience managing publicly funded programs or services (City, State, Federal).
• Entrepreneurial experiences, leading a venture from idea through launch.
• Demonstrated knowledge of and leadership in effective school or system change efforts centered around alignment of PK-5 systems and practices.
• Ability to discern and synthesize research into action.

Benefits

• Employer fully paid medical/dental coverage
• Employer fully paid long-term disability coverage
• Employer fully paid life insurance, accidental death, and employee assistance plan
• 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan with qualified match and contribution
• 125 Flexible Benefits Plan
• Commuter stipend
• Cell phone stipend
• Professional Development Stipend
• Annual office closure between December 26th and January 1st
• Three weeks paid time off
• Two weeks sick leave
• Eleven paid holidays, plus two floating holidays
• Paid time off to celebrate your birthday
• Paid time off to volunteer in CI’s community

Equal Employment Statement 

Children’s Institute is an equal opportunity employer. It is the policy of CI to provide equal employment opportunity in accordance with applicable law to all qualified individuals without regard to race, color, creed, religion, age, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, marital status, military status, political opinion, national origin, familial status, mental and physical ability, source of income, or any other status protected by federal, state, or local law in all personnel actions. Personnel actions include recruitment, selection, promotion, compensation, training, and termination. Relations between employees shall be based on mutual respect, and regard for the effectiveness and well-being of the organization.

Reasonable Accommodation Statement 

Consistent with applicable disability law, Children’s Institute will provide reasonable accommodations to assist qualified applicants or employees with disabilities to participate in the job application process, to perform the essential functions of a job, and to enjoy the same benefits and privileges of employment applicable to similarly situated employees without disabilities, provided the accommodation would not impose an “undue hardship” on the operation of CI. 

Mandatory COVID-19 Vaccination Policy 

Children’s Institute agrees to follow the internal protocols for partner organizations and school districts as a condition of employment for all employees unless they are granted reasonable accommodation under applicable law.

< Back To Work For CI