Chief Administrative Officer

Organization Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC)

The Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC) is seeking a Chief Administrative Officer (CAO). This position will be based in one of the following offices: Charlottesville, VA (preferred); Atlanta, GA; Chapel Hill, NC; Washington, DC; or Richmond, VA. The successful candidate will join senior executive leadership and report to our Executive Director. The CAO will integrate the systems and teams that keep SELC running —Human Resources, Finance, Administration, Information Technology and the General Counsel's risk-management functions. The CAO will build the technology, operational backbone, and management discipline that enables SELC to advance our mission. This is an excellent opportunity to join a highly successful, nationally recognized organization that is effectively addressing some of the most pressing and challenging environmental issues throughout the South and the nation.

The ideal candidate will be a seasoned operations executive with a record of leading operational functions, including finance, human resources, technology, administration, risk management at an organization of comparable scale and complexity, whether in the nonprofit, professional-services, public, or private sector. To learn more about this position, click here: SELC Chief Administrative Officer Leadership Profile.

SELC has a hybrid work model that offers employees flexibility to work remotely up to two days per week. Employment is contingent on successful completion of a criminal background check and employment credit check.

Primary Responsibilities

• Serve as a principal partner and advisor to the Executive Director on the management and operations of the organization, helping set organizational policies, staffing, priorities, and direction.
• Attend meetings of the Board of Trustees and present updates as needed. Serve as staff liaison to the Board Audit Committee.
• Assume administrative and operational responsibilities now carried by the Executive Director, Deputy Director, and Office Directors, and set annual goals, with measures of success, for each supervised function, holding each accountable for delivering against them.
• Oversee SELC's IT function and guide development of a multi-year technology strategy; ensure AI is adopted responsibly through governance frameworks, policies, and training; and build the IT team's structure, talent, and service culture.
• Oversee the Finance function, providing executive leadership for budgeting, financial planning, internal controls, audit, and compliance, and ensuring finance systems are efficient, well controlled, and integrated with SELC's broader operations.
• Oversee the Human Resources function, providing executive leadership for recruiting and retention, compensation and benefits, performance management, professional development, and employee relations, while strengthening management and supervisory practices across the organization.
• Oversee the Administration function, ensuring facilities and day-to-day operations run smoothly and consistently across offices.
• Integrate the General Counsel and risk-management functions with operations, ensuring professional execution of enterprise risk management and legal compliance in areas including insurance, real estate, contracting, and records management.
• Raise SELC's standard of project management and execution within SELC's operations and lead the supervised functions through change with the project planning and internal-communications discipline that makes transitions successful.
• Lead with SELC's values: impact-focused excellence, respectful candor and integrity, inclusion and consultation, sincere collaboration, and mission-driven initiative.
• Partner with internal stakeholders to advance SELC's diversity, equity, and inclusion objectives, and recruit, mentor, and develop a strong operations leadership bench.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree.
• Minimum of 10 years' work experience in operations management and leadership functions.
• Success leading a multi-function operations portfolio (or several of its component functions in succession) at a high-performing organization of comparable budget and headcount.
• A record of leading technology modernization and organizational change: setting strategy, sequencing investments, managing consultants, and bringing staff along, with attention to the bandwidth and training of the people the systems serve.
• The financial fluency to partner with a Director of Finance on budgeting, controls, audit, and compliance, and to brief the Board of Trustees Audit Committee.
• Experience professionalizing project management across departments.
• The judgment and discretion to oversee sensitive functions (Human Resources, enterprise risk).
• The management range to set goals for experienced directors, hold them accountable, and develop them: leading through leaders rather than around them.

Desired Qualifications

• Advanced degree or career-relevant certifications preferred but not required.
• A demonstrated track record of change management in a matrixed organization.
• A connection or affinity for the people and places of the South.
• A genuine interest in and commitment to helping SELC create and foster an equitable and inclusive workplace that welcomes people from across the rich racial and cultural diversity of our region.

About SELC

The Southern Environmental Law Center is one of the nation's most powerful defenders of the environment, rooted in the South. With a long track record, SELC takes on the toughest environmental challenges in court, in government, and in our communities to protect our region's air, water, climate, wildlife, lands, and people. Nonprofit and nonpartisan, the organization has a staff of 250, including more than 160 legal and policy experts and advocates. Headquartered in Charlottesville, VA, SELC has offices in Asheville, Atlanta, Birmingham, Chapel Hill, Charleston, Nashville, Richmond, and Washington, DC.

At our core, we are place-based, rooted in our region, and connected with the communities and clients we serve. We believe in an equitable and inclusive workplace that welcomes people from across the rich racial and cultural diversity of our region and values diverse perspectives. We approach our work with the highest level of integrity, holding ourselves to high standards with an emphasis on honesty, accountability, and thoughtfulness. We value collaboration and camaraderie, realizing we are strongest when we work together and knowing that everyone has a critical role to play. We strive for impact through a strategic, bold, pragmatic, and ambitious outlook that is dedicated to achieving powerful results. We believe in these values and in the power of SELC. We hope you consider joining us. Learn more at

Compensation & Benefits

SELC offers salaries competitive with other leading environmental nonprofits nationally and provides an excellent benefits package. The starting salary range for this position is $190,000- $250,000, based on experience. Actual placement within the range will depend on factors such as relevant experience, education, skills, and internal equity considerations. For more details about our benefits package, please visit our Careers page.

SELC is a PSLF (Public Service Loan Forgiveness) eligible employer.

All employees are required to reside in our region. SELC will provide relocation reimbursement up to a specific dollar amount for those relocating at least 50 miles from their current primary residence.

SELC is an Equal Opportunity Employer committed to fostering an inclusive workplace environment. We are eager to welcome new team members who share this commitment. Qualified individuals of all backgrounds are strongly encouraged to apply.