Chief Operating Officer

Title: Chief Operating Officer

Department: Executive Office

Status: Exempt

Reports to: President

Positions Reporting to this Position: Senior Vice President of Human Resources & Administrative Services and Senior Vice President of Finance

Location: Washington, DC

Union Position: No

Job Classification Level: M-V

Salary Range (depending on experience): $225,000-$285,000

Position Overview

For over half a century, the League of Conservation Voters, Inc. (“LCV”), has led the charge for clean air, clean water, public lands, healthy communities and a sustainable planet for all. LCV has built political power and infrastructure at the intersection of climate policy and electoral strategy - advancing environmental protections, electing pro environmental lawmakers and aligning action across an integral multi-state network.

We envision a world in which tackling the climate crisis, confronting environmental injustice and strengthening our democracy leads to cleaner and healthier communities, good, well-paying jobs and a just, equitable and sustainable future for all.

LCV is hiring a Chief Operating Officer (COO) to serve as the organization’s chief operational steward, providing strategic leadership and operational excellence across finance, human resources, administration, and the organizational infrastructure of our $150 million dollar organization.

The COO will be a trusted, thoughtful partner to the President, Executive Team and Board of Directors and ensure our internal operations are efficient, values-driven, responsive, and designed for impact.

The COO ensures organizational systems and processes are built to succeed at a fast-paced, campaign organization with a passionate, talented team of 200 staff across the country.

The successful candidate will bring deep expertise in the financial and budgetary operations of c3/c4/PAC organizations, strong experience in human resources, outstanding communications skills, and a willingness to “roll up their sleeves” to get the work done.

Key Responsibilities

Organizational Leadership

• Drive the intersection of operations with the organizational strategy and programs; align and enhance functions, systems, processes, and procedures across the organization.
• Partner with the President, Executive Team and Board to ensure organizational operations support efforts to achieve the goals of the strategic plan.
• Partner with the General Counsel on assessing organizational risk and response.
• Partner with Executive Team members and key stakeholders to create strategic internal communications that inform and align staff on organizational priorities and issues

Finance

• Supervise the Senior Vice President of Finance and oversee all aspects of financial management, including budgeting, forecasting, reporting, and long-term financial planning.
• Partner with the SVP of Finance to develop sustainable financial strategies that support growth, innovation, and mission impact.
• Partner with the SVP of Finance to ensure strong financial controls, compliance, and risk management practices across all departments and entities.

Budget

• Oversee the organizational budgeting process through the lens of the strategic plan, partnering with the President, SVP of Finance and Executive Team members to ensure a cooperative, transparent and thoughtful process, aligned with organizational priorities and values.
• Perform ongoing evaluations of the organizational budgeting process, seeking feedback,making improvements and managing changes as needed
• Train and mentor staff on strategic budgeting best practices.

Human Resources and Administration

• Supervise the Senior Vice President of Human Resources & Administrative Services and partner with the team in cultivating a thriving, inclusive, high-performance unionized workplace.
• Partner with SVP of HR & Admin to align talent strategy with organizational goals, including recruitment, retention, professional development, and performance management.
• Partner with the SVP of HR & Admin to ensure human resources systems and processes are responsive, efficient, strategic and designed to support staff at all levels.

Organizational Infrastructure, Technology & Systems

• Provide executive oversight of LCV’s operational infrastructure, ensuring systems and processes are efficient, coordinated, values-aligned, user-friendly, adaptable and built for scale and security.
• Partner with the SVP of HR & Admin to ensure IT resources, systems, and tools effectively support staff, enhance productivity, and enable seamless collaboration across departments.
• Oversee the organization’s technology strategies, leading key organizational initiatives including the implementation and ongoing assessment of the organization’s AI usage policy and serving as the Executive Team point person on organizational data strategy and coordination.

Organizational Values & Integrity

• Demonstrate leadership in the organization’s long-term process to advance racial justice and equity in every facet of the organization.
• Ensure organizational values are reflected in organizational systems and processes.
• Support efforts to create an organizational culture that is inclusive, respectful and equitable.

Essential Qualifications

• At least 15 years of professional experience in finance, human resources and operations in advocacy, political or campaign organizations, government or philanthropy, including 10 years of senior-level or executive experience.
• At least 5 years serving as the COO, CFO, or comparable role of a mid-to-large sized, multi-entity organization.
• Demonstrated track record of leading high-performing operational functions to achieve ambitious goals at an organization with similar complexity, budget and staff size.
• Significant experience overseeing complex financial and budgetary processes in c3/c4/PAC organizations.
• Ability to translate complex financial data into clear and understandable information for a wide range of audiences.
• Excellent people management skills, including management of senior leaders.
• Track record of aligning and enhancing systems, processes, and procedures across organizations.
• Experience playing an active, collaborative role on a senior leadership team.
• Strong problem-solving skills, excellent judgment, the ability to anticipate challenges and develop solutions and a hands-on approach.
• Experience with organizational technology systems and processes and an aptitude for data.
• Strong judgment and a champion of integrity and excellence.
• Superb interpersonal skills with an impressive history of forging strong relationships with a diverse set of stakeholders.
• Experience collaborating with an active Board of Directors.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience working in a unionized environment.
• Experience helping organizations navigate AI policies and usage.

What You Bring to the Role

Leadership and Collaboration. You are a collaborative and inclusive leader who thrives in dynamic, fast-moving environments. You build trust across differences, lead with empathy and equity, and bring steadiness amid change. You partner effectively with senior executives and teams alike—aligning strategy, structure, and execution while fostering clarity, accountability, and shared purpose.

Operational and Financial Leadership. You have demonstrated success overseeing complex operational, financial, and administrative systems in c3/c4/PAC organizations. You know how to sustain and enhance organizations thoughtfully and sustainably, balancing long-term planning with day-to-day execution in a fast-moving environment. You have a track record of successfully driving highly complex initiatives with evolving priorities and goals.

People and Culture Expertise. You have significant experience leading HR, people, and talent functions, and believe organizational culture is a strategic asset. You have successfully managed teams with varied professional experiences and worked effectively in unionized environments, ideally participating in collective bargaining processes.

Strategic Judgment and Approach. You are highly organized and systems-oriented, able to turn ideas into concrete plans and deliverables. You have the judgment and analytical ability to navigate complex situations. You are thoughtful and steadfast when implementing change. You are skilled at seeing the big picture while sequencing priorities and making trade-offs amid competing demands.

Emotional Intelligence. You navigate complexity with composure, self-awareness, and care.You bring energy and steadiness in equal measure, and you don't rattle easily when priorities shift, or things get hard. You understand how to manage interpersonal and power dynamics, build trust while holding others accountable and aren’t afraid of difficult conversations.

Racial Justice and Equity Competencies. You have a demonstrated awareness of how one’s life experiences influence one’s personal attitudes, biases and assumptions. You bring a demonstrated commitment to continual learning and the ability to successfully deliver culturally responsive services. You are committed to equity and inclusion as organizational practice and culture. You understand how environmental issues intersect with racial, economic and social inequities in the U.S. and have a passion for working to dismantle systemic racism.

Physical Demands. You are comfortable operating in a professional office environment and routinely using standard office equipment such as computers, phones, photocopiers and audiovisual systems. This position is largely sedentary, often standing or sitting for prolonged periods.

Conditions. You have the ability and willingness to travel 5-10% of the time. This position is based in Washington, D.C.

This position is classified as “Regular Hybrid Work,” and is required to work in the office a minimum of three days a week.

Pre-employment Screening

All employment is contingent upon the completion of a background check, employment verifications and reference checks.

LCV is an Equal Opportunity Employer committed to a racially just, equitable and inclusive workplace. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, disability, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran status, or genetic information, or any other protected status. LCV is committed to providing access, equal opportunity and reasonable accommodation for individuals with disabilities in employment, its services, programs and activities. If you require a reasonable accommodation to participate in the employee selection process, including completing the application, interviewing or pre-employment testing, please contact View email address on click.appcast.io.

Our organization participates in E-Verify as a part of the onboarding process. We are required to provide the Social Security Administration (SSA) and, if necessary, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), with information from each new employee’s Form I-9 to confirm work authorization. Please note that we do not use E-Verify to pre-screen job applicants and may only initiate the process after an offer has been accepted.