Chief Operating Officer

– Position: Chief Operating Officer
– Organization: ShareWell (Cayton Children’s Museum), Santa Monica, CA
– Status: Full-time, exempt
– Salary: $155,000–$175,000
– Deadline: open until filled

ShareWell is the nonprofit parent platform behind Cayton Children’s Museum, Grow/Wild, and a growing network of museum and cultural partnerships. Through shared leadership, finance, operations, marketing, and advancement support, ShareWell helps mission-driven organizations strengthen their impact and sustainability.
Cayton Children’s Museum, ShareWell’s flagship and largest operation, is a 21,000-square-foot, play-based museum at Santa Monica Place serving 150,000 children and families each year. Grow/Wild extends that work into nature-based learning.
ShareWell is now launching an initial twelve-month management and operating partnership with the Museum of Flying in Santa Monica, providing integrated leadership, finance, development, marketing, and operations support for its relaunch.

The Chief Operating Officer leads day-to-day operations across ShareWell, with Cayton Children’s Museum at the center, and is accountable for staff management, operating performance, all earned revenue streams, and timely financial and operating reporting. Alongside the CEO and Chief Advancement Officer, the COO leads the next chapter of Cayton Children’s Museum’s LA County-wide growth as well as the expansion of ShareWell’s shared services umbrella of partner cultural organizations.

The COO leads ShareWell’s operations, finance, creative, exhibits, and program leadership:

• Senior Business Manager, Administration & Operations: the COO’s principal partner and lead direct report; administration, HR, payroll, vendors, insurance, contracts, and Cayton’s museum operations team.
• Finance Manager (part-time): monthly close, reconciliations, pledge schedules, and reporting.
• Senior Creative & Exhibits Specialist: brand creative and exhibit design and fabrication.
• Programs Director, Mobile Museum/Outreach: Cayton programs and Community Connections Mobile Museum (three-van fleet).
• Program Experience Managers and Children’s Theatre Specialist: daily program delivery, facilitation, and theatre programming.
• Grow/Wild Director: Grow/Wild programs, sites, and educators.
• Museum Project Manager, Museum of Flying (part-time): on-site partnership work plan.
• Future program and partnership directors: leaders of new ShareWell initiatives as they launch.
• Outsourced partners: Citrin Cooperman (accounting and bookkeeping), TriNet (PEO), Edge Solutions (IT), and AUS Security.

The Chief Advancement Officer leads advancement and fundraising events; communications and executive support report to the CEO.

Growth, Alongside the CEO and Chief Advancement Officer

• Cayton Children’s Museum: lead the museum’s growth in attendance, programs, earned revenue, and community reach, including mobile outreach and future facilities.
• ShareWell: expand ShareWell’s umbrella of partner organizations, building the onboarding, staffing, and shared-services model that lets each new partner thrive.

Strategy, Leadership, and Operating Accountability

• Execute a ShareWell Annual Operating Plan, anchored in Cayton’s operations, with budgets, staffing, service standards, an integrated calendar, entity-specific reporting, and clear measures of success.
• Lead staff and outsourced specialists through clear priorities, coaching, and thoughtful change management; run weekly leadership meetings, documented decisions, and monthly CEO reports.
• Exercise delegated authority for operating, staffing, contracting, and expenditure decisions within approved budgets and policies, escalating material exceptions to the CEO.
• Provide executive-level back-up support and special assignments as requested by the CEO.

Cayton Museum Operations, Programs, and Facilities

• Ensure a safe, welcoming visitor experience at Cayton: floor coverage, capacity, ticketing, guest service, emergency preparedness, incident response, safety training, and business continuity.
• Direct facilities, exhibits, security, risk, insurance, IT, data systems, cybersecurity, and the Community Connections fleet; support lease and future-facility planning.

Earned Revenue

• Oversee all of ShareWell’s earned revenue: Cayton admissions, memberships, birthday parties, private events and buyouts, camps, and retail; Grow/Wild programs; and partner shared-services fees.
• Set earned-revenue goals, pricing, and capacity plans with program leaders and report results monthly. Contributed revenue and fundraising events remain with the Chief Advancement Officer.

Finance, Budget, and Board Reporting

• Lead the annual budget process with the CEO, department leaders, and Finance Manager; oversee cash-flow planning and budget-to-actual reporting; and direct corrective action.
• Direct a disciplined monthly close, cash management, audit readiness, and strong internal controls. The Finance Manager prepares reconciliations, Citrin Cooperman determines technical accounting and supports required filings, and advancement owns donor records.
• Prepare financial and operating dashboards for the CEO’s quarterly Board and committee reporting, and attend and present at Board or committee meetings as requested by the CEO.

People and Culture

• With the Senior Business Manager and TriNet, oversee hiring, onboarding, reviews, training, and compliant HR policies, and implement the staffing plan, engagement survey, and retention priorities.

Shared Services and Partner Operations

• Lead ShareWell’s delivery for the Museum of Flying against its agreement and work plans, including staffing, deliverables, and reporting, without diluting Cayton’s operations.
• Establish cost-allocation, staff-time, and revenue tracking for each program, DBA, and partner engagement, so leadership can see whether each covers its costs.

Initial Operating Priorities

During the first 90 days, the COO will build on work already underway and present a ShareWell Annual Operating Plan aligned with the approved planning and budget cycle:

• Assessment: meet with ShareWell, Cayton, Grow/Wild, and partner teams; review roles, workloads, systems, and cross-organizational dependencies; and recommend priorities.
• Financial visibility: with the Finance Manager and Citrin Cooperman, establish the close calendar, budget-to-actual reporting, and a first financial and operating dashboard.
• People and visitor operations: set the performance-review cycle and engagement baseline, and strengthen Cayton’s capacity, ticketing, and floor coverage.
• Museum of Flying: confirm the work plan, staffing, reporting, cost allocation, and time tracking for the initial partnership period.

Measures of Success

Reliable monthly reporting; progress on approved attendance, earned-revenue, and budget goals; safe, well-staffed operations; stronger retention; on-scope partner work with transparent costs; and systems that scale ShareWell.

Qualifications

• Ten or more years of progressive operations leadership, including senior responsibility at a museum, cultural institution, or comparable visitor-serving nonprofit.
• Demonstrated success managing multi-department staff, budgets, and earned-revenue operations, with measurable gains in performance, retention, and service.
• Strong financial judgment across budgeting, nonprofit accounting, restricted revenue, close, controls, and audit readiness, with clear Board-ready reporting.
• California employment-practices experience, including performance management, compliance, and work within a PEO environment.
• Experience with facilities, safety, technology, and visitor operations; shared-services or multi-site experience is valuable.
• Strong writing, sound ethical judgment, and a commitment to children, families, learning, and community.
• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience required; MBA, MPA, or nonprofit-management degree preferred. Demonstrated operating results are central to selection.

Compensation and Working Arrangements

The base salary is $155,000–$175,000, commensurate with experience. Benefits include health, dental, vision, retirement plan, paid time off, and professional development.
The role is based at Cayton in Santa Monica and primarily on-site, with routine time at the Museum of Flying and other ShareWell sites, periodic evenings and weekends, extended floor time, and occasional lifting up to 25 pounds.

ShareWell is an Equal Opportunity Employer and is committed to an inclusive workplace; employment decisions are made without regard to any characteristic protected by law. Employment is at-will and contingent on background and reference checks. Qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records will be considered under the California Fair Chance Act and local ordinances. For accommodations, contact View email address on click.appcast.io . This description is not an exhaustive list of duties; responsibilities may change based on organizational needs.

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