Chief Operating Officer

JOB TITLE: Chief Operating Officer

EMPLOYMENT TYPE: Full-Time

REPORTS TO: President & CEO

LOCATION: City-Wide

To apply: Please send resume and cover letter to Maria Deckinger at maria@aafscny.org

ABOUT AAFSC:

The Arab-American Family Support Center (AAFSC) is a non-profit, non-sectarian organization established in 1994 to provide culturally and linguistically competent, trauma-informed social services. Our mission is to champion underserved individuals, including immigrants, by delivering culturally responsive services and uplifting community voices. While our doors are open to all, with 30+ languages represented across staff, AAFSC has developed cultural and linguistic expertise serving members of NYC’s Arab, Middle Eastern, North African, Muslim, and South Asian (AMENAMSA) immigrant and refugee communities. 

AAFSC works across four key priority areas – Prevent Harm, Promote Well-Being, Prepare to Learn, and Pursue Solutions – in order to achieve our ultimate goal of strengthening families and communities. We strengthen families, prevent child abuse, protect the rights and security of immigrants, and work to end domestic and gender-based violence. We promote mental and physical well-being and advance justice and equity in underserved communities. We ensure families are knowledgeable about their rights and equipped to participate in civic society with confidence and security. We provide the tools for learners of every age to succeed. Finally, we uplift the voices and needs of under-represented communities and champion gender, racial, restorative, and immigrant justice. 

Growth Phase & Role Summary

Currently, the Arab-American Family Support Center is in the midst of a second major period of growth. Since 2020, AAFSC has more than quadrupled in size across staff, locations, and operating budget. The projected operating budget for the coming fiscal year is around 21 million dollars. The Chief Operating Officer (COO) will be a trusted partner to President and CEO, Rawaa Nancy Albilal, in bringing to life the vision, values, and strategic direction for the Arab-American Family Support Center and in implementing innovations that will enhance its ability to deliver on its mission going forward. The COO will lead and manage teams and key staff members across backend operations as well as senior administration, and work alongside the President & CEO and these key team members to develop and implement an ambitious change agenda.

This role requires a consultative, innovative, agile leader committed to AAFSC’s mission, vision, and values. A successful person in this role will be systems-minded, detail-oriented, meticulously organized, forward-thinking, and have the capacity to thrive under pressure while working on multiple projects. The Chief Operating Officer will also have a strong background in systems-change, project management, monitoring and evaluation, data management, and developing and implementing standard operating procedures. A commitment to immigrant, refugee, and low-income communities is essential for this role. This position may also provide supervision and support for key program areas and strategic initiatives at AAFSC as appropriate and applicable.

Going forward, the key priorities for the Arab-American Family Support Center and the COO will be:

• Planning for and executing plans aligned with strategic growth
• Supporting organizational culture and values
• Infrastructure transformation
• Financial stewardship

Planning for and Executing Plans aligned with Strategic Growth

The Arab-American Family Support Center will look to the COO to be a leader in helping to devise and execute a strategic plan in partnership with the President & CEO and Board of Directors to carry the organization into its next phase. Strategic growth requires an investment in people, systems, and technology, and the COO will have the opportunity to help craft the growth strategy and partner with key team members and program leads to achieve strategic goals.

Specific responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

• In partnership with the President & CEO, oversee the articulation and implementation of the organization’s strategies and implement new processes and approaches to achieve it.
• In partnership with the President & CEO, reinforce policies and practices to ensure equitable, efficient, and consultative decision-making throughout the organization.
• Lead the organization-wide performance management process that establishes annual goals and evaluates ongoing progress towards meeting these goals.
• Identify and implement cost-effective ways to deliver state-of-the-art programs to clients and community members.
• Work with the Board of Directors to ensure financial health and manage organizational risk.
• Manage teams and key staff members across backend operations as well as senior administration.
• Lead program or strategic initiative areas and supervise staff responsible for those areas as assigned.
• Serve as second-in-command to the President & CEO and as a member of the Senior Leadership Team.

Culture and Values

The Arab-American Family Support Center’s primary asset is its people and supporting them through this period of growth and change is paramount. The COO will work closely with the Human Resources function, the Leadership team, and key team members to ensure that the Arab-American Family Support Center has the structures in place to attract and retain talent, to create new opportunities for training and development, to implement initiatives that support the Arab-American Family Support Center’s culture of trust, collaboration, and service. The COO will play a critical role in ensuring that the Arab-American Family Support Center is a leader in DE&I, and an employer of choice for talent.

Specific responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

• Support the delivery of high-quality HR and benefits services to ensure the recruitment, development, recognition, and retention of a diverse, high-performing and engaged workforce.
• Ensure the clarity and consistency of AAFSC’s culture across the organization. 
  
• Actively model and promote AAFSC’s values and ensure organizational alignment with our values throughout all teams. 
  
• Across all AAFSC initiatives and teams, embed a focus on equity, continuous improvement, employee engagement and employee development. 
  
• Monitor staff engagement and work with Human Resources to enhance staff recruitment and retention strategies. 
  
• Ensure compliance with applicable labor laws.
• Develop, motivate, mentor, and lead a high-performing team with the tools and skills required to consistently deliver a seamless operating environment across backend and administrative functions.

Infrastructure Transformation

Fundamental to AAFSC’s operations is the need to develop a modern, cohesive, agile, scalable, and resilient physical as well as technological infrastructure that will enable AAFSC to meet contractual obligations as well as constituent needs. The COO will partner with Senior Leadership to assess AAFSC’s current infrastructure and then create a scalable plan.

Specific responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

• Assess AAFSC’s current financial, administrative, and operating infrastructure – including systems, processes, and business practices – and identify and prioritize opportunities to increase organizational efficiency and effectiveness, improve client services, mitigate business risk, and support future growth within the vision, mission, and strategies of AAFSC.
• Develop a multi-year road map for business system enhancements and galvanize internal support for this change agenda.
• Facilitate the creation of key performance indicators (KPIs), metrics, and institution-wide financial analysis to inform decision making.

Financial Stewardship

Financial stewardship of AAFSC’s assets including physical assets and financial assets from grants, contracts and individuals donations is of paramount importance to AAFSC, ensuring that AAFSC is a good steward of these resources. The COO will partner with the VP of Finance, VP of Resource Development, Deputy Directors, VP of Administration, President & CEO and the Board of Directors to ensure that there is alignment between donor intentions and mission, goals and objections. Success in the role will require the ability to plan for the future, including developing long-term projections and analytics that support strategic and operational decision making.

Specific responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

• Partner with the President & CEO, VP of Finance and the Board of Directors to ensure the management of financial resources supporting operations, including the development of annual and long-range operating and capital budgets.
• Advise the President & CEO and other key members of senior management on financial planning, budgeting, cash flow, operational risk mitigation, and management of working capital.
• Partner with Senior Leadership and the President & CEO to support clear financial stewardship of contracts, grants and individual contributions at the Arab-American Family Support Center and the associated financial reporting, tax, and auditing functions.

Other Duties & Responsibilities

• Participate in AAFSC meetings and trainings, as well as any off-site meetings and trainings assigned by President & CEO.
• Perform other duties assigned as necessary.

Ambassador & Champion

·       Every AAFSC team member serves as an ambassador of the organization and champion of AAFSC’s mission, vision, and values. This includes the following:

• • Cultivate relationships on behalf of and in support of the organization in partnership with Senior Leadership and the Resource Development team. This includes being sensitive to and aware of others, providing every client, partner and participant with high-quality service, professional communication, and follow through, and always keeping Senior Leadership and the Resource Development team aware of any opportunities, challenges, or updates.
  • All team members are expected to support the Resource Development team with any requests in a timely manner, including, but not limited to: grant applications, reports, attendance at meetings, hearings, or other events, and sharing of AAFSC social media, flyers, and other externally-facing communications.
  • Demonstrate a willingness to respond to evolving community needs, including, but not limited to, making referrals in light of community needs, supporting with the development of and implementation of new initiatives or programming, and raising awareness of new or evolving needs.
  • Always act with integrity, positivity, dedication, and professionalism within the office and externally. This includes, but is not limited to, email communication, verbal communication, communication with colleagues and peers, communication with clients, or communication with external partners or agencies.

BACKGROUND AND POSITION REQUIREMENTS

The COO is the chief business and administrative officer of the Arab-American Family Support Center, a strategic partner to the President & CEO, and a champion of change. The COO will strengthen business operations, invest in systems and technology, and ensure AAFSC has a high-quality infrastructure in place to achieve the mission and vision of the organization. The COO will bring leadership, analytics, transparency, and a high level of energy coupled with a can-do mindset. They will focus on leading, developing, and mentoring the team and be a strong advocate for a culture of diversity, equity, and inclusion. The role requires an individual gifted with strong finance, technology, business process reengineering, and communication skills, and appreciation for the work of the Arab-American Family Support Center in serving its communities. This is an exciting opportunity to create positive and long-lasting impact across New York City and beyond.

The following qualifications are desired, but if you do not meet all qualifications outlined, we still welcome your application.

• Master's Degree in related field.
• 7 to 15 years of successful senior leadership experience at a mid-sized non-profit or social impact organization.
• A proven change leader with experience designing and implementing a complex change agenda.
• Brings a sophisticated understanding of change management and strong analytical skills to move the organization toward greater efficiency, optimization, and excellence.
• An innovative thinker and creative problem solver focused on continuous improvement and unafraid to challenge and change the status quo.
• Has the ability to motivate, mentor, and lead teams and other stakeholders through a period of cultural and operational change and clearly communicate goals and expectations in an inspiring way.
• A strong strategic orientation coupled with the ability to effectively collaborate with the President and CEO, members of the senior leadership team, and the Board of Directors.
• Proactively seeks to improve processes and implement best-in-class solutions, seeking opportunities to raise quality and productivity in an intentional way.
• Spends time building a clear understanding of the capabilities and potential of their team, as well as opportunities to build operational capability and capacity to support the whole organization. Fosters a culture of excellence and learning, holding people accountable for their commitments.
• Aligns the financial and operational strategies with the goals of the institution.
• Commitment to, track record of, and impact in the area of diversity, equity, and inclusion.
• Decisive and thoughtful leader who deftly engages stakeholders to achieve desired outcomes. A highly credible and experienced leader who partners effectively and instills confidence with the board.
• Leverages the team to facilitate increased collaboration across the organization, tapping their motives and values to energize them.
• Committed to a culture of collaboration, transparency, excellence, and accountability with the capability to build an inclusive, diverse, and equitable workplace.
• Experience tracking and analyzing data to identify best practices and opportunities for improvement, which will translate to distilling lessons for inclusion in grant proposals or corrective action.
• Strong analytical skills and technical capability, including expertise with enterprise-wide systems and business process reengineering.
• Excellent writing and editing skills; strong verbal communication and interpersonal skills.
• Strong computer skills and proficiency with technology including Microsoft Office products, CRMs, and databases.
• Able to thrive in a busy work environment, innovate, strategize, and make decisions independently.
• Sense of accountability for all actions and decisions, as well as the ability to step in and roll up your sleeves to achieve objectives regardless of tasks.
• Must be able to exercise initiative, independent good judgement, flexibility, discretion, and solid decision-making.
• Positive can-do attitude with ability to hit the ground running, as well as a sense of purpose with ethical decision-making and objective judgment at the core of all actions.
• Must be able to maintain client confidentiality.
• Must be able to work collaboratively with all layers of the organization.
• Passion for AAFSC’s mission and vision.
• Flexibility to work occasional evenings and weekends to manage crises, attend events, or meetings.
  
• Job contingent on pre-employment background check and fingerprint clearance.
  
• U.S. Work Authorization required.

We are an equal opportunity employer that values diversity at all levels. All individuals are encouraged to apply.