Chief Operating Officer

Location: Remote

The Role: Mission Lazarus, COO

Meet Mission Lazarus:

In 2001 Jarrod Brown and Juan Flores, armed with a Bible and equipped with an old Toyota truck, began venturing into the isolated remote mountains outside of Choluteca, Honduras. They were on a mission, to build relationships and share Jesus through those relationships. Neither of them ever imagined how God would tend to the seeds that they were planting over 20 years ago.

This amazing adventure that we call Mission Lazarus all started through a desire to do more than simply help someone. The journey that Jarrod and Juan embarked on would change their lives, and many other lives, for eternity. At the time they were unaware that this journey would end up being the catalyst for a complete transformation of not only their perspectives but those of countless others as well. Ever since the beginning our approach has been to live and do life with people and communities. It is through these close relationships in remote villages that specific struggles are identified and strategic programs developed to provide solutions, rather than simply treating symptoms. This does not happen by simply serving them, rather it is through serving alongside them that we have been able to appreciate each community's struggles as well their aspirations.

In 2011, building on a track record of proven results we expanded into Haiti. After receiving our legal status approval by the Haitian government we began to execute on an education program that would be unique to Northwest, Haiti. Today the Academie Lazare continues to grow with over 250 students currently enrolled.

In both Honduras and Haiti we approach ministry through a holistic view of community development that focuses on 4 key areas, education, health, economic development, and spiritual development. Today, some 20 years since Jarrod and Juan first ventured into the mountains together, over 100,000 people have been touched with the Good News of Christ. And our team of two has grown to more than 150! Now more than ever Mission Lazarus is Bringing Eternal Worth to Light.

About the COO:

The Chief Operations Officer (COO) will have overall strategic and operational responsibility for the operations of Mission Lazarus both domestically and internationally in Honduras and Haiti. The COO will be responsible for implementing the vision of Mission Lazarus and assessing the best approaches to accomplish those goals. Working with the CEO and International Directors, the position contributes to the development, implementation, and auditing of organizational programming, budgeting, strategies, policies, and practices of both non-profit and for-profit endeavors. The position will be required to solve ministry, business, global, and complex problems, identify innovative solutions, identify leadership training opportunities, and execute on findings.

The COO Responsibilities Include:

Working collaboratively with the US directors as well as Honduran and Haitian country directors in critical areas including but not limited to Team Support, Programming, Finance & Budgeting Communications, Leadership Training, Finance, Human Resources, this position:

• Provides continual strategic leadership/consultation for the development of the international operations leadership team.
• Identifies areas of growth needed and subsequent leadership development seminars
• Creates future strategies to expand competency levels as well as scope of reach of services based on overall established ministry goals.
• Defines, designs and implements operational oversight and program/operations audits, including ongoing monitoring and measurement of progress.
• Defines business market strategy and subsequent sales projections & analysis.
• Provides governance and oversight of key financial and non-financial performance indicators and outcomes.
• Works with national directors to Identify future trends and issues (including both ministry and economic and alternative solutions) in the regions served by the ministry.
• Ensures allocation of budgeted resources is appropriate and monitored.
• Meets as needed with key ministry partners or future partners to cultivate deeper relationships and engagement.
• Ensure that the organization is compliant with all annual government reporting, labor law regulations, etc.

International travel is required, with stays of 4-7 days per trip, approximately 2 trips per quarter.

What You Bring:

The following describes many of the characteristics of the ideal candidate for the COO:

Education & Experience

• Bachelor’s degree required preferably in International Business, International Operations or Business Management related field.
• Master’s degree in international business or related field preferred, not required
• Experience in business operations, ministry, and international experience is required.
• Experience in international non-profit, non-governmental, volunteer membership, charitable or similar organizations preferred
• Experience in development of operational strategies with proven ability to approach & solve problems via data-based approach.
• Experience at multi-faceted project and program management with the ability to adjust to rapidly to changing conditions.
• Multi-language capabilities: Required Spanish & English, French capabilities are an added plus.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• International, cross-cultural work experience required with a sensitivity to a multicultural global environment, especially in handling matters with staff and American volunteers / donors and relations with foreign national employees and foreign national beneficiaries.
• Broad understanding of ministry/beneficiary/donor interaction contact points and activities.
• Demonstrates strong leadership skills in driving ongoing foreign leadership development, growth in leader competencies, and ministerial intentionality.
• Demonstrates strong leadership skills in engagement with US partners and donors (our stakeholders).
• Strong business acumen and analytic skills with an understanding of international and domestic financials.
• Ability to grasp international legal and financial compliance requirements relating to for-profit and non-profit organizations.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills as well as an ability to speak confidently in front of an audience.
• Ability to prioritize, lead and manage multiple projects and tasks to successful completion.
• Excellent people manager, open to direction and a collaborative work style while maintaining a commitment to accomplishing goals.
• Strong time management, planning and problem-solving skills.

The ideal candidate will be responsible for ensuring operational excellence across the organization. Your primary goal will be to increase our organization's productivity, efficiency, and profitability. You will advise the CEO on key operational insights as well as provide coaching to employees.

Responsibilities

• Produce annual operation forecasting report and strategy
• Oversee and evaluate day-to-day operations
• Identify new market opportunities to accelerate growth
• Present operational strategy recommendations to the CEO based on your market research

Qualifications

• 10 - 15 years' of executive experience
• Strategic planning and business development experience
• Strong written and verbal and presentation skills
• Strong leadership and organizational skills