PENCIL New York, NY Chief Operating Officer PENCIL in New York

PENCIL
New York, NY
Chief Operating Officer
PENCIL in New York, New York, is seeking an experienced, enthusiastic professional to serve
as a Chief Operating Officer (COO). PENCIL has been growing steadily and, with the adoption
of a new strategic plan, is now seeking to accelerate growth. The president of PENCIL is
looking for a mission-focused, seasoned, strategic, and process-minded leader with
experience scaling an organization, leading a management team, making strategic
decisions, and developing a performance culture among a group of diverse, talented
individuals. The COO must be a leader who is able to support others at PENCIL to deliver
measurable, cost-efficient results to make the vision a reality. The successful COO will have
the skills, sensitivity, and confidence to empower each member of the PENCIL team to work
at their highest potential.
THE ORGANIZATION
Founded in 1995, PENCIL is a New York City-based education non-profit that PENCIL brings
together business and education talent and expertise to improve public school and student
performance. PENCIL works at the intersection of school needs and business expertise.
Visit www.pencil.org for more information.
THE POSITION AND ITS KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
Reporting directly to the President of PENCIL, the COO will lead all internal operations,
support the strategic direction of PENCIL, and will have the following responsibilities:
Strategic Direction
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Work with the President to implement the PENCIL strategic plan, including creating
new processes and approaches to achieve it
Work with the Board of Directors: present to the Board at quarterly meetings and
help lead several Board committees
Identify potential growth opportunities and priorities
Serve as a national expert on education reform
Continue to develop and to communicate the PENCIL message internally and
externally
Operational Leadership
 Provide effective and inspiring leadership by being actively involved in all programs
and services, developing a broad and deep knowledge of all programs
 Work closely with PENCIL Board senior staff to further PENCIL mission and goals
Management
Lead and manage leaders of the following areas of the organization:
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Finance, Technology, and Human Resources
o Refine and implement the balanced scorecard metric to organize and to drive
the organization
o Cultivate the values of PENCIL within the organization
o Instill a human capital development and “coaching” culture within PENCIL;
upgrade human resources functions including recruitment, on-boarding,
training, development, compensation and benefits, employee relations, and
performance evaluation
o Support and continually refine the accounting system to provide the
organization with quick and clear access to financial information and to
enable strategic budgeting
o Analyze the current technology infrastructure and scope out the next level of
information technology and financial systems that support the growth of
specific programs and the organization overall
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Communications
o Create a public brand and image for PENCIL with the media and external
constituency groups, including community, governmental, and private
organizations
o Engage an external PR consultant firm to improve PENCIL strategic
communications in all forms of media
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Resource Development – function reports to COO; dotted line reporting to the
President on
o Support existing relationships with funders to secure and expand recurring
revenue streams
o Strategic budget development
o Development and implementation of systems for reporting, measurement and
supporting local revenue generation
o Administrative aspects including proposal preparation and grant writing
o Closely align work of Finance and Resource Development departments
o Manage the Board Resource Development and Finance committees
Key Qualifications
As a prerequisite, the successful candidate must believe in the cores values of PENCIL and
be driven by the mission. The candidate should demonstrate a passion for breaking new
ground to lead social change. Beyond that, we are seeking a candidate that has proven
experience in scaling an organization and a demonstrated ability to both lead and build the
capabilities of a driven, bright diverse team.
The most successful candidate will most likely have had management experience including
overseeing a large team. As noted, this is an organization driven by the values of its people,
so experience in managing a “values driven” organization will be highly prized. Additional
requirements are:
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Results – proven track record of exceeding goals and a bottom-line orientation;
evidence of the ability to consistently make good decisions through a combination of
analysis, wisdom, experience, and judgment; problem solving; project management;
creative resourcefulness; business acumen, including the ability to balance the
delivery of programs against the realities of a budget
Strategic Vision and Agility – ability to think strategically, anticipate future
consequences and trends, and incorporate them into the organizational plan
Capacity Building – ability to effectively build organization and staff capacity, and
continue to develop the workforce and the processes that ensure the organization
runs smoothly and grows
Leadership and Organization – exceptional capacity for recruiting talented individuals
and managing and leading people; a team builder who has experience in scaling up
organizations; ability to connect staff both on an individual level and in large groups;
capacity to enforce accountability, develop and empower leaders, lead from the top
down, cultivate entrepreneurship, and learn the strengths and weaknesses of the
team so as to put people in a position to succeed
Action-Oriented – enjoys working hard and looks for challenges; able to act and react
as necessary, even if limited information is available; not afraid to take charge of a
situation; can overcome resistance to leadership and take unpopular stands when
necessary
Management – thorough understanding of finance, systems, and HR; broad
experience with the full range of business functions and systems, including strategic
development and planning, budgeting, business analysis, finance, information
systems, human resources, and marketing
COMPENSATION
Compensation will be commensurate with experience and qualifications. Benefits include a
generous health insurance plan, a retirement plan, as well as ample vacation and sick leave
policies.
TO APPLY
Please e-mail a cover letter and résumé to [email protected]. Or mail to:
PENCIL
Attention: Cinthia Policard
PENCIL Chief Operating Officer
30 West 26th Street, 5th Floor
New York, NY 10010
Applications will be accepted until the position is filled.
PENCIL is strongly committed to the principle of equal opportunity for all individuals. PENCIL
will make all employment decisions without unlawful discrimination on the basis of race,
color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or any
other status protected by law.

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