Chief Operating Officer

Splash is a global non-profit organization that designs child-focused water, sanitation, hygiene (WASH), and menstrual health solutions with governments in some of the world’s largest, low-resource cities. Since our founding in 2007, we have served more than 600,000 children in cities around the world.

Our core values guide everything we do, including every hiring decision we make. They are: 

• People - People first. People second. People third. 
• Quality - Beautiful products that function and last. 
• Honesty - No drama, no surprises, no BS.  
• Joy - Kids at heart, seeing potential everywhere. 
• Mistakes - Make them, don’t repeat them. 

We are an equal opportunity employer and we value diversity and inclusion. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status. Women, people of color, and LGBTQ people are encouraged to apply.

The Job

This full-time permanent position is based in Seattle, WA.

Splash is at an exciting crossroads, having received multi-year financial commitments from several large foundations and international governments to rapidly scale our work in India and Ethiopia, while continuing work in other countries. The Chief Operating Officer will lead the creation of more robust HR, Technology, and Operations functions globally while ensuring stronger alignment across our offices in Seattle, US; Kolkata, India; and Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

A strategic and consultative leader, the Chief Operating Officer will ensure that Splash’s global goals, policies, procedures, and programs support the organization’s mission, vision, and culture. This includes creating a positive atmosphere and a culture of equity and inclusion for employees across all country offices and at all levels within the organization.

The Chief Operating Officer will play a vital role in shaping the future structure and staffing of Splash in the US and overseas during a time of organizational evolution. Over the next few years, we will need to manage the operational complexity of exiting some markets while ramping up in others, as well as scaling a for-profit social enterprise within our non-profit legal entity. This is a critical leadership position providing direct management of US and international operations, technology, and human resources staff. The Chief Operating Officer will serve as a member of the global management team and reports to the Founder and CEO.

YOUR PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Work closely with the Founder and CEO to fulfill our commitment to Splash’s initial core value: People First, People Second, People Third.
• Serve on the Global Management team; participate in key decisions pertaining to strategic initiatives, business model, resource allocation, and operational execution; collaborate with other department leads to ensure alignment of global offices.
• Further develop and fully own enterprise-wide HR systems and strategy to ensure consistency and alignment with best practices in the following areas: recruitment, onboarding, professional development, performance management, benefits, compensation and organizational development all with a keen eye on diversity, equity, and inclusion.
• Lead Splash’s global Operations team to provide critical backbone services and build the organizational infrastructure for sustainable expansion. This includes a regular and comprehensive review of our risk across multiple areas such as Legal, HR, Finance, and reputation and working across Splash to reduce risk and ensure compliance.
• Ensure our internal systems enable data-driven business decisions and our technology and tools delight users and drive efficiency.
• Promote a culture of high performance and continuous improvement that values learning, celebrates wins big and small, openly assesses mistakes big and small, and stays vigilant to ensure quality programs in the communities we serve.
• Cultivate a culture of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) across Splash offices, including serving as the executive sponsor for Splash's DEI working group and supporting rollout of recommendations to improve DEI at Splash.

YOUR TEAM'S RESPONSIBILITIES

• A highly cross-functional role with direct management of a Seattle-based technology team, People & Culture Manager, and Operations Associate. Close partnership with in-country leadership and teams.
• In coordination with field offices and country leaders, help manage and oversee all vendor relationships, regulatory requirements, legal interactions, and risk mitigation activities.
• Provide strategic direction for using information technology and services to increase organizational performance and ensure that strategy is effectively implemented.
• Challenge the organization to live out the personality of the brand (vision, mission, values) in our engagement, our alignment, and our work across all teams and offices.

YOUR ESSENTIAL SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE

• You are a seasoned leader, with a minimum of 10 years of experience in developing and implementing operational strategies and systems in complex environments and/or low-resource contexts.
• Experience in a management and operations position, including previous oversight of people operations and organizational administration.
• Experience applying a diversity, equity, and inclusion lens to all people processes and business operations.
• BA or BS degree. Advanced degree in business, organizational development, or non-profit management a plus.
• Ability to develop teams and leaders, experience in the management of distributed teams a plus.
• Experience as a senior executive of an international non-profit or social enterprise a plus.
• Experience living and working in South Asia or East Africa a plus.

YOU WILL BE A GREAT FIT IF

• You are a passionate professional who combines strong leadership skills with patience and a humble approach to service.
• You enjoy collaboration and have a genuine interest in learning from and developing others.
• You have strong communication skills and the ability to connect with people of various seniority levels and cultural backgrounds.
• You demonstrate excellent organizational skills, self-motivation, flexibility, and the ability to work and thrive in a fast-paced, energetic, entrepreneurial environment.
• You think critically and put a high value on offering and receiving constructive feedback and criticism.
• You value in others, and yourself, data-driven and consultative decision-making.
• You crave building teams, finding talent, nurturing relationships, and tackling challenging people-related issues.
• You are comfortable with a playfully professional workplace culture.

COMPENSATION & BENEFITS

• The annual salary for this position is $120,000 - $130,000. The annual salary will be reviewed at least annually.
• Splash provides generous benefits including paid time off, transportation benefit (Orca pass), medical, dental, and vision, as well as a 401k plan.