Chief Operating Officer (COO)
Raising The Village
Kampala, UG
Full-time
Posted 2w ago
Job Description
ABOUT THE COMPANY
Raising The Village works to end extreme poverty by eliminating immediate barriers of scarcity, nurturing income generation activities and building local capacity, while moving communities toward economic self-sufficiency.
We partner with some of the most remote and impoverished communities in Sub-Saharan Africa. These “last mile” villages have limited access to basic services including health and water, operating outside of the economic pyramid.
Partner villages survive on household incomes as low as $0.10/day. At these levels, families subsist without a safety net and are pushed back further into extreme poverty by circumstances and susceptible to the smallest of shocks including family illness, poor harvest or inflation.
JOB SUMMARY
Key responsibilitiesStrategic leadership & organizational scaleProvide overall leadership for RTV’s global operations, ensuring strong alignment between strategy and execution.Build and manage the operational systems required to scale the areas of responsibility outlined above.Organizational operationsOversee operations and ensure operational systems enable efficient logistics, strong program delivery, and cost-effective implementation across multiple countries.Ensure compliance with donor requirements, internal policies, and national regulatory frameworks.Build operational systems that support rapid growth and multi-country expansion.Develop operational playbooks and replication frameworks to support expansion into new regions and partnerships.Strengthen coordination between programs, operations, finance, and technology teams.Provide leadership and mentorship to operational leaders and country teams, and establish an internal talent management pipeline to support demand.Technology infrastructure & platform operationsSupport continuous improvement of operational infrastructure supporting digital systems, including deployment, procurement, device management, field connectivity, vendor management.Collaborate cross-functionally to ensure effective implementation and utilization of digital tools across internal teams and external partners.Support the reliability and performance of digital platforms with a focus on enabling consistent functionality in rural and low-connectivity environments.Lead and strengthen cyber security practices across RTV, ensuring the protection of systems, data, and digital infrastructure through effective risk management and implementation of security best practices.Data governance & securitySupport and strengthen RTV’s data governance framework by contributing to the development and implementation of clear policies and standards for data collection, management, protection, and use across data across programs, digital systems, and partnerships.Collaborate with cross-functional leaders to ensure operational systems effectively support RTV’s digital infrastructure, including field devices, connectivity, and supporting technologies used by staff, contractors, and partners.Contribute to the evolution of organizational risk management systems for digital infrastructure, information security, and responsible data use, ensuring compliance with applicable regulations, standards, and practices across all countries of operation.Partner with relevant departments to enable the responsible management of large-scale data systems and information flows across multiple countries, partners, and digital platforms.Legal, compliance & risk managementProvide enterprise oversight of RTV’s legal, regulatory, and compliance frameworks at the global level and across all countries of operation.Oversee contract governance for agreements with governments, partners, vendors, and service providers.Strengthen organizational risk management systems covering operational, legal, and partnership risks.Ensure effective internal controls and compliance with donor requirements, national regulations, and organizational policies.Strategic priorities for the first 24 monthsOperational integration and scaleDevelop an integrated operational model to scale both direct implementation and technical assistance/digital platform services.Data governance and infrastructureEstablish robust data governance and cybersecurity systems.KPI: 95% compliance to data privacy and security standards across all jurisdictions (5+).Operational systems for growthBuild scalable processes across procurement, logistics, and program operations.KPI: Strong operational systems for efficient, cost-effective rural livelihood programs and new country expansion.Leadership and organizational capacityStrengthen engagement and leadership across country teams and build operational capacity to support growth and scale.KPI: Achieve ≥90% retention in critical roles and improve internal fill rate for leadership positions year of year.Skills and qualificationsMinimum of 15 years of progressive leadership experience across international development, technology-enabled development programs, and/or large-scale non-profit organizations with experience spanning multiple areas strongly preferred.Graduate degree (MA/MSc preferred) in international development, business administration, public policy, technology management, or a related field.Deep experience with governance, compliance, and risk management in multi-country complex environments, including donor, regulatory, and government stakeholder requirements in complex political contexts.Demonstrated success scaling and managing complex operations, programs, or platforms across multiple geographies in Sub-Saharan Africa or similar emerging market contexts is required.Experience supporting or partnering on digital platforms, technology-enabled service delivery, or data-driven program models is a plus.Formal training or significant experience in financial management, project management,, and operational leadership.Demonstrated ability to lead with adaptability and resilience in fast-paced, evolving environments.Strong change leadership capabilities, with a track record of guiding global teams through ambiguity and transformation.Thrives in a high-growth, high-change environment with shifting prioritiesDemonstrates a bias for action while maintaining operational discipline.Brings a systems mindset, connecting strategy to execution across functions and geographies.Ability to develop and elevate leaders across diverse teams and geographiesBuilds a culture of trust, transparency, and high performance.
REQUIRED SKILLS
Reporting, Project management, Office administration, management, Planning, Ability to coordinate
REQUIRED EDUCATION
Post-graduate education
Raising The Village works to end extreme poverty by eliminating immediate barriers of scarcity, nurturing income generation activities and building local capacity, while moving communities toward economic self-sufficiency.
We partner with some of the most remote and impoverished communities in Sub-Saharan Africa. These “last mile” villages have limited access to basic services including health and water, operating outside of the economic pyramid.
Partner villages survive on household incomes as low as $0.10/day. At these levels, families subsist without a safety net and are pushed back further into extreme poverty by circumstances and susceptible to the smallest of shocks including family illness, poor harvest or inflation.
JOB SUMMARY
Key responsibilitiesStrategic leadership & organizational scaleProvide overall leadership for RTV’s global operations, ensuring strong alignment between strategy and execution.Build and manage the operational systems required to scale the areas of responsibility outlined above.Organizational operationsOversee operations and ensure operational systems enable efficient logistics, strong program delivery, and cost-effective implementation across multiple countries.Ensure compliance with donor requirements, internal policies, and national regulatory frameworks.Build operational systems that support rapid growth and multi-country expansion.Develop operational playbooks and replication frameworks to support expansion into new regions and partnerships.Strengthen coordination between programs, operations, finance, and technology teams.Provide leadership and mentorship to operational leaders and country teams, and establish an internal talent management pipeline to support demand.Technology infrastructure & platform operationsSupport continuous improvement of operational infrastructure supporting digital systems, including deployment, procurement, device management, field connectivity, vendor management.Collaborate cross-functionally to ensure effective implementation and utilization of digital tools across internal teams and external partners.Support the reliability and performance of digital platforms with a focus on enabling consistent functionality in rural and low-connectivity environments.Lead and strengthen cyber security practices across RTV, ensuring the protection of systems, data, and digital infrastructure through effective risk management and implementation of security best practices.Data governance & securitySupport and strengthen RTV’s data governance framework by contributing to the development and implementation of clear policies and standards for data collection, management, protection, and use across data across programs, digital systems, and partnerships.Collaborate with cross-functional leaders to ensure operational systems effectively support RTV’s digital infrastructure, including field devices, connectivity, and supporting technologies used by staff, contractors, and partners.Contribute to the evolution of organizational risk management systems for digital infrastructure, information security, and responsible data use, ensuring compliance with applicable regulations, standards, and practices across all countries of operation.Partner with relevant departments to enable the responsible management of large-scale data systems and information flows across multiple countries, partners, and digital platforms.Legal, compliance & risk managementProvide enterprise oversight of RTV’s legal, regulatory, and compliance frameworks at the global level and across all countries of operation.Oversee contract governance for agreements with governments, partners, vendors, and service providers.Strengthen organizational risk management systems covering operational, legal, and partnership risks.Ensure effective internal controls and compliance with donor requirements, national regulations, and organizational policies.Strategic priorities for the first 24 monthsOperational integration and scaleDevelop an integrated operational model to scale both direct implementation and technical assistance/digital platform services.Data governance and infrastructureEstablish robust data governance and cybersecurity systems.KPI: 95% compliance to data privacy and security standards across all jurisdictions (5+).Operational systems for growthBuild scalable processes across procurement, logistics, and program operations.KPI: Strong operational systems for efficient, cost-effective rural livelihood programs and new country expansion.Leadership and organizational capacityStrengthen engagement and leadership across country teams and build operational capacity to support growth and scale.KPI: Achieve ≥90% retention in critical roles and improve internal fill rate for leadership positions year of year.Skills and qualificationsMinimum of 15 years of progressive leadership experience across international development, technology-enabled development programs, and/or large-scale non-profit organizations with experience spanning multiple areas strongly preferred.Graduate degree (MA/MSc preferred) in international development, business administration, public policy, technology management, or a related field.Deep experience with governance, compliance, and risk management in multi-country complex environments, including donor, regulatory, and government stakeholder requirements in complex political contexts.Demonstrated success scaling and managing complex operations, programs, or platforms across multiple geographies in Sub-Saharan Africa or similar emerging market contexts is required.Experience supporting or partnering on digital platforms, technology-enabled service delivery, or data-driven program models is a plus.Formal training or significant experience in financial management, project management,, and operational leadership.Demonstrated ability to lead with adaptability and resilience in fast-paced, evolving environments.Strong change leadership capabilities, with a track record of guiding global teams through ambiguity and transformation.Thrives in a high-growth, high-change environment with shifting prioritiesDemonstrates a bias for action while maintaining operational discipline.Brings a systems mindset, connecting strategy to execution across functions and geographies.Ability to develop and elevate leaders across diverse teams and geographiesBuilds a culture of trust, transparency, and high performance.
REQUIRED SKILLS
Reporting, Project management, Office administration, management, Planning, Ability to coordinate
REQUIRED EDUCATION
Post-graduate education