Chief Operating Officer

The Center on Rural Innovation (CORI) is a social enterprise advancing economic prosperity in rural America through entrepreneurship and tech job creation. Focused on the 500 US micropolitan communities (rural hubs with a population of between 10k and 50k) with a four-year college or university, our growing Rural Innovation Network comprises 40 regions across 25 states. The organization includes a 35-person team of experts in entrepreneurship, tech talent development and fundraising support; a research division with best-in-class rural economic data; and a seed-stage venture capital arm that invests in scalable rural tech startups.

The Center on Rural Innovation is at an exciting inflection point. Having completed a reorganization and securing $9M in new capital to leverage AI to unlock opportunities in rural America and significantly grow the Rural Innovation Network, we are seeking a dynamic, innovative Chief Operating Officer to partner closely with the CEO to build on this momentum and accelerate our vision for a thriving modern rural economy. As a key member of our executive leadership team, the Chief Operating Officer (COO) will focus on driving execution excellence in CORI’s next phase of growth. As the organization’s integrator and chief of staff for the executive committee, the COO will ensure strong alignment and accountability across the entire organization in order to accelerate our impact. This role will drive strategic planning, resource allocation, team development, and data-driven evaluation to support the organization's mission. The COO will also lead key administrative and operational functions, to ensure organization has the human capital, tools, and systems to achieve its ambitious goals.

The Chief Operating Officer will :

• In partnership with the CEO, oversee strategic planning, drive executive team agenda, and ensure execution excellence.
• Oversee a diverse portfolio of functions, including People Operations / Culture, Data Analytics and Mapping, Internal Systems / IT, Program Evaluation, Strategic Planning, Resource Allocation, and Internal AI Integration.
• Integrate and align the work of the senior leadership team to deliver on CORI’s key impact goals, ensuring that programs, research, partnerships, and operations move forward in a coordinated, mutually reinforcing way.
• Manage internal communications in a dynamic, distributed team with a priority on transparency.
• Lead the development and implementation of strategic plans, ensuring all departments are aligned to achieve CORI’s ambitious mission and goals.
• Manage the organization's data and mapping initiatives to ensure strong organizational integration, data-driven decision-making, research excellence, and the delivery of contracted data products – which leverage our unique rural economic dataset – to external clients.
• Build and drive the implementation of streamlined enterprise workflows.
• Manage a strong human capital program, including recruiting, onboarding, and professional development, with an eye to unlocking talent with rural lived experience.
• Foster a culture of collaboration, innovation, entrepreneurial thinking, and continuous improvement across teams, including the strategic use of AI to accelerate our impact and efficiency of delivery.
• Oversee our governance, internal policies, and legal resources.

Qualifications

The ideal candidate will have the following professional and personal qualities, skills, and characteristics :

Location

This role is based at our headquarters in Hartland, Vermont in the Dartmouth College region of Vermont and New Hampshire. The area offers an excellent quality of life, strong K-12 educational opportunities, and vibrant cultural amenities all in a beautiful New England rural setting. Relocation assistance is available for candidates moving to the area.

Compensation and Benefits

Contact

DSG | Koya has been exclusively retained for this engagement, which is being led by Paul Towne. Express interest in this role by filling out our Talent Profile or emailing Paul directly at ptowne@koyapartners.com. All inquiries and discussions are strictly confidential.

DSG | Koya is committed to providing reasonable accommodation to individuals living with disabilities. If you are a qualified individual living with a disability and need assistance expressing interest online, please email NonprofitSearchOps@divsearch.com. If you are selected for an interview, you will receive additional information regarding how to request an accommodation for the interview process.

CORI is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We welcome candidates from diverse backgrounds and perspectives, believing that everyone's unique story adds value to our mission.

About DSG | Koya

DSG | Koya, a DSG Global company, is the nation’s premier search firm dedicated to mission-driven leadership. Since its founding in 2004, DSG | Koya has had an exclusive focus on mission-driven clients and was founded on the belief that the right leader can transform an organization and have a deep and measurable impact on our world. DSG | Koya works with nonprofits & NGOs, responsible businesses, and social enterprises in local communities and around the world.

DSG Global is consistently recognized by Forbes on its top 10 list of “America’s Best Executive Recruiting Firms” and is an industry leader in recruiting transformational leaders for a changing world. The firm is deliberately different in its approach, with best-in-class teams who have decades of experience in cultivating inclusive leaders, understanding the dimensions of diversity, and building equitable teams.

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