POSITION SPECIFICATION
Chief Operating Officer
New York, NY
About the Opportunity
The Chief Operating Officer (“COO”) serves on the executive leadership team, providing strategic and operational leadership across Met Council. Reporting to the Chief Executive Officer, the COO ensures the organization’s people, programs, operations, and resources are aligned to advance its mission and strategic priorities. Working collaboratively across the organization, the COO turns strategy into action — driving operational excellence, organizational effectiveness, and leadership alignment.
The next COO will succeed a highly regarded, long-tenured executive who is retiring at the end of 2026 following a planned and orderly transition. They will inherit a deep bench of world-class Managing Directors who lead Met Council’s programs and operations day to day, and will steward the organization’s continued growth — including its nationally recognized leadership in deploying AI to expand human services.
This is an exceptional opportunity for an accomplished executive who excels at solving complex organizational challenges, developing high-performing teams, and building the infrastructure that enables one of New York’s largest and most respected human service organizations to continue expanding its impact.
Key Responsibilities
Executive Leadership
• Serve as the CEO’s trusted advisor and strategic partner, ensuring strategic priorities are translated into action and executed across the organization.
• Partner with the executive leadership team to navigate complex organizational challenges, align priorities, and drive enterprise-wide decision-making.
• Lead, develop, and mentor a high-performing senior leadership team, fostering accountability, collaboration, and organizational excellence.
• Foster a culture of collaboration, trust, dignity, and accountability where employees, clients, and families feel valued and supported.
Operational & Program Oversight
• Provide executive oversight to a diverse portfolio of human service programs, ensuring high-quality service delivery, operational excellence, and alignment with organizational priorities.
• Partner closely with the Chief Financial Officer and program leadership to oversee budgeting, grant management, and resource allocation, ensuring compliance with government and philanthropic funding requirements.
• Strengthen organizational effectiveness by improving systems, processes, and cross-functional collaboration while removing barriers to execution.
• Advance Met Council’s position as a national leader in deploying technology and AI to expand human services — scaling tools that streamline benefits access, client referrals, and internal operations while upholding client dignity, privacy, and trust.
• Anticipate emerging challenges, exercise sound judgment, and implement practical, scalable solutions that support long-term organizational success.
• Lead transformational change initiatives that strengthen organizational capacity and position Met Council for continued growth and impact.
About the Successful Candidate
The ideal candidate is an accomplished operational and organizational leader with a proven ability to lead complex, multi-program environments, develop high-performing senior teams, solve organizational challenges, and drive execution. They bring sound judgment, strong interpersonal skills, and a collaborative, people-centered leadership style that builds trust, removes barriers, and enables the organization to perform at its highest level.
Key professional qualifications include:
• Executive Leadership: An accomplished executive with the ability to assess issues, exercise exceptional judgment, implement practical solutions, prioritize competing demands, and drive execution across a complex, mission-driven organization.
• Operational Leadership: Proven experience leading large-scale operations and programs across multiple departments or program areas, ensuring operational excellence, accountability, and effective execution while balancing competing priorities.
• People Leadership: Track record of mentoring and developing senior leaders, building organizational capacity, and creating an environment of accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement.
• Financial Stewardship: Experience overseeing organizational budgets, resource allocation, and operational planning to ensure financial stewardship, organizational sustainability, and effective delivery of mission-driven programs.
• Innovation & Technology: A practical, informed approach to using data, technology, and AI to improve operations and service quality; experience leading technology adoption in a complex organization is a plus.
• Communication & Relationship Building: Outstanding communication and relationship-building skills, with the ability to build trust, foster collaboration, and engage effectively with diverse stakeholders across the organization and the community.
• Mission Alignment: A deep commitment to serving vulnerable communities and advancing mission-driven work. Experience in human services or other large, mission-driven organizations, including nonprofits or organizations with significant public funding, is highly valued.
• Government Experience: Experience serving in government — or leading operations in organizations with significant government contracts and public funding — is a strong plus.
EDUCATION: Bachelor’s degree required. Advanced degree a plus.
LOCATION: Based in person at Met Council, One State Street Plaza, 24th floor, New York, NY.
COMPENSATION: The salary for this position is $300,000. Met Council also offers a comprehensive benefits package.
TO APPLY: Please submit a resume and cover letter in confidence to Sandler Search.
About Met Council
Met Council is America’s largest Jewish charity dedicated to serving the needy. We fight poverty through comprehensive social services and by treating each client with compassion, integrity, and respect. Met Council’s programs are staffed by experts who help over 350,000 clients each year and advocate on behalf of all needy New Yorkers. Services include 100% affordable housing at 21 locations, family violence services, Holocaust survivor assistance, geriatric social work, crisis intervention, and the largest free kosher food distribution program in the world. Met Council’s network of 101 food pantries, affordable housing sites, and JCCs provides services directly in neighborhoods across New York City.
Met Council is also a national leader in deploying AI to expand human services — pairing experienced social workers with technology that cuts bureaucracy, speeds access to benefits, and frees staff to spend more time helping people.
Met Council is an equal opportunity employer.