Description

The Raben Group is a national public policy and strategic communications firm committed to opening the doors of power and influence for lasting inclusive change. We were founded with a lofty goal and an audacious spirit: to make our nation greater by helping to shift public policy in a sensible, humane direction. We work intimately with policymakers and influencers in the nonprofit, corporate, entertainment, media, philanthropic, and government sectors to identify shared interests, forge new connections, tackle our country’s most intractable problems, and uplift new generations of leaders and activists.

Now 100 staff strong with offices across the country, we are proudly majority people of color, majority women, and a certified LGBT Business Enterprise, affording us a unique perspective on public policy work and imbuing us with the urgency that comes from knowing all too well why this work matters. Spend time with us and you quickly learn we value smarts, creativity, and audaciousness in just about all we do… and a sense of humor is a contractual must. Learn more at rabengroup.com.

What We Need

We seek a Chief Operating Officer to build and scale The Raben Group’s internal systems and talent capacities to support the firm’s long-term growth, sustainability, and effectiveness. Our successful candidate will be a strategist, able to align external brand and impact with internal systems and structures, in a manner that sustains and strengthens the firm’s unique culture. They will have strong leadership abilities, relevant contextual knowledge, and hands-on experience in managing the internal operations of a dynamic, fast-paced growing enterprise, and intellectual engagement in organizational strategy and leadership.

THE RESPONSIBILITIES

Strategy, vision, and leadership

• Partner with firm leadership across the country to conceive of, articulate and execute an operational plan to support and sustain firm growth, to include financial strategies, talent growth and development, finance strategies, and internal systems
• Lead the internal operations of the firm, through a lens of leveraging opportunities while proactively managing risk 

Finance and Accounting

• Lead finance and operation teams to conduct financial planning, budgeting, cash flow projections, investment priorities, and policy matters; Monitor ongoing accounting activities, to include billing and collection, expenditures, monthly and annual reporting, for both short-term troubleshooting and informing long-term finance strategies
• Develop and implement appropriate internal policies, systems, procedures, and controls
• Ensure professional standards, company policies and compliance guidelines are communicated and complied with

Talent Management

• Ensure development of strategies to build and sustain strong talent management systems within the firm, to include recruitment, professional growth & development, performance management, employee relations strategies, and a multi-faceted total compensation system
• Partner with HR and firm leadership to continuously enhance the employee experience, identifying small and large tactics to ensure Raben culture permeates throughout a hybrid context
• Support leadership and HR in team staffing and conflict resolution needs
• Partner with HR and firm leadership to develop strategies and tactics that will ensure the firm’s values around equity, diversity and inclusion are reflected in staff’s daily interactions and approach to the work
• Provide oversight and accountability for core HR operations, to include compliance, payroll, benefits administration, onboarding and exiting

Administration

• Provide oversight for the firm’s proposal and contracting processes, assessing both quality and profitability of pitches, and quality and protection of contracts; review, edit, and serve as signatory for contractual commitments 
• Oversee proposal pricing process, troubleshooting as needed and conducting periodic assessments of pricing assumptions and methodology
• Advance a process to ensure that the firm’s technology systems, protocols and policies are cost-effective, meet staff and clients where and how they work, enable productivity and collaboration, and provide for appropriate security; partner to conduct needs assessments, develop project plans, and apply change management tactics for successful implementation
• Manage the firm’s leases across the country, partnering with brokers and legal advisors as needed; provide resources and supports to ensure each office space maintains a brand-aligned look and feel, is conducive to staff and visitor engagement, and is appropriately safe and secure
• Ensure strong systems for compliance monitoring are in place, to include the compliance and governance best practices of Raben’s nonprofits under management; identify and address emerging gaps; provide oversight for liability and risk management functions

Management

• Provide guidance, direct management, coaching and accountability to a 10-member operations team, spanning Accounting & Finance, Talent & HR, IT, and General Administration
• Conduct ongoing assessment of alignment between existing operations and structures and emerging internal and external priorities

Requirements

•  Either an MBA or a similar combination of education and experience required
• 15 years of related professional experience required, with at least 7 years in a senior management capacity; must have strategy-level experience in finance and accounting, business analysis, human resources, enterprise-level systems and change management; experience working at a senior level in a growth context preferred
• Demonstrable experience building organizational and staff capacity in a high-performing knowledge worker environment
• Strong written, oral and interpersonal communication skills
• Experience aligning an organization’s cultural, operational, and impact goals

Salary Range and Benefits:

Our salary range for this role is between $240,000-$275,000 per year, commensurate with experience. In addition to a great degree of autonomy in work and projects, our colleagues enjoy a suite of benefits such as health, dental, and vision insurance, unlimited PTO, monthly data plan reimbursements, flexibility in work location and schedule, a rich professional development curriculum, a 3% 401K match, yearly employer FSA contribution, work from home flexibility, and many more.

COVID-19 Policy:

All Raben staff have the option to work remotely or in our offices, at their own discretion, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Regardless of work location, all staff of The Raben Group must show proof of having received an FDA authorized COVID-19 vaccination, unless they are approved for an exemption due to medical reasons or religious beliefs. New employees must provide proof of full COVID-19 vaccination, or provide evidence of medical or religious exemption, no later than their first day of employment. Staff members who are approved for exemption must submit weekly COVID-19 PCR test results. 

The Raben Group finds it quite natural to be an Equal Opportunity Employer, aspiring to live the values of equity in everything we do.