Vice President of Operations

Global Outreach International

Vice-President of Operations

Position Description | Tupelo, MS | Reports to Chief Executive Officer

Who We Are

Global Outreach International (GOI) exists to bring the Good News to Every Nation this Generation

by Showing and Sharing God’s Love. We are a Great Missions Family made up of missionaries,

home office staff, donors, churches, and board members united around that calling. Our work spans

the globe, and the care we give to the people who carry it out is as central to our mission as the

mission itself.

Position Overview

The Vice-President of Operations is, first and foremost, a servant-leader. This person serves as a

primary advocate and caregiver for our operations team who serve the missionaries, walking

alongside them through the full cycle of missionary life: launch, field ministry, and re-entry.

Administrative competence matters deeply in this role, but the character and relational capacity to

earn trust, give genuine care, and lead with humility matter more.

The Vice-President of Operations serves as a key member of the Leadership Team and holds

primary oversight of the operations departments, including strategic planning, human resources,

missionary care, missionary kids, and mobilization. This position reports to the Chief Operating Officer, is based at GOI's home office in Tupelo, MS, and at times requires considerable travel.

The ideal candidate is someone who has lived the missionary life they will be asked to lead and

support. They understand from the inside what it means to raise support, understand and cross cultures, establish ministry in a new context, and re-enter life in their passport country. That firsthand experience is not a preference. It is foundational to this role.

Responsibilities

People and Pastoral Leadership

• Builds trust across the operations team by listening well, learning existing systems and

culture before implementing change, and leading with genuine care for each person.

• Walks alongside missionaries and staff through challenges, setbacks, conflict, and seasons

of growth, offering wisdom, compassion, and accountability.

• Coaches, encourages, and invests in the professional development of direct reports and the

broader operations team.

• Maintains the healthy and necessary distinction between missionary care and performance

management, protecting the trust that missionaries place in the care team.

• Advocates intentionally for remote staff and field missionaries in organizational decisions

that affect them.

• Provides accountability for missionaries and their ministries.

Strategic and Operational Leadership

• Develops and communicates long-range strategic direction for the operations department,

aligning department goals with the organization's broader mission and strategic plan.

• Improves cross-department communication and collaboration, breaking down silos while

respecting the unique responsibilities and rhythms of each department.

• Maintains ongoing evaluation of current systems and procedures, addressing deficiencies

and implementing improvements in ways that strengthen sustainability without sacrificing

GOI's relational culture.

• Establishes the operations department's organizational structure, including succession

planning, and modifies it as conditions warrant.

• Develops policies and processes for each operations department.

• Oversees budget review and approval for the operations departments and contributes to the

organization's overall budget formation.

• Oversees compliance with missionary agreements and memorandums of understanding

with partner organizations.

• Oversees the planning and facilitation of Missionary Orientation and Training.

• Maintains knowledge of relevant laws and regulations and assesses how changes affect

organizational risk.

Supervisory Responsibilities

The Vice-President of Operations directly supervises the following directors, each of whom leads a

critical area of the organization's work:

• Director of Human Resources: oversees succession planning, talent management, change

management, organizational and performance management, training and development, and

compensation.

• Director of Mobilization: leads initiatives supporting the healthy growth of short-term

missions, long-term career missionaries, and church partnerships.

• Director of Missionary Care: oversees processes that engage, equip, and support

missionaries' spiritual, emotional, and physical well-being, and serves as the point person for

situations of concern or crisis.

• Director of Third Culture Kid Ministries: develops strategies and services supporting the

growth and development of missionary kids and serves as a resource for missionaries and

churches concerning third culture kid issues.

Organizational Accountability and Donor Engagement

• Engages with other Leadership Team members to address high-level organizational

concerns and contribute to strategic planning.

• Ensures all operations activity aligns with organizational policies and the mission, bylaws,

and goals established by the Board of Directors.

• Collaborates with internal and external stakeholders on governance, community

engagement, marketing, and fundraising as appropriate.

• Establishes operational benchmarks, timelines, and resources needed to achieve strategic

goals, and sets standards for accountability and measurement.

• Communicates plans and priorities from the strategic plan, partnering with others to follow

through with coordinated objectives and budgets.

Character and Values

The operations team has asked for a leader who earns trust before implementing change, listens

before speaking, and shepherds people as well as they manage processes. Candidates are

expected to demonstrate the following:

• Humble and teachable spirit: approaches this role as a learner first, genuinely open to the

people, systems, and culture they are stepping into.

• Relational and approachable: accessible to missionaries, staff, and partners at every level,

and known for making people feel genuinely seen and valued.

• Accountable and dependable: follows through consistently on commitments and models the

accountability they ask of others.

• Servant-hearted: leads with the good of the team and the missionaries at the center, not

personal agenda or rapid organizational achievement.

• A clear and honest communicator: creates clarity about direction, expectations, and

decisions in ways that build trust rather than uncertainty.

• Personally committed to GOI's mission to show and share God’s love.

• Demonstrates honesty, sincerity, humility, and respect for individuals while modeling GOI's

core values.

• Shares agreement with GOI's Statement of Beliefs and commitment to GOI's corporate

culture, including maintaining fellowship with a body of believers, working through conflict in

a biblical manner, and integrating biblical convictions into daily life and decision-making.

Qualifications

Essential

• Firsthand experience as a missionary serving overseas, including personal knowledge of

support raising, cross-cultural ministry, and re-entry. This experience is foundational to

leading and advocating for GOI's missionaries effectively and is a primary qualification for

this role.

• Demonstrated commitment to GOI's mission, core values, statement of beliefs, and

corporate culture.

• Significant experience in strategic planning, business operations, and team development in

a nonprofit environment.

• Experience working with senior-level stakeholders to manage shared commitments.

• Strong communication skills with a demonstrated ability to represent GOI to a wide range of

audiences internally and externally.

• Demonstrated ability to support managers and cross-organizational teams in achieving

strategic goals.

• Meaningful experience in a supervisory or managerial role.

• Undergraduate degree required.

Qualifications

Preferred

• Graduate degree.

• Financial management experience.

• Experience developing and assessing operational processes.

• Proficiency with office technologies and software used in nonprofit operations.

What to Expect in Your First Six Months

GOI's operations team has made clear what they need most from a new leader in the early months:

relationship, not rapid change. The person who steps into this role will be expected to:

• Invest time building genuine trust with every member of the operations team before making

significant structural or process changes.

• Learn current systems, workflows, and culture with curiosity and humility.

• Listen carefully to understand the distinct needs, rhythms, and concerns of each

department.

• Strengthen communication across departments and clarify team structures and roles where

needed.

• Begin developing a long-range strategic vision for operations that aligns with GOI's broader

mission and direction.

• Identify immediate operational issues that require attention and address them

collaboratively.

Compensation and Benefits

GOI offers a competitive salary ($90,000 - $110,000) and a comprehensive benefits package including medical insurance, retirement plan, and vacation, holiday, and sick leave plans. Salary is determined by competitive regional market factors with consideration for the candidate's education and experience.