Chief Administrative Officer

Position Summary

The Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) strengthens the LJCC's financial, operational, and administrative performance while serving as a strategic and operational partner to the CEO. The CAO leads high-priority, cross-functional initiatives; develops practical recommendations; coordinates implementation; and helps department leaders and project teams achieve measurable results.

The CAO is expected to exercise executive leadership through collaboration, influence, sound judgment, and disciplined follow-through. The role will initially have no direct reports and will work closely with existing department leaders. As organizational needs evolve, the CEO may assign oversight of selected administrative functions or departments.

Goal: Strengthen the financial sustainability, efficiency, and effectiveness of LJCC programs and services.

• Lead evaluation and continuous improvement of major programs, services, and revenue-producing activities.
• Identify significant opportunities to improve pricing, staffing, compensation, scheduling, enrollment, revenue generation, and expense management.
• Establish consistent methods for evaluating financial and operational performance.
• Partner with department leaders to develop, prioritize, and implement improvement plans.
• Monitor progress, clarify accountability, and elevate material issues or decisions to the CEO.

Goal: Reduce organizational risk and strengthen the systems that support safe, consistent, and effective operations.

• Provide executive leadership for assessments of operational, financial, legal, personnel, technology, and safety risk.
• Guide policy review and the development of clear implementation procedures, training requirements, and accountability systems.
• Strengthen systems for tracking required training, policy acknowledgment, certifications, grants, and compliance obligations.
• Coordinate appropriate review of insurance, liability, cybersecurity, technology, vendors, equipment, purchasing, and staff-support needs.
• Work with brokers, legal counsel, advisors, and department leaders as appropriate.

Goal: Serve as a strategic and operational partner to the CEO during the feasibility study, anticipated capital campaign, and other major organizational priorities.

• Support organizational readiness, planning, coordination, and follow-through for the feasibility study and potential capital campaign.
• Serve as a thought partner to the CEO on priorities, sequencing, resource needs, and organizational capacity.
• Coordinate staff, board members, consultants, campaign leaders, campus partners, and community stakeholders as assigned.
• Advance important internal priorities while the CEO's time is increasingly focused on campaign leadership and external relationships.
• Support relationship development and strategic introductions without necessarily having primary responsibility for direct gift solicitation.

Goal: Provide executive leadership for strategic initiatives that arise as organizational needs and opportunities evolve.

• Identify and assess emerging operational, administrative, financial, and partnership opportunities.
• Lead or coordinate cross-functional projects, organizational reviews, audits, due diligence, and implementation efforts assigned by the CEO.
• Develop practical recommendations, work plans, decision points, and measures of success.
• Provide leadership for time-sensitive or high-priority initiatives that do not fall neatly within an existing department.
• Adjust priorities collaboratively with the CEO as projects are completed and new needs emerge.
• Balances strategic thinking with practical operational execution.
• Builds trust and works effectively through collaboration rather than unnecessary disruption.
• Communicates clearly with the CEO, board, department leaders, staff, advisors, and community partners.
• Prioritizes the organization's most consequential needs and avoids attempting every initiative at once.
• Demonstrates integrity, discretion, accountability, and commitment to the LJCC's mission.

The initial phase of the position will emphasize project leadership, operational improvement, administrative infrastructure, and support of the CEO. The scope is expected to evolve as projects are completed and the feasibility study and capital campaign progress. As priorities shift, the CEO may assign the CAO broader responsibility for selected administrative functions or departments.

Intended Value

• Increase the organization's capacity to address significant operational and financial opportunities.
• Strengthen risk management, compliance, technology, and administrative systems.
• Allow the CEO to maintain focus on major strategic and external priorities without losing momentum on internal work.
• Provide disciplined leadership for projects that cross departments or require focused executive attention.
• Create a flexible executive…