COO; Chief Operating Officer

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This range is provided by GSG Impact. Your actual pay will be based on your skills and experience — talk with your recruiter to learn more.

The Chief Operating Officer (COO) is a senior leadership role responsible for ensuring that GSG Impact operates as an efficient, resilient, and high-performing organisation. This role oversees finance, HR, operations, governance, compliance, and risk management, and works closely with the CEO and leadership team to align operational capacity with strategic priorities. In GSG Impact's matrix structure
, the COO ensures that operational systems, processes, and resources enable effective delivery by all teams, while supporting organisational performance management. The COO plays a critical role in ensuring team satisfaction, financial sustainability, and organisational resilience.

• Operational Leadership
  • Lead organisational operations, including finance, HR, IT, legal, and administrative functions.
  • Ensure operational policies, processes, and systems support GSG Impact's strategic objectives.
  • Drive efficiency, effectiveness, resilience, and continuous improvement across all teams and functions.
  • Own the design, implementation, and optimisation of core systems (finance, CRM, HRIS, IT) and ensure appropriate data protection and cyber‑security controls are in place with internal and external providers.
• Financial Management and Governance
  • Oversee financial management, planning, budgeting, reporting, audit processes and full compliance with UK Charities reporting obligations.
  • Ensure compliance with financial regulations, donor requirements, and internal policies.
  • Support the organisation in maintaining at least three months of unrestricted reserves, ensuring robust monitoring, forecasting, and timely reporting to the CEO and the Board.
  • Lead banking and treasury management, including bank mandate, online banking permissions, payment approval workflows, foreign exchange exposure, and investment of reserves, ensuring appropriate controls and segregation of duties.
• Human Resources and People Development
  • Oversee HR strategy, including recruitment, onboarding, professional development, and retention of staff in multiple jurisdictions (including via Employer of Records arrangements).
  • Ensure employment practices comply with relevant local laws in countries of operation.
  • Lead HR risk management, including complex casework, restructures and changes to employment models, in close collaboration with the CEO and external legal advisers where appropriate.
  • Lead initiatives to strengthen team culture, collaboration, and performance.
  • Ensure clear role definitions and alignment with the matrix structure.
  • Track KPIs, outcomes, and lessons learned for continuous improvement.
  • Prepare project reports, dashboards, and presentations for leadership and the Board.
• Risk Management and Resilience
  • Lead organisational risk assessment, mitigation planning, and business continuity efforts.
  • Ensure compliance with donor contracts, legal obligations, and safeguarding policies.
  • Maintain operational readiness for disruptions and emerging risks.
  • Ensure systems and processes are in place to monitor and manage operational risks.
  • Lead the management of organisational insurance (e.g. liability, KMI, Travel, etc.), ensuring appropriate cover, annual review, timely renewals and alignment with the risk register.
• Charity Governance and Compliance
  • Ensure that GSG Impact complies fully with the legal and regulatory requirements applicable to a charity registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales (CCEW).
  • Oversee adherence to the Charity Governance Code, GSG Impact's governing documents, and Board‑approved policies, escalating material compliance and governance risks to the CEO and Chair.
  • Maintain and periodically review key governance instruments, including the Scheme of Delegation, financial regulations, risk management framework, and key organisational policies.
  • Coordinate with the CEO and Chair any CCEW‑facing activity, such as serious incident reporting, changes to trustees or governance structure, and responses to regulatory…