COO (Chief Operating Officer)

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.

Key Responsibilities

• 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 queries or reviews.
• Provide assurance to the CEO and Board on compliance in key areas such as financial reporting (SORP), fundraising standards, safeguarding, data protection and conflicts of interest, working with external advisers where appropriate.

• Contracts, Procurement and Legal

• Establish and maintain a central contracts register covering major donors, suppliers, Employer of Record (EoR)/Contractor of Record (CoR) providers, consultants and other key partners, with clear ownership, renewal dates and key obligations.
• Be the organisational owner for all contracts and grant agreements, including incoming donor grants and outgoing sub‑grants/partnership agreements, ensuring that terms are negotiated, approved, monitored and renewed in line with GSG Impact’s policies, delegated authorities and risk appetite.
• Ensure that all significant financial commitments and grant agreements are documented, signed and stored centrally, with clear internal contract/grant owners and appropriate handover arrangements.
• Lead the development and implementation of GSG Impact’s procurement framework, including thresholds, competition requirements, value‑for‑money assessments and approval processes.
• Oversee relationships with external legal advisers and ensure timely legal input on contracts, employment matters and other areas of operational risk.

• Cross‑Organisational Collaboration

• Work with the CEO to align financial planning with fundraising and revenue generation goals.
• Collaborate with the Director of Regional Coordination and the Director of Knowledge and Impact Practice to ensure operational support for program delivery.
• Partner with the Head of Communications to ensure consistent messaging on operational achievements and transparency.

• Accountability & MEL Alignment

• Accountable for MEL indicators including: overall team satisfaction rate (Target: 90%), % of team with clear understanding of role fit (Target: 90%), uninterrupted delivery of core functions despite operational risks (Target: Yes), annual staff turnover rate (Target: 10‑15%) and financial resilience, including maintaining minimum unrestricted reserves with Board‑approved policy.

Requirements

• 12+ years in operations, finance or organisational leadership roles in international development, non‑profits or global networks
• Experience operating within the governance, financial and reporting frameworks of a UK‑registered charity, with an understanding of how these apply in an international context
• Proven success in managing complex budgets, donor compliance and multi‑country operations
• Experience in HR leadership and building high‑performing teams
• Exceptional organisational, analytical and problem‑solving skills

Competencies

• Strategic operational leadership
• Financial and business acumen
• Strong people management and team development skills
• Systems thinking and process optimisation
• Risk awareness and mitigation
• Commitment to GSG Impact’s mission and values

Applicants must have the right to work in the UK.

Benefits

• Salary competitive within the charity sector, based on experience
• 25 days holiday per annum plus eight bank/public holidays
• Enrolment in NEST Pension Scheme (3% employer and 5% employee contribution)