Operations Director / VP of Operations
Consultants for Impact (CFI) is a nonprofit dedicated to helping consultants channel their skills and careers toward meaningful social impact. We're hiring a senior operations leader to build and lead a best-in-class operations department, one that establishes the foundation to achieve our most ambitious goals.
As our most senior operations leader, you'll join our energetic five-person team at a pivotal moment. CFI is growing rapidly and anticipates spinning out from our fiscal sponsor to become an independent 501(c)(3). In this role, you'll first build our operations infrastructure from the ground up, establishing best practices across finance, HR, grant operations, technology, compliance, and risk management. Once the organization is ready, you'll then guide us through the process of becoming an independent organization. Beyond the spin-out, you'll be a key strategic voice as we scale, helping us find operational solutions for large-scale in-person and / or digital programs, and modeling the kind of steady, thoughtful leadership that makes change feel manageable.
We’re looking for someone who can operate independently and comfortably in ambiguity, who has built or significantly scaled operations at a nonprofit or startup, and who wants to do meaningful work at a place that takes both impact and people seriously.
If we get this right, CFI will emerge from this period as a fully independent, operationally excellent organization, and you'll have helped build it. We're looking for someone who finds that prospect genuinely exciting.
[Application Deadline: June 14th, 2026, at the end of the day (23:59) Anywhere on Earth(UTC-12:00). ]
About Consultants for Impact
Consultants for Impact is a global organization that supports more than 2,500 consultants in their pursuit of social impact through evidence-based approaches
- We offer programs that support consultants in their career transitions. These include tailored career advising, talent referrals, and retreats designed to help members explore and pursue high-impact opportunities.
- We equip consultants with the tools, context, and relationships needed to reflect on their values and integrate them into their career decisions.
- We support workplace groups at major consulting firms (McKinsey, BCG, Bain, etc.) in fostering community and driving high-impact initiatives.
- We develop and share digital resources to foster an online community through blogs, newsletters, social media platforms, our website, and tools such as the Career Theory of Change Worksheet and Career Check-In Templates.
Consultants we’ve worked with have gone on to launch start-ups, shape international policy, and take on key roles at organizations such as Mercy for Animals, the World Bank, Anthropic, The Humane League, GiveWell, and the RAND Corporation.
To learn more about Consultants for Impact, check out our website, our 2025 Impact Report, and delve into our organizational values and culture.
Consultants for Impact is fiscally sponsored by Rethink Priorities.
What you'll do
Build a mature operations function (40-60%)
- Analyze our current operations capabilities, prioritize gaps, and develop a roadmap to operational maturity.
- Build a best-practice operations department covering finance, HR, compliance, technology, grant operations, and risk, by developing new capabilities in-house, hiring contractors, or identifying appropriate service providers.
- Ensure operations infrastructure scales appropriately to support our growing programs.
Run and manage operations functions (20–40%)
- Own all aspects of finance, HR, technology, compliance, and risk, and manage all related contractors.
- Lead hiring for new staff members and manage any operations team members you bring on.
Guide CFI through spin-out (20-40%)
- Assess CFI's readiness to spin out from our fiscal sponsor.
- Guide the organization through the full transition: legal incorporation, nonprofit establishment, migrating contractor relationships and technology, securing necessary contracts and licenses, and setting up the board of directors.
What success looks like
Within 3 months: You’ve completed onboarding, analyzed our current operational needs, developed a roadmap to reach operational maturity, and developed recommendations on spin-out readiness and timing.
Within 6–12 months: You’re building a best-practice operations function that could allow CFI to run independently, are helping to scale the organization through hiring and scalable programs infrastructure, and are managing a spin-out.
Beyond: You’ve built and are running a best-practice operations function, helped establish CFI as an independent non-profit, and are helping to shape the organization's strategy and workforce.
Practical details
- Depending on the selected candidate’s qualifications, this will be an Operations Director or VP of Operations.
- The role reports to the CEO (Sarah Pomeranz).
- We're primarily hiring for a full-time role with the titles above, but are open to fractional or part-time arrangements for the right person.
- This is a US-based, remote-first role, and we prefer candidates who can guarantee at least 5 working hours of overlap with 9am-5pm U.S. Eastern Time.
- We cannot sponsor visas; full US working rights are required for this role.
- Candidates should be comfortable traveling regularly for in-person conferences, retreats, and coworking sessions (approximately 1-2 weeks every 3 months).
- We aim to start this role in August 2026, but we can be flexible for the right candidate.
Who we are looking for
Skills and experience:
- Operations setup: Experience setting up best-practice operations departments from scratch (including finance, HR, legal, compliance, tech, risk, grants operations, etc.) for small nonprofits or start-ups.
- Project management: Experience managing multiple workstreams, reports, and contractors, ideally for an operations department or across all operations functions.
- Detail-orientation, multi-tasking, and context-switching: Track record of keeping many tasks, information, and deadlines well-organized. Gains excitement–rather than stress–from frequent deadlines and context-switching.
- Finance: Experience with budgeting and forecasting, financial reporting, audit preparation, and nonprofit financial structures and compliance. Experience setting up and running, or outsourcing, financial systems and processes (such as accounting, cash flow, reserves management, payroll, and tax).
- Compliance: Experience with legal, data privacy, and Form 990 requirements, state solicitation and employer registrations, and fundamental compliance topics (ideally, but not necessarily, in a 501(c)(3) setting).
- Contracts and contractor management: Experience securing and managing appropriate contractors. Network or ability to create a network of advisors in finance, tech, events management, HR, legal, compliance, and recruitment.
- Tech, systems, and digitalization: Strong drive to improve organizations through technology. Understanding of fundamental technology concepts and trends, and which tools are (not) optimal for operations.
- Human resources: Experience managing all HR functions, and a strong understanding of basic US employment laws.
- Geographical fit: Fluency in English, excitement about working with a remote global team, and ability to access US-based services that require a US residence and phone number (accounts, corporate registrations, notaries, etc.).
Mindsets and behaviors:
- Continuous improvement: Habit of continuous learning and growth, embracing development needs, and taking ownership and responsibility for tasks, outcomes, successes, and areas for improvement.
- Leadership: Habit of speaking up, role-modeling, empowering others, and making sound decisions despite ambiguity. Track record of improving the organizations and helping others grow.
- Inclusion and safety: Track record of making others feel safe, heard, and valued, and responding to vulnerability with curiosity rather than blame.
- Team orientation: Habit of prioritizing team performance and impact over personal outcomes, caring for team members, and protecting their time, development, motivation, and well-being.
- A strong commitment to positive social impact and our values.
Some excellent candidates may lack some of the above qualifications but have other skills or experiences that make them well-qualified for the role. We encourage you to apply even if you don't fulfill every requirement, and we invite you to mention anything you think is relevant for consideration in your application!
We are committed to building a diverse applicant pool and do not want the application process to dissuade potential candidates. Some evidence suggests that individuals from underrepresented groups tend to underestimate their abilities, and we encourage you to apply even if you are unsure whether you qualify. We also strongly encourage interested candidates to apply regardless of gender, race, ethnicity, nationality, physical ability, educational background, socioeconomic status, or any other background they may identify with.
What we offer
Compensation:
- Annual salary of USD 125,000-150,000 pre-tax. Candidate salary and title (Operations Director / VP of Operations) will both be based on experience and qualifications.
- To maintain equity and consistency across the organization, Consultants for Impact uses a standardized compensation approach and does not negotiate salaries.
- For this role, we are open to fractional, part-time, or similar arrangements for the right person. If you feel you are a strong candidate and could accomplish the role’s objectives without a full-time commitment, please apply and share more details about what you envision!
Other Benefits:
- Comprehensive global benefits, including high-quality medical coverage and life insurance.
- Fully remote work environment and team, and flexible working hours.
- Generous self-managed time off policy with a minimum of 30 days off annually, including holidays.
- Opportunities to grow/advance your career and engage through professional development, with a professional development budget of USD 3000 every year.
- A technology stipend of USD 2000 or equivalent every 3 years that can be used to cover the costs of purchasing work and office equipment.
- The chance to shape an exciting early-stage nonprofit working at the intersection of the consulting industry and social impact.
- High-autonomy work culture with significant ownership of your priorities.
- A caring and mission-aligned team that values well-being and a healthy work culture.
Hiring process
Below is a rough estimate of the hiring process for this role. Please note that this is an approximation; the final process will likely be adjusted based on the number and experience of applicants.
- Written application
- First round interview
- Paid work test and presentation
- Second round interviews
- Reference checks
We will only reach out to references at the final stage. You don’t need to submit them earlier in the process. - Offers
We aim to make offers in early August 2026.
Note before applying
We are committed to building a diverse applicant pool. There is some evidence suggesting that individuals from underrepresented groups tend to underestimate their abilities. Consultants for Impact does not want the application process to dissuade potential candidates. We strongly encourage interested candidates to apply regardless of gender, race, ethnicity, nationality, physical ability, educational background, socioeconomic status, or any other background they may identify with.
We use Pinpoint platform for our recruitment and hiring processes, and all email correspondence is conducted via Pinpoint. We encourage you to add the Pinpoint domain (@pinpoint.email) to your trusted contacts and/or check your 'spam,' 'promotions,' and ‘updates folders if you don’t hear from us within the expected timeframe.
In the interest of equitably evaluating your candidacy, we ask that you please do not include a cover letter, headshot of yourself, or any personal information that is not relevant to the role (including marital status, age, identity traits, etc.).
Additionally, please do not ask anyone on our team to meet with you – to ensure fairness, requests for meetings during the hiring process will be declined.
