Chief Operating Officer (COO) – Volunteer Executive Role

About Us:

The Donovan’s Venom is a 501c3 nonprofit organization focused on curating universal accessibility to fine arts and music education for all. We are passionately dedicated to ensuring that everyone, regardless of financial circumstances, has access to high-quality music education, performance opportunities, and fine art. We aim to inspire, empower, and uplift communities by fostering a love for music and the arts through our commitment to education, inclusivity, diversity, and social impact, which drives us to expand our reach continually and enrich the lives of those we serve.

Chief Operating Officer (COO)

Position Overview

We are seeking a Chief Operating Officer (COO) to take strategy and turn it into structure, systems, and results.

This is a build-and-operate role for someone who knows how to bring order to complexity and turn ideas into reality.

The Role

The COO is responsible for how the organization actually runs.

You will take strategic direction and ensure it is executed effectively, consistently, and at scale — building the operational backbone that supports growth, accountability, and impact.

This role sits at the center of operations, programs, systems, and delivery, ensuring that what we plan is actually achieved.

What You’ll Own

Operational Strategy & Execution

• • Translate strategy into clear operational plans and priorities
  • Establish KPIs, workflows, and performance structures
  • Ensure alignment between strategy and day-to-day execution

Systems, Structure & Governance

• • Build scalable operational systems, processes, and standards
  • Implement policies, SOPs, and operational frameworks
  • Create consistency across teams, programs, and initiatives

Program & Project Execution

• • Oversee execution of programs and organizational initiatives
  • Establish and lead project management structure (PMO)
  • Ensure timelines, deliverables, and outcomes are met

Resource Optimization

• • Align people, tools, and priorities to maximize efficiency
  • Identify operational gaps and implement solutions
  • Support sustainable growth through smart resource use

Risk & Operational Oversight

• • Identify and mitigate operational risks
  • Ensure compliance, accountability, and operational integrity
  • Build systems that prevent issues — not just react to them

Organizational Effectiveness

• • Continuously improve workflows, systems, and performance
  • Use data to drive operational decisions and improvements
  • Ensure the organization runs better tomorrow than it does today

Executive Collaboration

• • Partner with executive leadership to align strategy and execution
  • Provide operational insight into feasibility and scalability
  • Ensure all functions move together — not in silos

Who This Is For

This role is for someone who:

• • Builds systems where none exist
  • Brings structure to fast-moving environments
  • Knows how to move from idea → execution → results
  • Is comfortable holding teams accountable
  • Thrives in building, not maintaining

Qualifications

Required

• • 5+ years in operations, program management, or organizational leadership
  • Experience building or managing systems, processes, or infrastructure
  • Strong ability to translate strategy into execution
  • Experience leading teams or cross-functional initiatives

Preferred

• • Experience in nonprofit, startup, or scaling environments
  • Familiarity with project management methodologies (Agile, PMP, Lean, etc.)
  • Experience working with remote or distributed teams

Commitment

• • 10–20 hours per week
  • Flexible schedule
  • Fully remote

What You’ll Gain

• • Executive-level ownership of how an organization operates
  • Opportunity to build systems from the ground up
  • Direct impact on scaling mission-driven work
  • Leadership visibility and long-term organizational influence

Application Requirements (Read Carefully)

We are actively building — not observing.

To ensure alignment:

• • You must be able to start within 1 week
  • You must complete the full application process
  • You must be ready to contribute in an active leadership capacity

Important Disclaimer

This is a volunteer position and does not constitute employment. Responsibilities may evolve based on organizational needs.

As a 100% volunteer-led U.S. nonprofit organization, we may engage volunteers located outside the United States. International volunteer participation is subject to applicable U.S. sanctions and export-control requirements, data privacy and information-security requirements, background screening where appropriate, and confirmation that the volunteer’s country and assigned responsibilities have been approved by the organization.

Please only apply if you are prepared to begin within 1 week