Chief Operating Officer - Green-Wood
2 days ago
New York
ORGANIZATION: Green-Wood POSITION: Chief Operating Officer REPORTS TO: President LOCATION: Brooklyn, NY; in-person INFORMATION: green-wood.com TO APPLY: Please send cover letter and resume as one PDF to with title format “Last Name First Name – Letter Resume” BACKGROUND Green-Wood is one of the oldest continually operating institutions in New York City. It was founded in 1838 and predates Central Park, Prospect Park, the Brooklyn Museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and all but two of the City’s cultural institutions. As an early example of the Rural Cemetery Movement, Green-Wood became the area’s most prestigious cemetery within two decades of its founding. Both historically and at present, Green-Wood has offered burials that accommodate many different rituals, customs, and religions. Green burials and other natural memorials are recent additions to its commemorative options. Today, Green-Wood is a multi-use venue that reaches well beyond its traditional role as a burial ground. The grounds are open 365 days a year, and admission is always free. Over the past decade, Green-Wood has become well-known for its cultural programs, including walking and trolley tours, site-specific art installations, an artist-in-residence program, and classical music and jazz concerts in the Catacombs, to name just a few offerings. Innovative programs in death education have gained a significant constituency in recent years. Green-Wood’s environmental initiatives, including climate resilience measures, a massive stormwater abatement program, and fellowships in urban ecology, have garnered national attention. Collectively, these programs have been instrumental in expanding the ways Green-Wood connects with its community and has experienced explosive growth in popularity over the past few years. POSITION The inaugural chief operating officer (COO), responsible for shaping Green-Wood’s long-term operational, financial, and organizational growth, will serve as a strategic thought partner and advisor to the President and an essential member of the senior leadership team. Leading a team of over 70 staff, this role drives enterprise-wide planning, ensures strong financial stewardship, advances innovative revenue strategies, and builds the operational foundation needed to support Green-Wood’s next chapter. RESPONSIBILITIES Entrepreneurial Leadership ● Partner with the President to guide Green-Wood’s long-term vision and institutional direction. ● Lead the development and execution of major planning initiatives, including Strategic Plan, 20-Year Capital Plan, and Five-Year Operational Plan. ● Conduct rigorous analysis of economic, operational, and land-use impacts across cemetery, horticulture, and resilience functions, including green burials and beyond, innovations in green-space management, emissions and energy-reduction strategies, major capital project planning, and leveraging new exhibition and event venue. Building Systems/Processes and Operational Oversight ● Work with the President and across departments to convert manual and siloed operations into an integrated system, including cemetery sales, administration, and inventory systems alignment, developing data stories to support fundraising, bookkeeping and budgeting, and land management. ● Lead complete IT overhaul, focused on upgrading and consolidating databases to provide one central portal for information, inquiry and transactions. ● Oversee Green-Wood’s administrative domains, including IT, security, and facilities. ● Collaborate with cross-functional teams to establish performance indicators and metrics to measure the effectiveness of core Green-Wood initiatives. Prepare and present results through an internal tracking dashboard and high-level progress reports for the senior leadership team and Board. ● Maximize Green-Wood’s buying power through facilities and inventory management and procurement. ● Lead the evaluation of internal systems, business processes, and use of technology resources to ensure continuous innovation, efficiency, and responsiveness to Green-Wood’s growing and changing organizational needs. Revenue Innovation and Business Development ● Lead revenue modeling for new ventures that will support Green-Wood’s long-term financial sustainability, such as natural organic reduction (NOR) and the Green-House. ● Evaluate and model the optimal balance between mission-driven public programming and revenue-generating initiatives. ● Develop a detailed understanding of the profit and loss of every aspect of the Green-Wood enterprise, including the Cemetery and Cultural Services. ● Partner with the President to make strategic investments in revenue-generating opportunities that support the cemetery’s mission. Executive Management ● Lead and manage five direct reports across IT, Facilities, Security, Operations, and Finance and a total team of 70 staff. ● Assess roles and functions as needed to ensure alignment with Green-Wood’s core mission and strategic priorities. ● Communicate priority goals to all staff, resulting in coordinated work products. QUALIFICATIONS Experience – Required ● Bachelor’s degree in business administration, public administration, finance, or related field ● 15 years of senior leadership experience in public sector or large, complex nonprofit organizations in NYC, with at least 7 years at the C-suite level with responsibility for organizational/business planning, budgeting, strategy, and/or infrastructure/capacity building ● Proven track record of successfully scaling organizations, driving revenue modeling and generation, overseeing operations and land use portfolio/ventures and complex business transactions, overseeing multiple infrastructure and administrative domains, and/or leading large and diverse teams ● Ability to optimize the sustainable and compliant use of perpetual care funds through strategic planning, expense alignment, and rigorous financial oversight ● Highly disciplined business and financial planning skills with the ability to anticipate and forecast environmental circumstances that impact organizational goals and business plans ● Extensive knowledge of business process optimization, streamlining operations and forecasting; ability to balance multiple priorities, make difficult decisions in complex business matters and transactions, ensure accountability, and align resources to achieve results ● Demonstrated success in managing and overhauling IT departments, including the consolidation of legacy databases ● Advanced subject matter expertise and change management experience within the realms of finance, technology, and operations Experience – Preferred ● Master’s degree with focus on business and/or finance Personal Attributes ● A passion and drive for leading organizational growth, strategy, and innovation with a hands-on approach and ability to focus at a detailed level when needed ● A quick study who can evaluate a problem effectively, jump in enthusiastically, and provide creative solutions ● A natural and engaging relationship builder who can communicate and execute collaboratively with the President, departmental teams, the Board, and external stakeholders ● Excellent written and verbal communications skills ● A person of high integrity and ethics with impeccable judgment and the ability to communicate decisions with a sense of purpose, clarity, and accountability and responsibility to colleagues and the public ● A willing and excited partner looking to usher Green-Wood into the next era of growth as a final resting place, cultural institution, climate resiliency hub, and public space COMPENSATION • Anticipated salary is $260K - $280K, commensurate with qualifications and experience, • Benefits package including medical and dental insurance, retirement contribution match, tax-free commuter benefit, and paid time off Frequently cited statistics show that women and people from underrepresented groups apply to jobs only if they think they meet 100% of the criteria. If you meet many but not all the criteria and feel you may be a good fit for the role, Green-Wood encourages you to apply. Green-Wood is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of age, color, national origin, ethnic origin, citizenship status, disability, race, religion, creed, gender, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression, marital status, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law in its employment policies. Green-Wood will provide reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities.