Malala Fund Seeks Chief Operating Officer in Washington, DC | Hybrid Executive Role | Salary $210,200–$237,200
Malala Fund is seeking an experienced Chief Operating Officer (COO) to provide enterprise-wide leadership across operations, finance, organisational planning, risk, safeguarding, and monitoring, evaluation and learning. This is a senior executive opportunity for an accomplished leader with extensive experience managing complex organisations and translating strategy into effective execution.
The full-time position is based in Washington, District of Columbia, with a hybrid work arrangement. The successful candidate will work closely with the CEO and Executive Leadership Team to ensure that Malala Fund has the people, systems, resources, and organisational capacity needed to advance its mission.
The starting salary is $210,200–$237,200, and the role requires regular international travel, including quarterly travel to Malala Fund offices and countries of operation.
About Malala Fund
Malala Fund works toward a world where all girls can learn and lead. The organisation advocates for policy changes and resources that support girls’ secondary education, invests in local education leaders, and amplifies the voices of girls working to create change.
The Chief Operating Officer will join the Executive Leadership Team and play a central role in strengthening organisational performance, sustainability, coordination, and long-term capacity.
What Does the Chief Operating Officer Do?
The COO will serve as the CEO’s principal operating partner, providing independent judgement, strategic advice, and an organisation-wide perspective on major decisions.
The role involves translating organisational strategy into multi-year and annual operating plans, budgets, resource plans, milestones, and performance priorities. The COO will also establish effective planning and operating rhythms to ensure clear ownership, timely decisions, and strong follow-through.
As an enterprise integrator, the COO will connect priorities across functions and countries, identify dependencies and organisational bottlenecks, and help resolve competing priorities and capacity constraints.
Finance and Organisational Stewardship
A significant part of the position involves executive oversight of the Finance function. The COO will oversee annual budgeting and reforecasting while working closely with the Controller and CEO to ensure financial plans reflect organisational priorities and long-term sustainability.
Responsibilities include supporting scenario planning, resource allocation, expenditure controls, restricted-fund management, cash and reserves planning, financial reporting, audits, and statutory obligations.
The COO will also ensure that the CEO, Executive Leadership Team, and Board have clear information about financial performance, future outlook, and material organisational risks.
Operations, Risk and Organisational Resilience
The successful candidate will lead efforts to build a coherent operating model across Malala Fund’s different entities and geographical locations.
This includes oversight of operations, contracts, procurement, IT and data systems, information management, business continuity, security coordination, and administrative infrastructure.
The COO will also lead enterprise risk and compliance systems and help strengthen organisational resilience through clear responsibilities, documented processes, continuity planning, knowledge management, and effective leadership structures.
Safeguarding will also form part of the COO’s executive oversight responsibilities, ensuring that appropriate systems, training, resources, and accountability are in place.
Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning
The COO will provide executive leadership to the Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning function. The focus will be on using evidence and learning to strengthen organisational decision-making rather than treating monitoring as simple compliance or data collection.
The role will support approaches for understanding Malala Fund’s contribution to policy influence, advocacy, grantmaking, and systems change.
The COO will work with country, grants, and advocacy leaders to ensure that evidence and learning inform strategy, resource decisions, and organisational priorities.
Chief Operating Officer Qualifications
Malala Fund is looking for a highly experienced executive with 15 or more years of progressive senior leadership experience across operations, finance, and enterprise management.
Candidates should have experience leading operations and/or finance within a global organisation of similar or larger size, including experience working in the Global South.
Strong candidates will bring substantial experience in financial strategy, budgeting, forecasting, scenario planning, resource allocation, controls, audit oversight, and Board-level financial communication.
Experience with advocacy, policy influence, grantmaking, or systems-change organisations is also important. The successful candidate should demonstrate exceptional people-management skills and a strong record of building high-performing leadership teams.
Additional requirements include strong analytical and strategic-thinking abilities, experience managing organisational growth or transition, enterprise risk and compliance expertise, cross-cultural sensitivity, diplomacy, discretion, and excellent communication skills.
Fluency in English is required. Candidates must also be willing and able to travel regularly to Malala Fund offices and countries of operation, including the United States, United Kingdom, Nigeria, and Pakistan.
Experience with global funds or foundations, girls’ rights or global education, high-profile principals, or complex systems-change environments would be an advantage.
Salary and Job Details
Position: Chief Operating Officer
Department: Executive Office
Employment Type: Full-time
Location: Washington, District of Columbia
Work Arrangement: Hybrid
Experience Level: Senior Executive
Starting Salary: $210,200–$237,200
Travel: Required, including quarterly travel to Malala Fund offices and countries of operation
How to Apply
Qualified candidates interested in this senior executive opportunity should apply through the organisation’s careers portal.
Apply for the Chief Operating Officer position
Conclusion
The Chief Operating Officer role offers an opportunity for an experienced global executive to help shape the operational strength and long-term sustainability of an organisation working to advance girls’ education and leadership worldwide.
Professionals with extensive experience across finance, operations, organisational strategy, risk management, and enterprise leadership may find this an opportunity to make a significant contribution at executive level.
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