Chief Operating Officer
We are excited to announce an opening for the role of Chief Operating Officer at our nonprofit organization, which is dedicated to shaping the future of mental health. This role offers an opportunity to work closely with the CEO to drive operational excellence across the organization and ensuring that Shamiri continues to scale with quality, sustainability, and innovation.
About the role:
The Chief Operating Officer (COO) is a key member of the Senior Leadership Team. You will be responsible for driving operational excellence across the organization and ensuring that Shamiri continues to scale with quality, sustainability, and innovation. You will translate vision into execution, ensuring day-to-day operations and long-term strategy are aligned. You will oversee internal systems and infrastructure, service delivery, earned revenue operations (including clinics and the Shamiri Academy), and cross-functional teams. You are a strategic thinker, systems builder, and collaborative leader who thrives in dynamic environments and brings rigor and heart to execution.
Roles and responsibilities:
Organizational Leadership & Strategic Execution - Serve as a thought partner to the CEO and Head of Growth and Strategy in translating vision into actionable operational plans.
- Lead annual and quarterly strategic planning processes, ensuring alignment across departments and measurable progress toward goals.
- Drive cross-functional priorities and change management efforts to support Shamiri’s growth and strategic repositioning.
Day-to-Day Operations Management - Manage the organization’s daily operations, ensuring efficient coordination and execution across all teams.
- Oversee internal workflows and optimize systems and tools to drive operational effectiveness and scalability.
- Identify and resolve operational bottlenecks and cross-functional challenges swiftly.
Service Delivery and Program Management - Oversee the implementation and delivery of Shamiri’s core programs and services, maintaining high quality and fidelity.
- Integrate and align service delivery across school-based programs, clinics, and digital platforms.
- Continuously monitor program KPIs, refine delivery models, and promote operational learning and adaptation.
Operational Systems and Infrastructure - Design and maintain systems for project management, internal coordination, and cross-team communication.
- Introduce and scale technology and data tools that improve visibility, performance tracking, and decision-making.
- Build and oversee contingency and risk management systems for operations continuity.
People and Culture Development - Co-lead the People function, working closely with the Senior Associate (People) to build and retain high-performing teams.
- Champion Shamiri’s values and culture, fostering an environment of accountability, equity, and belonging.
- Lead talent development, performance management, and succession planning initiatives.
Earned Revenue and Business Operations - Oversee operations of revenue-generating arms (Shamiri Clinics and Shamiri Academy), ensuring efficiency, quality, and growth.
- Align business operations with financial sustainability, impact, and customer experience goals.
- Coordinate with strategy, product, and finance teams to drive growth of earned revenue streams.
Financial and Administrative Oversight - Partner with the CFO to oversee budgeting, cost management, and financial performance across the organization.
- Ensure compliance with financial and administrative policies, as well as donor and legal requirements.
- Approve major operational contracts and lead negotiations with key vendors and service providers.
Performance Monitoring and Reporting - Define, track, and report on KPIs across all functional areas, ensuring transparency and accountability.
- Produce regular updates and reports for the CEO and Board on operational performance, risks, and progress.
- Build systems for real-time data access and decision-support across the leadership team.
Who we're looking for:
- 7+ years of senior operations, general management, or COO-level experience in a high-growth, impact-oriented organization.
- Proven experience leading strategy execution and cross-functional teams.
- Deep understanding of nonprofit and/or social enterprise operations, including compliance, HR, and financial systems.
- Demonstrated success scaling systems and teams while maintaining quality and organizational culture.
- Strategic thinker with exceptional execution skills and a strong bias for action.
- Outstanding interpersonal and leadership skills with the ability to inspire and align diverse teams.
- Strong data literacy and ability to make decisions using performance metrics.
- East Africa experience or familiarity with comparable contexts preferred.
Please apply through our online application portal. Please note that you will be requested to upload your resume and cover letter in addition to completing a skills assessment.
About Shamiri Institute
We are a youth-led organization that is shaping the future of mental health by making it affordable for all, personalized to an individual’s needs and circumstances, and integrated within existing systems of caregiving and community life. This will help to build a future where young people can thrive across the African continent. Based in Nairobi, Kenya, Shamiri was founded in 2018 at Harvard University by award-winning Kenyan entrepreneur and community – mobilizer Tom Osborn and rising global mental health researcher Katherine Venturo-Conerly. Since our founding in 2018, we have worked with more than 10,000 youths in secondary schools across Kenya. Through our work, young people have experienced a 40% improvement in mental health and wellbeing, a 14% improvement in social relations, and a 3% improvement in academic grades. Watch this TED talk for more information about our work.
Our Values
We adhere to several core values that guide our work:
- Data-Driven: Our decision-making is grounded in rigorous scientific research that respects the cultures of the communities we serve.
- Growth-Minded: We value passion, work ethic, and potential, recognizing that mistakes are opportunities for growth.
- Grassroots Orientation: Our bottom-up, anti-colonial approach uplifts the communities we work with.
- Collaboration: We embrace individual responsibility while actively seeking others' contributions and inputs.
- Clarity and Transparency: Our decision-making processes are both transparent and well-communicated.
- Hard Work: We are committed to working diligently for our team and Africa's youth.
- Embracing Fun: We value team-building activities across the organization.
- Nimbleness: We adapt our processes and structures to respond to new information and changing priorities.
