Chief Operating Officer

About Protect Democracy

This is a moment of existential consequence for American democracy. At this juncture Protect Democracy stands as one of the nation’s leading and most respected nonpartisan organizations dedicated to preventing our democracy from further declining into authoritarianism.

The Role

We are now seeking a courageous, exceptional leader to serve as our Chief Operating Officer (COO), leading our work in finance, accounting, risk management and legal, IT, and security—while uplifting and advancing our core culture principles. Reporting directly to the Executive Director, the COO is amongst the most senior operational leaders overseeing Protect Democracy’s business operations in service of our mission. This is a unique opportunity for a highly experienced senior leader to drive a transformational operational strategy—maximizing resilient systems, strengthening organizational health, and enabling our team to meet the complex demands of this moment in our democracy’s history.

Our Mission

Our mission is not partisan. We build coalitions of conservatives, moderates, and progressives who put aside politics to defend the principles of democratic government and the rule of law. Critical to this mission is maintaining strong programmatic partnerships, including a Harvard Law School clinic and coalitions with dozens of leading national and local groups and actors.

What Makes Protect Democracy Unique

Our culture and the diversity of tools at our disposal. In 2023, our team received a Skoll Award for Social Innovation and a MacArthur Fellowship. Our organization is composed of 130 experts who have served under Democrats and Republicans and in the senior ranks of other nonprofit, political, or media organizations. Our integrated impact strategy includes:

• World-class impact litigation team: A nationally recognized legal team inside the organization bringing some of the most complex and high-stakes cases in the country.
• Influential legislative, coalitions, & advocacy operation: Driving policy change at the federal and state levels to build more resilient democratic institutions, with a strategy rooted in working across the aisle.
• Wholly owned & operated technology and data analytics team: Building cutting-edge software and analytic tools to understand and counter threats to democracy (such as VoteShield).
• Strategic media & communications shop: Shaping the narrative landscape and ensuring the public understands the stakes of the current moment, including producing the Authoritarian Playbook.
• In-house think tank: Generating groundbreaking research and analysis to diagnose and solve the core problems facing our democracy.
• Forward-looking agenda for reform: Developing a comprehensive, affirmative vision for a 21st-century democracy.
• Emerging projects: Incubating nascent efforts in areas like expanding the pro-democracy grasstops coalition and AI for Democracy exploration.

Growth-Oriented Feedback Culture

Essential to our organization’s ability to meet the needs of this moment is our unique culture—guided by mission as our north star, we aim to balance collaboration and decisive leadership; excellence and work-life balance; candor and kindness.

Who We Are Looking For

The person we are looking for leads with integrity, is driven by operational impact, and is deeply committed to a growth- and feedback-forward culture. This is a role for a leader who knows how to get the very best out of high-performing, mission-driven teams; who can lead with inspiration, clarity, and purpose; and who has the courage to make hard and unpopular decisions when the mission demands it.

Key Responsibilities

The Chief Operating Officer will oversee and directly manage the organization’s legal and finance directors (and through them, staff members across IT, security, compliance, legal, and FP&A), providing strategic leadership, coordination, and support across teams.