Chief Operating Officer (COO)
HybridStockholm, Stockholm, Sweden
Job Summary
Lead the organization's principal internal leadership by translating strategic priorities into effective delivery across headquarters, regional teams, and global partnerships. Oversee day-to-day management of legal, policy compliance, People and Culture, IT, procurement, contracts, risk management, planning, and operational monitoring. Develop and monitor organizational KPIs, prepare annual workplans, and strengthen the HR function to manage recruitment, compliance, and staff performance. Ensure all activities adhere to Swedish legislation, GDPR, and international donor requirements while supporting organizational resilience and institutional strengthening. Serve as Deputy Executive Director under delegated authority to provide leadership continuity and decision-making when required.
Required Qualifications
- Minimum of 10-15 years' progressive management experience
- At least five years in an executive or senior operations role within an international organization or global NGO
- Master's degree in business administration, International Development, Public Administration, International Law or a related field
- Proven track record of managing decentralized operations, remote regional teams and headquarters across Africa, Asia and/or Latin America
- Strong experience managing multi-million-dollar grants and ensuring compliance with major institutional donors (e.g. Sida, Norad and the EU)
- Deep functional expertise across corporate services, including Human Resources, IT infrastructure, legal compliance and procurement
- Demonstrated success in designing and implementing enterprise risk management frameworks, data security policies and disaster recovery plans
- Ability to translate high-level strategic vision into practical, measurable and scalable implementation plans
- Strong background in institutional growth, organizational design and scaling operational systems to support expanding global mandates
- Strong understanding of organizational governance, Board support, internal controls and regulatory compliance
- Fluency in written and spoken English is mandatory
- Exceptional cross-cultural communication skills with a proven ability to collaborate respectfully with Indigenous Peoples, Afro-Descendant Peoples, local communities and international stakeholders
- Deep personal and professional commitment to land tenure rights, climate justice, biodiversity and human rights
Desired Qualifications
- Working proficiency in Swedish is an advantage
- Spoken Spanish/French is highly desirable
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