Vice President, Operations

Vice President of Operations

The Humane League

 

Open to global locations in North America and EMEA, Remote

 

Background

 

The Humane League (THL) is a global nonprofit working to end the abuse of animals raised for food. Recognized as a Top Charity by Animal Charity Evaluators for multiple years running, we are regarded as one of the most effective animal protection organizations in the world. We are a high-impact, mission-driven team that uses our time, talent, and resources strategically to dismantle factory farming and create lasting change for farmed animals worldwide. We set bold goals, embrace continuous improvement, and hold ourselves accountable to the animals who depend on us. As a fully remote organization with 100+ staff across the globe, we collaborate across borders and with partner organizations to build a powerful, united movement for animals.

 

Job Summary

 

We are seeking a visionary Vice President of Operations to provide comprehensive leadership across our People, Finance, IT, and Administration functions. This critical role ensures that our internal systems, processes, and procedures are lean, nimble, cost-effective, and deeply aligned with our mission, directly driving our global impact.

As VP of Operations, you play a crucial role in developing and implementing efficient and effective systems, processes, and procedures across the organization. You will thrive in this role as a systems thinker, with a focus on building lean, nimble, and cost-effective operations functions that maximize every donor dollar by minimizing overhead costs and ensuring our staff can remain laser-focused on their programmatic work. As a collaborative business partner to the Senior Leadership Team and others, you will serve as a problem-solver who can unlock internal barriers so that THL can do the best work possible to advance our mission. You’ll build operations systems, policies, and procedures that serve the organization’s needs, and will lead on evolving any that don’t. You will work to align the organization’s operational functions with its long-term strategy and goals, fostering a high-agency, high-accountability, and high-performance work environment that supports THL's global objectives.

 

Reports To

 

This position reports directly to the CEO. As a valued member of the Senior Leadership Team, you will collaborate closely with our General Counsel, Chief of Staff, and other Vice Presidents to achieve overarching organizational goals and priorities.

 

This is a full-time, remote position, based in the United States, United Kingdom, Portugal, Ireland, Austria, Czechia, Denmark, Hungary, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Sweden, Canada, Ecuador, Peru, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Cape Verde, Ghana, Liberia, Senegal, or Sierra Leone. This position requires domestic and international travel, equivalent to 3 or more week-long trips per year. Because THL is a global organization, you may be required to work outside of standard working hours, depending on your time zone, to effectively collaborate with international teams.

 

Responsibilities

 

Strategic Operations Leadership

 

• Provide executive leadership and strategic direction for the entire Operations department, developing and executing a comprehensive vision for People, Finance, IT, and Administration that directly supports THL’s mission and long-term organizational goals.

• As a key member of the Senior Leadership Team, establish and promote high standards for team dynamics and collaboration across the entire organization, fostering a cohesive and high-performance work environment.

• Lead and facilitate organizational change and crisis management initiatives as needed, developing and implementing effective response strategies and utilizing strategic thinking to address complex challenges through cross-functional collaboration.

• Coach and inspire a team of senior leaders, including the Directors and Associate Vice Presidents of People (U.S. and Global), Operations, IT, and Finance, providing strategic guidance and ensuring divisional activities directly contribute to overall organizational objectives.

• Foster seamless collaboration and synergy across the entire Operations department, ensuring integrated solutions and maximizing collective impact.

• Serve as a proactive and collaborative business partner to the Senior Leadership Team and other key stakeholders, understanding their needs and providing strategic support on complex People and operational matters.

 

People & Culture

 

• Oversee and lead large-scale internal system and process optimization across all People functions, including talent acquisition, performance management, employee relations, learning and development, employee engagement, compensation, benefits, and global HR functions, with an unwavering focus on equity, cost-effectiveness, compliance, and an exceptional employee experience.

• In partnership with the Chief of Staff and the People team, cultivate a high-accountability environment where employees feel empowered, trusted, and effective in their roles, fostering a culture of agency, mutual understanding, and continuous growth.

• Oversee the development of critical organizational policies and procedures, ensuring compliance with best practices for both U.S. staff and global workers, integrating international standards into operational practices, and prioritizing cost-effectiveness, consistency, and alignment with strategic objectives.

• Create and implement a comprehensive HR agenda that aligns with THL’s overarching people and culture vision, leveraging data analysis and cutting-edge best practices to inform strategic HR decisions and optimize the employee experience globally.

 

Finance

 

• Provide executive-level oversight for THL's finance function, guiding strategic financial planning, budgeting, reporting, and investment management.

• Oversee executive-level financial decisions within the Operations department, managing large-scale budgets and ensuring effective financial governance and resource allocation across all functional areas.

• Partner closely with the Associate Vice President of Finance to ensure sound fiscal health, robust financial controls, and compliance with all accounting principles and regulations.

 

Information Technology (IT)

 

• Provide executive leadership and strategic direction for the organization's information technology function, ensuring IT infrastructure and systems are robust, secure, and scalable.

• Oversee the development and implementation of IT strategies, cybersecurity protocols, our vision and strategy for AI implementation, and data privacy best practices to safeguard organizational data and operations globally.

• Guide the adoption of innovative technologies that enhance efficiency, collaboration, and data-driven decision-making across THL.

 

Administration & Operations

 

• Provide executive oversight for all administrative and operational functions, ensuring the seamless execution of daily operations, vendor management, and internal services.

• Guide efforts in organizational administration, including compliance with federal and state incorporation and tax exemption, charitable registration, and relationships with third-party charity review platforms.

• Oversee the continuous improvement of administrative processes, virtual office infrastructure, and supply chain management to support a globally distributed workforce efficiently.

• Partner with the Director of Operations to identify opportunities for scalability and operational excellence across all administrative functions.

 

In addition to the above essential job duties, other duties may be assigned as business needs arise. These may include non-essential, marginal job duties.

 

Qualifications

 

• Leadership and Management: Extensive progressive experience in values-driven operations roles, complemented by a proven track record of people management experience, including significant experience at an organization with a globally distributed workforce. Proven ability to inspire staff and cultivate a culture of inclusion and accountability. Excels at building high-performing teams through effective recruitment, coaching, and empowerment.

• Strategic Thinking: Demonstrates advanced strategic thinking by developing and implementing transformative HR and operations strategies that drive organizational success and align with broader organizational goals, vision, and culture.

• Verbal and Written Communication: Articulates the vision and goals of the Operations department, ensuring clear communication of strategic priorities to all levels of the organization and fostering a culture of open dialogue and feedback. Adept at writing HR policies, including procedures for hiring and workplace complaints. Able to communicate changes and navigate complex topics with sensitivity, providing appropriate context and maintaining confidentiality when necessary.

• Interpersonal Skills: Leads organizational culture initiatives and addresses executive-level interpersonal challenges. Leads by example, promoting empathy as a fundamental component of organizational relationships and partnerships through deep listening skills and the ability to connect across differences.

• Critical Thinking and Problem Solving: Excels in addressing challenges through cross-functional collaboration and strategic thinking. Able to identify the root of issues and effectively resolve conflicts, ensuring solutions align with organizational values and goals. Able to embrace a mindset of nimbleness and flexibility when it comes to systems, processes, and procedures that may be hindering our ability to achieve our mission.

• Data Analysis: Oversees high-level data analysis efforts, capitalizing on data-driven insights to drive strategic decisions and improve employee experiences.

• Teamwork and Collaboration: Leads initiatives that enhance collaboration at the senior level, forming and maintaining strategic alliances and partnerships. Drives collaborative efforts to achieve organizational objectives and enhance overall performance, with expert skills in fostering mutual understanding and trust within the organization.

• Adaptability, Initiative, and Proactivity: Drives organizational adaptation and fosters innovation, leading the organization through changes and ambiguity using creative strategies. Sets standards for proactive leadership while inspiring and motivating business units to take on a proactive mindset.

• Executive Presence: Leads initiatives to enhance the executive-level image of the organization. Conveys authority and engages effectively with stakeholders, inspiring confidence through leadership and presence in high-profile interactions.

 

PREFERRED SKILLS

 

Additionally, the ideal candidate will possess most, if not all the following qualities, skills, and characteristics:

 

• Significant experience in operations leadership at a nonprofit organization

• Substantial experience working at a 501(c)(3) nonprofit with an affiliated 501(c)(4) entity

• Proven track record of leadership experience overseeing HR/People functions

• Demonstrated experience of managing and overseeing finance functions

 

Compensation

 

The annual compensation range for this role is:

 

• $161,242–$196,466 for candidates based in the United States

• £94,903 - £115,636 for candidates based in the United Kingdom

• €70,860 - €86,339 for candidates based in Portugal

• €114,627 - €139,667 for candidates based in Ireland

• €109,990 - €134,017 for candidates based in Austria

• 2,144,302Kč - 2,620,814Kč for candidates based in Czechia

• kr.847,680 - kr.1,032,860 for candidates based in Denmark

• Ft2,291,517 - Ft2,792,128 for candidates based in Hungary

• €70,690 - €106,030 for candidates based in Italy

• €112,614 - €137,215 for candidates based in the Netherlands

• kr1,088,178 - kr1,325,892 for candidates based in Norway

• zł315,729 - zł384,700 for candidates based in Poland

• kr811,036 - kr988,208 for candidates based in Sweden

• $171,028 -$208,390 for candidates based in Canada

• $118,166 - $143,980 for candidates based in Ecuador

• S/.369,136 - S/.449,776 for candidates based in Peru

• $130,298,614 -   $158,763,680 for candidates based in Argentina

• R$439,731 - R$535,792 for candidates based in Brazil

• CLP $97,639,801 - CLP $118,969,884 for candidates based in Chile

• COP $332,650,731 -   COP $405,320,201 for candidates based in Colombia

 

At The Humane League, we believe in maintaining a fair and nondiscriminatory work environment. As part of our commitment to transparency, we have implemented a job architecture framework, which levels all of our roles according to size and complexity, as well as a compensation step system, which allows us to determine fair salaries for all. We also look at market data for each country that we operate in, to allow us to create specific salary bands per country. This work is time consuming and involves a cost to THL. Therefore, when expanding into a country for the first time, we only undertake this work towards the end of the recruitment process, when we know where our ideal candidate is based. In addition, we have adopted a no negotiation policy for salaries. To determine a job's level, we carefully consider a variety of factors, including a job's size and complexity, required experience, knowledge, and/or skills, internal comparability, and market data. Candidates whose experience places them at step 5 or above of their job level within our compensation structure will be awarded a “Senior” title designation. These practices are aligned with our organizational values and will help us ensure we maintain clear, consistent, and transparent HR processes.

 

THL offers a unique and competitive benefits package. Each country will be provided with benefits that are applicable and relative to the location they are in. Therefore, your exact benefits package will be shared with you at the time of offer. However, as an idea, some of the benefits that are currently offered to our global team are:

 

• Unlimited paid time off

• The last Friday of every month off as a THL ‘Public Holiday’ called ‘Mend Your Heart Friday’

• Enhanced sick pay

• Generous bereavement leave

• Generous personal emergency leave

• Sabbatical leave

• Enhanced parental leave

• Health insurance

• Life insurance

• Retirement contributions

• Internet allowance

 

For candidates outside the United States, The Humane League will not be your direct employer. The successful candidate will enter an employment agreement with a local Employer of Record with whom The Humane League partners.

 

Salary Range

 

$161,242 to $196,466

 

Requirements/Other

 

Hiring Timeline

 

Once your application has been reviewed, you will be notified via email with further details on the status of your application. If a candidate is moved forward, the interview process will be as follows:

 

• Phone Interview (via phone call)

• Work Simulation Exercise (completed remotely)

• First Interview (via video call)

• Second Interview (via video call)

 

Each stage is expected to last a week or two on average. For full details of our full-time position recruitment process, please review this document (this will vary for temporary roles; please see the above bullet points for this role's specific stages).