Chief Operating Officer

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All legitimate communication from our recruitment team will come from an official calstart.org email address via email, we will not text you about a role you have not applied to or shown interest in. We will not perform any interviews via text or Zoom chat.

CALSTART does not ask for any fees or personal information such as social security numbers or bank details during the recruitment process.

About Us

CALSTART is a mission-driven industry organization focused on transportation decarbonization and clean air for all.

For over 30 years, it’s been CALSTART’s mission to develop, assess, and implement large-scale, zero-emission transportation solutions to mitigate climate change and support economic growth. CALSTART works with businesses, organizations, governments, and communities to create real-life impact toward clean air and equitable access to clean transportation for all. CALSTART provides scientific, technical and policy support for regulatory development and clean technology and infrastructure acceleration.

Position Overview

The Chief Operating Officer (COO) will serve as a strategic and operational leader, responsible for overseeing CALSTART’s core business operations to ensure alignment with the organization’s mission and long-term strategy. The COO will play a key role in driving organizational effectiveness, strengthening cross-functional collaboration, and scaling CALSTART’s impact inthe clean transportation and climate space.

As a trusted partner to the CEO and executive team, the COO will manage internal operations, refine systems and processes, and lead key operational functions including finance, people operations, technology, compliance, and project execution.

California candidates preferred.

Key Responsibilities

• Strategic Leadership & Execution: Translate CALSTART’s strategic goals into actionable plans and oversee their execution across departments.
• Serve as a thought partner to the CEO in aligning mission, strategy, and operational capacity.
• Drive innovation and continuous improvement in internal processes to support CALSTART’s agility and responsiveness in a dynamic policy and funding environment.
• Operational Excellence: Lead day-to-day business operations, ensuring strong alignment with mission-driven priorities and high-quality service delivery.
• Oversee financial planning, budgeting, and resource allocation in collaboration with the CFO or finance lead.
• Strengthen enterprise-wide systems, data infrastructure, and business intelligence to support scalability and operational efficiency.
• Drive operational excellence across all organizational functions—standardizing processes, improving coordination, and eliminating inefficiencies.
• Lead the development and institutionalization of incentive operations excellence—ensuring CALSTART’s portfolio of incentive programs are delivered with rigor, transparency, equity, and best-in-class operational standards.
• Implement frameworks to assess and continuously improve the performance, consistency, and user experience of all incentive-related initiatives.
• Partnership & Compliance: Ensure operational compliance with regulatory, contractual, and grant-related requirements.
• Serve as a key liaison with external partners for operational matters, including auditors, funders, and vendors.
• Identify and mitigate operational risks and ensure business continuity and resilience.

Qualifications

• Experience & Skills: 10+ years of senior operational leadership, ideally in mission-driven, growth-oriented organizations.
• Strong track record in leading complex teams and business functions, with demonstrated results in scaling operations and organizational impact.
• Deep understanding of nonprofit or public sector financial management, compliance, and human capital development.
• Experience in climate, sustainability, transportation, or clean tech sectors is a significant plus.
• Excellent strategic thinking, analytical, and change management skills.
• Strong interpersonal and communication abilities with a collaborative leadership style.
• Education: Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Public Administration, Environmental Policy, or related field; Master’s degree strongly preferred.

$185,000 - $229,840 a year

We understand that not everyone will match the above qualifications 100%. If your background isn't perfectly aligned but you feel you would be a great addition to the team, we'd love to hear from you.

We're a tight-knit team of world-class innovators, business minds, and change agents who believe passionately in our mission and put our team ahead of self. We are committed to the continued development and growth of our employees and invest in your success!

We care about your personal well being as much as your professional success and offer generous benefits to full time employees including: 100% company paid comprehensive health benefits for Medical, Dental, Vision, Short Term Disability, Long Term Disability and Life Insurance, Retirement plan with generous company contributions, FSA for Health and Dependent Care, 3 weeks of vacation time in the first year of employment, 11 paid company holidays, paid sick time, paid family leave, and more!

Our inclusive environment focuses on making decisions based on merit without regard to race, color, hair texture, gender, religion, age, nationality, social or ethnic origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, LGBTQIA+ status, marital status, pregnancy, disability, genetics, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.