Chief Operating Officer

The Chief Operating Officer is responsible for strategic leadership of Zoot’s Client Delivery and IT Service Desk and IT Service Delivery functions. Reporting to the President, the COO will be a key member of Zoot’s Executive Team and will directly supervise the management of IT Service Desk and IT Service Delivery and the Vice President of Client Delivery. The position will be responsible for creating and leading the execution of a unified operations strategy that aligns with Zoot’s Corporate Strategic Plan and annual goals, defining key performance indicators and other metrics that provide insight into progress and achievement, and driving improvements in execution and process that increase efficiency and profitability.

Essential Job Functions

• Design, develop, and oversee execution of a unified Client Delivery and IT Operations and IT Service Delivery operating strategy that aligns with Zoot’s Corporate Strategic Plan and annual goals. Collaborate with other members of the executive team, direct reports, and other department heads to align efforts.
• Develop, refine, and report on key performance indicators and metrics that provide insight into progress and achievement. Communicate regularly and effectively with the Executive Team and operations and infrastructure senior leadership to ensure client deliverables and internal needs are met.
• Define appropriate models and plans to determine optimal staffing requirements that meet internal and external client pipeline needs while driving strategies that continuously improve team and employee utilization.
• Model behaviors that promote a collaborative, team-centric, Zoot-centric environment. Drive a team culture that rewards high performance with a focus on execution, improvement, and accountability, while supporting Zoot’s vision for long-term work/life balance.
• Ensure the development and training needs of the group are met, utilizing a combination of internal and external resources. Utilize enterprise-wide tools to drive professional growth and career planning for employees in your group.
• Communicate and ensure understanding of the enterprise level vision and culture with emphasis on delivering on-time, high-quality products, services, and interactions to internal and external customers.
• Serve as an executive contact for client relationships at any point in the relationship (sales, development, production, support).
• Directly manage the Vice President of Delivery, Service Desk Manager, and Service Delivery Manager, being responsible for day-to-day management and long-term development of the staff.
• Compliance with and knowledge of Zoot’s Policies and Procedures, Code of Business Conduct, and Employee Agreement.
• Achieve a service-focused culture with emphasis on delivering on-time, high-quality products and services to internal and external customers.
• Other duties as assigned – it is understood that this list of major duties and responsibilities is not an inclusive list and that other duties and responsibilities, which may include helping others in the same or different departments, may be assigned by supervision.
  
  
  

Core Competencies Required

Job Specific:

• Business Acumen - Understands how Zoot generates revenue and what drives expenses; knowledgeable in current policies, practices, trends, technology, and other information that affects Zoot as a business; understands or anticipates how changes could impact the business; ability to understand and cope with different business situations (e.g. financial, marketing, sales, operations, personnel).
• Command Skills - Able to lead people to accomplish tasks, even if not their direct supervisor; takes unpopular stands if necessary; encourages direct and difficult debate but is able to reach a decision and move on; looked to for direction during problem situations; looks to resolve challenges, not defer to someone else.
• Communication (Manager/Leader) - Creates an environment that fosters open and honest communication from all parties involved; identifies the appropriate medium(s) in which to convey messages and ideas; listens attentively to understand the true meaning in others’ messages and input; communicate goals and execution strategies to their team; available and accessible for their team.
• Communication (Presentation) - Able to effectively relay complex ideas and concepts to an audience while representing the company in a positive and professional manner; effective in a variety of formal presentation settings (one-on-one, small and large groups) and with a variety of audiences (employees, managers, external parties); able to command attention and manage process during the presentation; able to change style or tactics midstream if something isn't working.
• Composure – Able to maintain a rational and objective demeanor when faced with stressful or emotional situations; makes emotional and physical changes to manage, control, and reduce tension in trying situations; handles pressure and/or stress effectively and does not become defensive or irritated; professional maturity; not derailed by obstacles or rejection.
• Dealing with Ambiguity - Able to cope with change; versatile; can shift gears as priorities or business needs change; able to act without having all of the answers; doesn't get frustrated when things are ambiguous; able to move on if situation necessitates it, even if other tasks/projects aren't complete; able to balance acting with uncertainty with risk.
• Decision Making - Makes decisions in a timely manner, sometimes with incomplete information and under tight deadlines and pressure; able to make a quick decision; also able to make good decisions using a mixture of analysis, experience, and judgment; decisions generally turn out to be correct/accurate when evaluated over time; is someone others can rely on for quality decisions.
• Developing Others - Provides timely and effective feedback, either through formal management tools or by mentoring or coaching, to others to improve job performance; develops and implements individual development plans and strategies; suggests appropriate tools and development actions for team members; provides challenging or stretching tasks and assignments.
• Driving Change – Fosters an environment that embraces positive change; seeks, defines, and implements new ways to improve.
• Negotiation - Able to bring together varying goals, needs, and viewpoints; seeks to discover a common goal and reconcile differences to settle a matter of mutual concern or resolve a conflict with minimal noise; able to reach consensus without damaging relationships; can be both direct and forceful as well as diplomatic.
• Vision and Strategy - Sets direction for the workgroup that balances the needs of Zoot with those of the clients, as well as the employees; anticipates head-and tail-winds that are going to affect the accomplishment of Zoot’s goals and objectives and compiles plans on how to respond accordingly.
  
  
  

Companywide:

• Accountability - Takes responsibility for tasks and projects as assigned; holds self and others accountable for high quality, timely, and cost-effective results; accepts responsibility for mistakes.
• Action Oriented, Initiative – Works hard every day, self-motivated; energized by both tasks expected of the role and new or challenging projects; willing to act even with minimal planning, however, doesn't act carelessly and takes responsibility for actions, whether end result is positive or negative; moves on to the next task or project without being asked or seeks out additional ways to help.
• Communication (General) – Effective with the form(s) of communication that are applicable to a given role (oral, presentation, written); able to be detailed enough to show that the right work was done, yet succinct enough to effectively communicate data, opinions, or findings.
• Critical Thinking - Uses logical, strategic, analytical, reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of a given situation and possible solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems; able to think outside the box to generate possible solutions.
• Customer Focused, Service Oriented - Actively works to meet the expectations, requirements, or needs of internal and external customers; understands who their customer is; acts with customers in mind; establishes and maintains effective relationships with customers and gains their trust and respect.
• Development Focused - Knows or is able to recognize personal strengths and weaknesses, opportunities, and limits; learns from mistakes; receptive to sharing one's own shortcomings with others; is comfortable with balanced performance reviews (both positives and areas to improve) and honest professional development and career discussions.
• Integrity and Trust – Widely trusted across the organization; seen as a direct, truthful individual; maintains confidentiality as required; admits mistakes; doesn't misrepresent themselves or the facts for personal gain.
• Listening - Practices attentive and active listening; has the patience and ability to hear people out; able to accurately restate the opinions of others to validate understanding, even if there is disagreement.
• Mentoring - Able to effectively share knowledge and insight with others so that they can accomplish tasks, achieve goals, and enhance skills.
• Organization and Time Management - Able to manage multiple projects or tasks and adapt to changing priorities; effective and efficient with own time; able to bring resources (e.g. people, materials, processes, budget) together to get things done and uses them effectively; shows up on time and respects the time of others.
• Problem Solving – Willing to solve difficult problems with effective solutions; examines all angles and sources before developing a solution; looks beyond easy solutions and doesn't stop at the first answer; able to uncover or anticipate hidden problems; provides honest analysis, even if the answer isn't what people want to hear.
• Professionalism - Easy to approach and talk to; able to put others at ease, either naturally or due to self-awareness to adjust; warm, pleasant, and gracious; sensitive to and patient with the personalities of others; builds rapport by making people feel comfortable; works well with others; is seen as a team player and is cooperative; easily gains trust and support of peers; encourages collaboration; able to be candid with peers; solves problems in a way that minimizes negative impacts to others.
• Technical Aptitude - Has the functional and technical knowledge and skills to perform a job's duties at a high level of accomplishment.
• Working with Existing Tools - Able to leverage current tools, services, process, and procedures to accomplish tasks; seeks additional understanding of existing processes and procedures; finds ways to improve upon existing options before proposing or exploring new options.
  
  
  

Education, Training, And Experience Requirements

This position requires:

☒ High School Diploma

☒ Bachelor Degree Bachelor’s degree required, preferably in business, engineering, or closely related technical field

☒ Years of Experience 15+ years of overall experience; 10+ years in a management position at a professional services, IT, or product development organization; 5+ years’ experience working at the Executive level preferred.

Or, an equal combination of education and experience.

Physical Requirements:

• All positions at Zoot require the ability to move about inside an office environment which includes the operation of computers and other office productivity machinery and frequently communicates with other employees, clients, vendors, and visitors.
• This position requires a combination of periods of sitting at a computer workstation.
  
  
  

Working Conditions

• This position will take place primarily in an office setting.
• The Chief Operations Officer position is fast paced and ever changing, requiring flexibility, self-initiative, and regular management of changing priorities.
• Occasional nighttime and weekend work is required within the position.
• This position will require travel approximately 10% of the time.
  
  
  

Other Duties

Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job which may include helping others in the same or different departments, may be assigned by supervision. Duties, responsibilities and activities may change at any time with or without notice.