Chief of International Operations
Position description
About the Role
Reporting directly to the CEO, the Chief of International Operations will lead Spirit of America’s global operations and drive the next phase of the organization’s growth, innovation, and impact. The Chief of International Operations will build and lead an entrepreneurial international enterprise that identifies, develops, and executes high-impact opportunities advancing U.S. national security objectives.
This is a transformative leadership role for a strategic thinker, builder, and operational innovator who thrives at the intersection of national security, diplomacy, philanthropy, and entrepreneurship. As a member of the Leadership Team, the Chief of International Operations serves as a key enterprise leader and strategic partner to the CEO, working closely with the marketing, communications, development, and other senior leaders to ensure field operations, strategic partnerships, and philanthropic priorities operate as an integrated enterprise capability.
Key Responsibilities
Strategic Leadership & Opportunity Development
- Develop and execute a bold global strategy positioning Spirit of America as a trusted partner and indispensable force multiplier for U.S. national security, stability, and influence abroad.
- Lead and institutionalize Spirit of America’s capability to identify, validate, incubate, and scale high-impact opportunities that advance U.S. national security interests.
- Oversee the Opportunity Development Group, ensuring a disciplined but entrepreneurial approach to opportunity sourcing, partnership development, and concept incubation.
- Drive growth by identifying new opportunities, partnerships, and geographic presences that deliver measurable and asymmetric impact.
- Foster a culture of initiative, experimentation, responsible risk-taking, and execution across international operations.
International Operations, Communications & Risk
- Provide strategic oversight of all global operations.
- Ensure international communications strategies connect Spirit of America's fieldwork and mission outcomes to domestic and international audiences through compelling, authentic storytelling.
- Oversee enterprise risk management—operational, legal, safety, reputational, and geopolitical—and ensure organizational readiness to respond rapidly to emerging global events and opportunities.
- Ensure strategic planning, budgeting, talent management, and performance systems support exceptional execution across complex operating environments.
Government & Partner Engagement
- Deepen and expand Spirit of America’s relationships across the Department of Defense, Department of State, U.S. embassies, combatant commands, and interagency partners.
- Ensure Spirit of America's model and impact are well understood, trusted, and embedded within the U.S. national security ecosystem.
- Represent Spirit of America externally as a senior spokesperson and thought leader on national security philanthropy and public-private partnership.
Philanthropic & External Engagement
- Partner with the CEO and Development leadership to translate field operations into compelling narratives that inspire investment and sustained philanthropic support.
- Represent Spirit of America with credibility and authenticity at donor briefings, events, and high-level external engagements.
Expected Outcomes
New Opportunities With Asymmetric Impact. Launch new programs, partnerships, and geographic footholds demonstrating SOA’s unique value as an entrepreneurial partner to U.S. national security. Build a robust pipeline of innovative initiatives and demonstrate that SOA identifies opportunities earlier and acts faster than traditional institutions.
Institutionalized Opportunity Development. Establish a repeatable enterprise capability for identifying, validating, incubating, and scaling high-impact opportunities. Build systems that preserve Spirit of America ’s entrepreneurial advantage while ensuring rigor, accountability, and scalability.
Deepened National Security Partnerships. Build strong, trusted relationships across combatant commands, embassies, and senior government stakeholders. Position Spirit of America as an indispensable partner that reliably advances U.S. objectives and fills critical gaps.
Stronger Visibility & Donor Confidence. Establish compelling global communications that showcase Spirit of America’s impact, people, and partnerships. Increase donor confidence and philanthropic investment through stronger field reporting and demonstrated outcomes.
Organizational Readiness & Risk Management. Develop mature operational readiness capabilities enabling rapid response to emerging geopolitical opportunities and crises. Strengthen safety, legal, operational, and reputational risk management systems.
High-Performance Culture & Enduring Impact. Build a culture of service, patriotism, integrity, entrepreneurship, and accountability. Recruit and retain exceptional global talent. Make measurable progress establishing Spirit of America’s citizen-service model as an enduring and scalable instrument of U.S. engagement.
Qualifications
Required Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree required; advanced degree in international affairs, public policy, business, national security, or a related field preferred.
- Fifteen (15)+ years of progressive executive leadership experience in international operations, national security, foreign affairs, international development, or a closely related field.
- Demonstrated success developing and executing enterprise strategy while leading complex, globally dispersed operations.
- Proven experience building or transforming organizations, functions, or enterprise capabilities from concept through implementation, including establishing operating models, talent, processes, and performance systems.
- Deep understanding of the U.S. national security ecosystem and a demonstrated ability to build trusted relationships with senior leaders across the Department of Defense, Department of State, U.S. embassies, combatant commands, and other strategic partners.
- Track record of identifying, developing, and scaling innovative programs, partnerships, or new organizational capabilities that deliver measurable impact.
- Strong executive leadership, financial, and operational management experience, including oversight of budgets, organizational performance, talent, and enterprise risk.
- Exceptional communication, relationship-building, and executive presence, with the ability to effectively engage boards, donors, senior government officials, and other external stakeholders.
- Ability to travel internationally up to 30–40%, including to austere or higher-risk environments.
Work Location
This position is based at Spirit of America's headquarters in Arlington, Virginia. This is an onsite leadership role, and the selected candidate is expected to work from the office five (5) days per week, except when traveling on behalf of the organization.
Compensation:
The anticipated base salary range for this position is $300,000–$400,000. Final salary will be determined based on the selected candidate's experience, qualifications, leadership capabilities, and overall fit for the role. Benefits include medical, dental, and vision insurance, and 403(b) contribution match to 4%.
Application instructions
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