Chief Operating Officer

What You'll Do

As Pursuit scales its AI-Native workforce model and launches in early 2027 the New York AI Jobs Institute (AIJI)—our new premier NYC institute backed by $13M in public funding to unite leaders across government, industry, and education to train millions of residents for AI careers—we are strengthening our operational infrastructure to match our accelerating impact.We are seeking a Chief Operating Officer (COO) to serve as our chief architect of operational excellence. Reporting directly to the CEO, this leader will be a central pillar of the executive leadership team, driving strategic decision-making and actively shaping the future of Pursuit's training programs and job placement initiatives. While managing the finance, operations, and people functions, they will architect the foundational systems required to scale our mission and impact.

Beyond executive strategy, as a true strategic partner to the CEO, the COO will translate organizational vision into high-performing infrastructure—architecting the KPIs, dashboards, and organizational systems that power our next phase of scale.. More than building systems, they will cultivate a culture of accountability and high performance, aligning elite teams around shared standards while fiercely protecting the values that brought us here. This is a rare opportunity for a transformative leader to elevate an organization at a defining inflection point.

Responsibilities include but are not limited to:

Organizational Leadership and Performance Excellence

• Serve as key organizational leader who helps lead strategic decisions and embeds operational rigor and accelerates enterprise-wide execution across all functions and in particular, Program, Go-To-Market Job Placement, Partnerships, + Growth and Earned Revenue .
• Serve as the executive architect of organizational performance, establishing the enterprise metrics, dashboards, and analytical systems that guide executive decision-making and Board governance.
• Design and maintain the dashboards and KPI architecture that give the CEO, leadership team, and Board a real-time, accurate view of organizational health.
• Spearhead the optimization of Pursuit's internal infrastructure, scaling the tools, workflows, and AI-native processes necessary for rapid, sustainable growth
• Establish robust performance management systems and accountability structures that empower elite teams to excel.

Organizational Design & Scale

• Architect Pursuit's evolving organizational structure, designing reporting lines and team topologies intentionally aligned with our forward-looking strategy rather than historical growth.
• Partner with the CEO and other leaders on enterprise-wide workforce planning, capacity building, and talent scaling.
• Establish robust change management strategies and cross-functional collaboration frameworks to ensure seamless organizational transitions as Pursuit scales its impact.

Business Operations

• Exercise executive ownership over all business operations, unifying finance, HR, talent, culture, and core organizational workflows into a seamlessly integrated operational backbone.
• Provide direct managerial leadership and oversight to the VP of Finance and VP of People, guiding their strategic direction and aligning team priorities with enterprise goals.
• Drive financial leadership in partnership with the VP of Finance, overseeing multi-year budgeting, resource allocation, financial modeling, and sound fiscal governance across all departments.
• Champion talent acquisition, HR infrastructure, and human capital strategy alongside the VP of People to attract, retain, and develop world-class teams.
• Cultivate and safeguard Pursuit's organizational culture, fostering an environment of accountability, continuous learning, high performance, and mission alignment.
• Oversee core operational processes, facilities management, internal systems, and revenue collections (including the Pursuit Bond) to scale efficiency as the organization grows.

Who You'll Work With

• You will report to Chief Executive Officer and as a member of the executive team you will be a key strategic shaper of the future and optimization of every function at Pursuit — Program, Go-To-Market Job Placement, Partnerships, Growth and Earned Revenue.
• You will directly manage the VP of Finance, VP of People, General Counsel, Head of AI implementation, Head of Facilities and Operations and more.

• 8–12 years of experience in business operations or leadership operations roles, ideally spanning both a strategy/consulting environment and a hands-on operating role inside a growing company or organization.
• Previous consultative experience (e.g., management consulting or a similar advisory background), paired with real experience actually running operations, not just advising on them.
• Exceptional analytical and strategic thinking skills with experience leading or partnering closely with strategic finance functions
• A history of cultivating elite teams and establishing high-performance standards amidst rapid organizational scaling.
• Demonstrated success and track-record in architecting robust operational systems, processes, and infrastructure that drive enterprise-wide execution and long-term quality.
• Extensive experience designing and governing executive-level KPI frameworks, real-time dashboards, and strategic reporting systems for complex, fast-growing organizations.
• Deep expertise in organizational design, structural transformation, and team topology scaling to align operational architecture with long-term enterprise strategy.
• Experience building or running business operations and HR/People systems and practices at scale.
• High tolerance for ambiguity and bias toward building, comfortable creating structure where none exists yet.
• Deeply motivated by Pursuit's mission of economic transformation and expanded opportunity for low-income and underrepresented communities.
• MBA or equivalent advanced degree preferred.

Location and Work Environment

This role is based in NYC. Pursuit currently operates on a hybrid schedule, Tuesday through Thursday on-site at our office in New York City, with a Monday/Friday work-from-anywhere policy.

Compensation

The salary range for this role is $300,000 - $330,000, inclusive of base and bonus and a full benefits package. The compensation listed reflects the expectations laid out in this job description; however, we are often open to a wide variety of profiles and recognize that the person we hire may be less experienced (or more senior) than this posting. If that ends up being the case, the updated salary range will be communicated to you as a candidate.

We prioritize the richness of diversity across all categories. We welcome new perspectives and make employment decisions without regard to race, color, ancestry, religion, national origin, age, familial or marital status, sex, sexual orientation, pregnancy, gender identity or expression, disability, genetic information, veteran status, or any other classification protected by federal, state, or local law. Pursuit is an equal-opportunity employer.