Chief Operating Officer (COO)

October 28, 2025

Reports To: CEO

Location: Sub-Saharan Africa – Solar Sister offices in any of Kenya, Nigeria, or Tanzania

Position Overview

The Chief Operating Officer (COO) will serve as a critical partner to the CEO and the Management Team in leading Solar Sister into its next successful chapter. This role will ensure the effective execution of Solar Sister’s mission, long-term vision, growth aspirations, and strategic plan.

The COO will provide inspirational leadership, strategic direction, and operational excellence across Solar Sister’s three-country operations in Africa. This leader will oversee the implementation of programs and initiatives that strengthen Solar Sister’s global footprint and enhance impact.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic and Operational Leadership

  • Work closely with the CEO, Management Team, Board of Directors, and staff to realize Solar Sister’s strategic goals and long-term vision.
  • Provide strong operational oversight for program implementation across all countries.
  • Lead the annual planning and budgeting process across offices, ensuring alignment with strategic priorities.
  • Manage for current and future growth, ensuring systems, structures, and processes support scale and sustainability.
  • Drive the organization’s strategic planning process and oversee execution of the global strategy.
  • Represent Solar Sister externally, strengthening relationships with partners, funders, and key stakeholders.

Program and Performance Management

  • Ensure programs are delivered efficiently, on time, and in full alignment with design and impact objectives.
  • Develop and monitor performance indicators to assess progress against goals.
  • Support cross-country learning and best-practice sharing to drive continuous improvement.

Organizational Effectiveness and Culture

  • Foster a culture of accountability, inclusion, collaboration, and excellence across global and local teams.
  • Strengthen organizational compliance and internal controls, including risk management and audit processes.
  • Build and mentor high-performing teams, supporting leadership development and succession planning.

CANDIDATE PROFILE

Personal Attributes

The ideal candidate will have the following personal and professional competencies and characteristics:

A Passion for the Mission

  • The COO will bring a passion for women’s economic empowerment and clean energy access, and share the belief that everyone everywhere deserves access to clean energy to power their lives. 
  • This is a leader who understands and embraces the fact that the operational strength of an international development organization of this caliber is essential to serving the overall mission. In alignment with Solar Sister’s culture, this executive will be committed to effectively leading teams and serving as a strategic partner to the CEO. 
  • This individual will bring a deep appreciation for the complex challenges facing Solar Sister and an excitement to be part of a team focused on identifying creative, strategic solutions to ensure Solar Sister continues to thrive.

Operational Acumen

  • With an entrepreneurial spirit and growth mindset, the COO will bring deep experience running and scaling complex operations, preferably in an international context. 
  • A proven general manager, the COO will also bring the ability and confidence to ensure that Solar Sister’s operations are run efficiently and effectively. 
  • The COO will be required to transition seamlessly between the “big picture” and minutiae, applying strong quantitative and analytical skills, diving deep into the details, and presenting complex operational information to constituents with varying levels of expertise.

Management and Leading Through Influence

  • The COO will foster trust and collaboration among team members and possess the ability to manage through complex situations with flexibility and poise. An individual with unquestioned integrity, ethics, and values.
  • The COO is someone who can be trusted with highly confidential and sensitive information. 
  • With a demonstrated ability to develop staff and lead effective, high-performing teams, this leader will be an established manager with a proven track record of building and managing global teams across multiple locations. 
  • With strong executive presence, the COO will be skilled at quickly establishing rapport and cultivating relationships across all levels of the organization and with Board members.

Executing for Results

  • The COO will execute for results with a high degree of responsiveness and motivation.
  •  At the direction of the CEO and Board of Directors, the COO will be able to marshal limited resources to the most productive uses, aiming to create maximum impact in line with Solar Sister’s mission. 
  • The COO will work with the CEO to develop and cascade the organization’s strategy/mission statement throughout the organization and implement processes and procedures that align the organization’s practices accordingly. 
  • The COO will be able to proactively, constructively, and creatively conceptualize and analyze problems and solutions, resulting in improved performance across the organization.  
  • This leader will possess the curiosity and drive to stay ahead of operational trends, identifying new and unique opportunities to serve the mission.
  • Planning by prioritizing customer, employee, and organizational requirements
  • Maintaining and monitoring staffing, employee expectations, and motivation to fulfill organizational requirements
  • Driving performance measures for the operation (including a consideration of efficiency versus effectiveness), often in the form of dashboards convenient for review of high-level key indicators

QUALIFICATIONS

Experience

  • Minimum 10 years of senior management experience, preferably within the international development, social enterprise, or clean energy sectors.
  • Demonstrated experience managing cross-functional teams and multi-country operations.
  • Advanced degree in Business Administration, Management, International Development, or a related field (or equivalent experience).
  • Strong financial literacy and experience with strategic budgeting and planning.
  • Fluency in English required; proficiency in Swahili is an advantage.

Skills and Competencies

  • Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
  • Exceptional interpersonal skills, with a talent for building and sustaining relationships with diverse stakeholders.
  • Strategic thinker with the ability to identify opportunities, set priorities, and execute plans effectively.
  • Ability to manage multiple projects and deadlines simultaneously.

COMPENSATION 

The salary range for this position, based on hiring from Sub-Saharan Africa, is ~$60,000-$70,000 per year. The amount may be adjusted for other locations and local contexts. 

Additional benefits include medical insurance, 20 days of personal time off,  national holidays in the country of residence, and a two-week organization-wide closure at the end of the calendar year. Solar Sister also offers a flexible work environment that prioritizes the well-being of our team.

TO APPLY 

We look forward to hearing from you! If you have questions, please email jobs@solarsister.org with the subject line “COO Application.“ Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. We recommend applying before November 11, 2025.

Solar Sister provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, marital status, amnesty, or status as a covered veteran in accordance with applicable federal, state, and local laws. Solar Sister complies with applicable state and local laws governing nondiscrimination in employment in every location in which the company has facilities. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation, and training.

 

Solar Sister expressly prohibits any form of unlawful employee harassment based on race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, age, genetic information, disability or veteran status. Improper interference with the ability of SolarSister employees to perform their expected job duties is absolutely not tolerated.