Chief Operating Officer

AccuWeather is searching for a Chief Operating Officer to join its Leadership team. Reporting to the Chief Executive Officer, the Chief Operating Officer (COO) will be responsible for developing a cohesive strategic operational vision and execution plan to drive superior performance, efficiency, and automation across the organization. This role is pivotal in ensuring AccuWeather's operational excellence, enhancing productivity, and driving overall organizational success.

The COO will oversee, plan, organize, staff, and execute all operational activities across all business units. This includes process improvements, workflow automation, performance monitoring, team development, budget management, and risk management. The COO will play a crucial collaborative role working cross-functionally with members of the Executive Team and other departments such as IT, Finance, HR, and Marketing to ensure seamless integration of processes and strategies.

This person will have the key responsibility for leveraging technology and innovative practices to enhance efficiency, streamline processes, and drive overall operational excellence. The ideal candidate will be a dynamic leader with strong business acumen, an entrepreneurial spirit, and a deep understanding of operational principles and practices.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Strategic Leadership

• Develop and implement long-term operational strategies that align with the company's goals and vision.
• Participate and provide leadership with the executive management team on key planning issues and important business decisions.
• Identify opportunities for process improvements and automation to enhance productivity and streamline operations.
• Demonstrate strong business acumen and an entrepreneurial spirit to drive operational excellence.
• Develop and maintain organizational knowledge of markets, products, customers, and competition required to achieve business unit goals.

Workflow Automation

• Oversee the assessment and redesign of workflows to incorporate advanced automation technologies, including AI.
• Lead initiatives to implement software and tools that automate repetitive tasks and improve operational efficiency.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Work closely with IT, finance, HR, marketing, and other departments to ensure seamless integration of automated processes.
• Liaise with functional and departmental managers to understand all necessary aspects and needs of operational development, and to ensure they are fully informed of operational objectives, purposes, and achievements.
• Foster a culture of collaboration and continuous improvement across teams.
• Manage relationships with internal and external stakeholders, including suppliers, partners, and customers.

Performance Monitoring

• Establish KPIs to measure the effectiveness of automated workflows and operational performance.
• Utilize data analytics to drive decision-making and optimize operations.
• Ensure quality control of all company output as it pertains to delivery of services.
• Ensure activities meet and integrate with organizational requirements for quality management, health and safety, legal stipulations, environmental policies, and general duty of care.

Budget Management

• Develop and manage the operational budget across all business units, ensuring resource allocation aligns with strategic and automation initiatives.
• Monitor financial performance and implement cost-saving measures where applicable.
• Work with direct reports to prepare business plans for each business unit, to include profit, revenue and sales goals, personnel budget, and investment in research, development, and marketing.

Team Development

• Build and mentor a high-performing operations team, promoting a culture of innovation and accountability.
• Provide training and support to staff on new technologies and automated processes.
• Inspire and manage the team, fostering a collaborative and productive work environment.

Risk Management

• Identify potential risks associated with operations and automation and implement mitigation strategies.
• Ensure compliance with industry standards and regulations.

Crisis Leadership

• Take charge in high-priority crises, providing decisive direction and communication across the organization.

QUALIFICATIONS 

• Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Operations Management, or a related field; MBA strongly preferred.
• 15+ years of experience in leading operations management, with a focus on process improvement and automation.
• Proven track record of successfully implementing automation technologies in a corporate environment.
• Strong analytical skills with a data-driven mindset.
• Excellent leadership and communication skills, with the ability to influence at all levels of the organization.
• Experience in project management and change management methodologies.
• Deep understanding of operations principles and practices, capable of turning strategies into actionable operational plans.
• High emotional intelligence and confidence level.
• Ability to travel as required, approximately 5–10%.

Additional Characteristics

• AI Adopter and Implementer: Proactively seeks and integrates new technology advances, especially AI, to streamline operations and create or improve products from existing tasks.
• Adaptability: Ability to quickly adapt to changing operational conditions and emerging trends in the industry.
• Critical Thinking: Strong problem-solving skills and the ability to think critically about operational challenges.
• Customer-Centric Approach: Deep understanding of customer needs and preferences to ensure operational processes deliver optimal customer satisfaction.
• Technical Proficiency: Familiarity with operations management tools, ERP systems, and data analytics platforms.
• Follow Through: Ensures that operational plans and strategies are executed effectively.
• Organization Skills: Highly organized with excellent time management skills, and a quick thinker with a keen eye for detail.
• Collaborative: Works well with key individuals across the organization.
• Continuous Improvement: Works to continually improve and innovate operational processes.

ABOUT ACCUWEATHER 

AccuWeather, recognized and documented as the most accurate and most used source of weather forecasts and warnings in the world, has saved over 12,000 lives, prevented injury to over 100,000 people, and saved companies tens of billions of dollars through better planning and decision-making.

Billions of people around the world rely on AccuWeather’s proven Superior Accuracy™ across our consumer digital platforms. AccuWeather.com is the #1 weather destination and one of the top 100 most-visited websites in the world, and our award-winning AccuWeather app delivers detailed real-time forecasts to millions of smartphones.

AccuWeather forecasts also appear on digital signage, in 700 newspapers, are heard on over 400 radio stations, and viewed on 100 television stations. The AccuWeather Network and AccuWeather NOW® reach an audience of over 125 million on cable and streaming platforms including DirecTV, Charter Communications - Spectrum, Verizon, Philo, Frndly TV, Comcast’s Xfinity X1 and Xfinity Stream, Roku, Xumo, Rockbot, LG, and Amazon Freevee.

AccuWeather For Business serves more than half of the Fortune 500 companies and thousands of other businesses and government agencies globally.

Dr. Joel Myers, Founder and Executive Chairman, established AccuWeather in 1962 and is considered the “father of modern commercial meteorology.” Myers, a leading creative thinker and visionary, has been called “the most accurate man in weather” by The New York Times and has been recognized as one of the top entrepreneurs in American history by Entrepreneur’s Encyclopedia of Entrepreneurs. 

COMMITMENT TO DIVERSITY & INCLUSION

AccuWeather is proud to be an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. We are committed to equal employment opportunity to all applicants and existing employees and we evaluate qualified applicants without regard to race, creed, color, national origin, sex (including pregnancy and gender identity/expression), sexual orientation, age, ancestry, physical or mental disability, marital status, political affiliation, religion, citizenship status, genetic information, veteran status, or any other basis protected under applicable federal, state, or local law. 
 
AccuWeather is committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodations to individuals with disabilities. If you need a reasonable accommodation because of a disability for any part of the employment process, please send an e-mail to [email protected] and let us know the nature of your request and your contact information.