Chief Operating Officer

At a Glance

Time Commitment: Full-Time, 37.5 hours/week

Experience Level: Executive

Team: Operations; reports to CEO

Salary Range: $120k to $130/year + benefits

Location: Asheville, NC 

Anticipated Start Date: May 1, 2026

APPLY NOW or learn more at mtnhousing.org/about/careers/ 

The Opportunity

Mountain Housing Opportunities (MHO) has delivered affordable housing solutions for income-limited homeowners and renters in and around Buncombe County since 1988. In 2025, MHO’s Board of Directors adopted a 4-year Strategic Plan that sets ambitious goals to expand affordable rental and homeownership opportunities, strengthen our home repair and down payment assistance programs, advance service-enriched housing, and deepen our impact in the communities we serve. As Western North Carolina continues long-term recovery from Tropical Storm Helene, MHO’s work, effective and transparent stewardship of our operations has never been more vital.

To support this next phase of growth, MHO is seeking a skilled Chief Operating Officer to strengthen organizational operations, management, and impact. This role will provide enterprise-level leadership that builds upon established successes, grows effectiveness, cultivates processes, and measures progress towards strategic and operational goals. The ideal candidate will be a mission-aligned, highly effective and detail-oriented business leader who is motivated to deliver operational excellence as MHO scales its impact across Western North Carolina.

Position Overview:

The Chief Operating Officer (COO) plans, directs, coordinates, and provides oversight for operational strategy and activities in the organization, ensuring development and implementation of efficient operations and cost-effective systems to meet current and future needs of the enterprise. Working as a collaborative leader with departmental leaders, the CFO, and the CEO, the COO is responsible for managing the day-to-day operations of the organization. In addition, the COO is responsible for developing, implementing, and evaluating progress of MHO’s business plan in order to meet its strategic goals.  The COO ensures the mission and core values are operationalized and reflected in our workplace, service delivery, and external partnerships.

Primary Responsibilities

Organizational Strategy (45%)

• Together with the CEO, CFO, and leadership team, develops the strategy to ensure that the organization has the capacity needed to achieve its current and future goals, while mitigating financial and operational risk
• Provides leadership support and supervision to 5 Lines of Business: Essential Home Repair, Homeownership Development, Homeownership Lending (MHO Loan Fund), Community Rental Investments, and Asset Management. 
• Serves as a key advisor to the Board of Directors.
• Develops and maintains effective working relationships with key external partners including funders, business partners, government agencies, consultants, and vendors.

Operations and Performance Management (40%)

Strategy and Goals

• Implements, evaluates, and communicates the strategic direction of the organization's operations.
• Collaborates with leadership team to translate the Strategic Plan into actionable steps and develop enterprise reporting on progress towards goals
• Collaborates with leadership team to develop and meet company goals while supplying expertise and guidance on operations projects and systems.
• Collaborates with departmental leaders to carry out the organization's annual operating plan, goals and objectives.
• Prepares and reports on progress of agency-wide business plan, including production goals.
• Identifies and implements strategies for process optimization, including but not limited to digitization of records/archives and increased use of automation.
• Leads collaborative effort to complete annual and quarterly surveys and programmatic reports to key external partners, such as Neighborworks America.

Lending and Investments

• Oversees and monitors MHO Loan Fund CDFI for performance, risk and compliance.
• Supervises the Loan Fund Manager and lending operations that include the origination and servicing of deferred, second mortgages.
• Assists with CDFI recertification, reporting, and applications for CDFI funds.

Policies and Procedures

• Collaborates with departmental leadership to help implement and adjust program-related policies and standard operating procedures (SOP), in alignment with applicable federal, state, local, and or private funder requirements.
• Maintains and updates MHO personnel policies, ensuring they are in compliance with legal requirements and meet employees’ health and safety requirements.
• Establishes, communicates, and implements operations-related policies, practices, standards, and security measures to ensure effective and consistent support and execution.

Office Operations

• Provides supervisory support for the Office Manager to ensure workplace needs are met, and to identify, recommend, and implement new processes, technologies, and systems to improve and streamline organizational processes and use of resources and materials.
• Oversees data security and IT efforts including training, policy development, and implementation; manages contracts/vendors related to this strategic area.
• Maintains knowledge of emerging technologies and trends in operations management

Human Resources & Training and Professional Development

• Identifies training needs across the organization and ensures proper training is developed and provided.  Manages professional development plans and activities at an organizational level.
• Develops a structured performance evaluation process to ensure employee goals are measurable, achievable and aligned with the strategic plan; manages consultant/contractor related to this strategic area.
• Coordinates annual open enrollment process for employee benefits, including researching new employee benefit plans and vendors, surveying comparable organizations to ensure competitiveness in the employment marketplace, and providing guidance to employees regarding plan options and available coverage 
• Processes and maintains worker injury records and related workers compensation documentation.
• Oversees personnel files; establishes and maintains adequate security and confidentiality of records.

Board and Committee Management and Support (10%)

• Attends all Board of Director and Executive Committee meetings. 
• Convenes and coordinates activities of the Strategic Planning Committee including developing agendas and providing reports on organizational performance and projections and other information to committee members in a well-organized, accurate and timely fashion.
• Prepares and presents quarterly Dashboard to the Board of Directors showing key performance indicators against benchmarks and progress towards Strategic Plan Goals

External Relations and Enterprise Engagement (5%)

• Represents MHO at meetings, convenings, or other external engagements; occasional public speaking engagements as necessary.
• Participates as an integral member of the MHO team, attending meetings, supporting milestone activities and special events, and executing other enterprise-level actions as necessary.

Other Duties as Necessary

Required Qualifications

• Strong affinity for MHO’s mission, service population, and organizational values.
• 7-10 years of related management or organizational operations leadership experience.
• Bachelor's degree or equivalent career experience required; advanced degree (MBA, MPA, MPS) and/or professional accreditations in relevant field of study preferred
• Established knowledge of business and human resource management practices and employment law, typically gained by combination of educational and work history.
• Strong collaborative leadership, people management, and interpersonal skills; ability to effectively manage multiple direct reports and strategic deadlines.
• Demonstrated analytical skills; ability to integrate data in effective process resolution and optimization.
• Demonstrated presentation and public speaking skills; experience creating and delivering training to staff and/or partner cohorts.
• Demonstrated proficiency in enterprise software applications, including Google Workspace and/or Microsoft 365.

Key Competencies

• Highly effective strategist and planner; develops and deploys effective project and change management practices at the departmental and enterprise level.
• Confident, adaptive communicator across traditional and digital platforms.
• Able to manage shifting priorities and complex workflows in a dynamic work environment; able to exercise good judgment in a variety of situations.
• Actively pursues ongoing professional development opportunities related to responsibilities, organizational priorities, industry, and sector.
• Builds trust through accountability, demonstrates compassion, practices patience, cultivates optimism; demonstrates a high level of professionalism in dealing with confidential and sensitive issues.
• Navigates interactions with a broad range of staff, volunteers, clients, residents, supporters, and partners with integrity and respect.

Working Conditions 

Cognitive: Must be able to accurately read and interpret written information, communicate effectively in English by phone, email, and in person, and understand concepts behind specific ideas. Must be able to manage and recall multiple tasks or assignments over several days, attend to tasks for periods longer than 60 minutes, and maintain concentration on detailed work in an office setting with moderate interruptions.

Physical: Must be able to work on a computer for extended periods. Occasional physical activities may include pushing, pulling, or carrying objects under 20 pounds; sitting, standing, bending, kneeling, walking, and climbing stairs. May occasionally need to enter or exit buildings under construction without normal ingress/egress. Must be able to travel offsite as needed to MHO properties, client locations, events, or regional /statewide meetings and training. Reasonable accommodation will be provided for qualified individuals with disabilities. 

Environmental: Work is primarily performed in an office environment with low to moderate noise (computers, printers, conversations). Occasional visits to construction sites may involve brief exposure to higher noise levels, uneven terrain, and other typical construction-related conditions. 

Time-Oriented: Must be able to work 37.5 hours during the regular Monday-Friday workweek, with occasional evening or weekend hours as needed. 

Equal Opportunity Employer: MHO provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, age (over 40), disability, genetic information, marital status, status as a covered veteran, or any other protected class or characteristic under applicable federal, state or local laws. MHO complies with applicable federal, state, and local laws governing nondiscrimination of employment in every location in which MHO has employees. 

About Us: Founded in 1988 by volunteers, Mountain Housing Opportunities is the regional nonprofit leader in developing and preserving safe, stable, and affordable housing in Buncombe County and beyond. MHO serves more than 2,000 households each year in western North Carolina through affordable rental homes, essential home repair, the construction and sale of new affordable homes, and down payment assistance. MHO’s mission is to build and improve homes, neighborhoods, communities, and lives, and build hope and dignity in the people we serve. MHO is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization and operates as a Community Development Housing Organization (CHDO) and a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI). Visit https://mtnhousing.org/ to learn more.