Chief Operations Officer – Resilient Energy Technology & Infrastructure

WVU Online

Chief Operations Officer leading daily operations of RETI Consortium focused on industrial grid resilience and energy efficiency. Ensuring operational execution and stakeholder engagement across partners and funding agencies.

Posted 7/17/2026full-timeMorgantown • Virginia, West Virginia • 🇺🇸 United StatesLeadWebsite

Core Competencies

Role fit

Core Competencies

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Demonstrates expertise in operational leadership, project management methodologies, and financial oversight within complex, multi-stakeholder environments. Capable of translating strategic direction into measurable operational plans while ensuring compliance with federal regulations and performance metrics.

Highest-signal resume keywords

Operational LeadershipProject Management MethodologiesFinancial OversightData Management and Performance MeasurementCross-Functional Team Leadership

ATS Keywords

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Applicant Tracking System Keywords

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Hard Skills

Project ManagementBudgetingForecastingFinancial ReportingData AnalysisPerformance MeasurementFederal Grant AdministrationCompliance ManagementProgram ManagementRisk Management

Soft Skills

Communication SkillsOrganizational SkillsAnalytical SkillsProblem-Solving SkillsTeam Development

Tools & Technologies

DashboardsReporting SystemsPerformance Measurement FrameworksMilestone-Based ExecutionAgile Methodology

Industry Keywords

NSF ComplianceMulti-Stakeholder OrganizationFederal Cost PrinciplesSponsored Programs ReportingOperational Processes

About the role

Key responsibilities & impact

Lead the day-to-day operations of the consortium, ensuring that work across functional areas is coordinated, on schedule, and aligned with strategic priorities.
Establish and maintain operating cadences, including leadership team meetings, milestone reviews, partner coordination forums, and cross-functional planning sessions.
Design, implement, and continuously improve operational processes, systems, and tools that allow a small executive team to manage a complex consortium with discipline and efficiency.
Drive accountability for milestone delivery across the consortium, escalating risks and barriers to the CEO and resolving operational issues swiftly.
Translate the CEO’s strategic direction into clear, measurable operational plans with defined ownership, timelines, and dependencies.
Establish a unified project and portfolio management framework spanning research, technology translation, workforce development, and partner engagement activities.
Maintain integrated project plans, dependency maps, and risk registers that provide leadership with a clear picture of consortium progress and exposures.
Oversee program management staff and embedded project leads to ensure consistent execution standards across the consortium.
Apply structured project management methodologies (e.g., stage-gate, agile, milestone-based execution) appropriate to a federal innovation initiative.
Establish and maintain the consortium’s performance measurement framework, including key performance indicators tied to NSF Engines outcomes (e.g., job creation, startup formation, technology deployment, regional economic impact).
Oversee the collection, validation, analysis, and reporting of consortium data across technical, workforce, commercialization, and community impact dimensions.
Build dashboards and reporting systems that provide real-time visibility into consortium performance for the CEO, leadership team, board, and external stakeholders.
Translate raw program data into actionable insights that inform strategic decisions, course corrections, and continuous improvement.
Work with the CEO for the preparation, review, and timely submission of all required NSF reports, including annual and quarterly progress reports, milestone reports, financial reports, and ad hoc requests from the program office.
Serve as a secondary operational point of contact with the NSF program office, ensuring responsive, accurate, and well-organized communication.
Ensure compliance with NSF terms and conditions, federal cost principles, and applicable West Virginia University and sponsor policies.
Coordinate audits, site visits, federal program reviews, and any required corrective action plans.
Oversee the Business Directors responsible for accounting, financial management, subaward administration, procurement, and award close-out activities.
Ensure accurate budgeting, forecasting, expenditure tracking, and financial reporting across the consortium’s federal, state, industry, and philanthropic funds.
Establish and maintain strong internal controls, segregation of duties, and financial integrity standards consistent with federal and university requirements.
Oversee the Director of Communications and the consortium’s communications strategy across internal, partner, media, and policymaker audiences.
Support the CEO and senior leadership team in preparation for board meetings, congressional briefings, press engagements, and major partner convenings.
Recruit, develop, evaluate, and retain a high-performing operations, business, and communications team.

Requirements

What you’ll need

Bachelor’s degree in business administration, public administration, operations management, engineering, or a related field.
A minimum of ten (10) years of experience in the following: Progressively responsible operational leadership experience in a complex, multi-stakeholder organization.
Any equivalent combination of related education and/or experience will be considered.
All qualifications must be met by the time of employment.
Demonstrated track record successfully managing complex programs or portfolios with significant scope, multiple workstreams, and measurable outcomes.
Proven expertise applying structured project management methodologies (e.g., PMI/PMBOK, agile, stage-gate, milestone-based execution) in operational settings.
Demonstrated experience designing and managing data, metrics, and performance measurement systems that inform executive decision-making.
Demonstrated experience with federal grant administration, sponsored programs reporting, or similar regulated environments, including familiarity with federal compliance and reporting requirements.
Demonstrated experience overseeing financial and business operations, including budgeting, forecasting, and financial reporting at scale.
Outstanding written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to convey complex information clearly to executive, partner, and federal audiences.
Demonstrated experience leading and developing cross-functional teams and direct reports, including senior individual contributors.
Strong organizational, analytical, and problem-solving skills, with a record of operating effectively under deadlines and competing priorities.

Benefits

Comp & perks

37.5-hour work week
13 paid holidays ( staff holiday calendar )
24 annual leave (vacation) days per year ( employee leave )
18 sick days per year (for when you’re ill, for when you need time to care for sick family, for your own, or your family’s, regularly scheduled medical appointments. Who is family for the purpose of this leave? A lot of people in your life including immediate relatives and in-laws as well as others considered to be members of your household living under the same roof)
WVU offers a range of health insurance and other benefits
401(a) retirement savings with 6% employee contribution match, eligibility to continue health insurance, and other retiree perks.
Wellness programs