Discover how to hire a COO in 8 steps to drive your business forward. Learn key hiring strategies and red flags to avoid to ensure a perfect fit.
Jessica Weeman
Fractional COO, Coach & Project Manager
Experienced professional with a 15-year career in business development, program management, client engagement, and executive operations. Adaptable and creative strategist who has developed multiple impactful programs from inception to drive client engagement, with targeted growth and revenue goals. Proven leadership in managing and directing small and large teams up to 80 individuals. Ability to demonstrate high level of customer service and strategic problem solving in fast-paced environments, …
Work
The Nature Conservancy - Consultant
Consulted on Executive Assistant recruitment to C-Suite executive. This included participating in initial round of interview prep and panel interviews. Per my recommendation I led the rescoping of job description, to improve applicant pool, and participated in the second round of interviews. I advised Chief GDEI Officer and Chief of Staff on individual interviews with final candidates and on final recommendations.
The Earth Genome- Fractional COO
- Financial Management
- Monthly Financial Reporting
- Business Processes
- Business Operations
- Distributed Systems
- Fractional COO
- Recruiting
- Audit Oversight
- Standard Operating Procedure (SOP)
- People Operations
- Onboarding
- Grant management
- Offboarding
- Accounting
- Developing team culture
- Agile Project Management
- Project Planning
- Budgeting
- Budget management
- Strategic Vision & Leadership
- Strategic Planning
- Change Management
- Employee Relations
I launched an operational and cultural assessment, and conducted an overhaul of the financial infrastructure of the organization. This included creating new accountability measures like SOPs, revamping billable practices, and working with a 3rd party accountant to improve financial reporting and build a new charter of accounts. In addition, I developed and implemented a new unlimited vacation policy, and oversaw the 2022 audit.
fyn - Fractional COO
Over 5 months, I led all marketing and branding efforts to establish name and brand ID, managing branding agency, and to develop pitch decks and website for investors and clients. I also led the advancement of service design and packaging, and conducted operational due diligence on potential acquisitions.
Pulse Fund - Fractional Chief of Staff
Worked with the Founder of a new climate focused $100M VC/Private equity fund, Pulse Fund, to build the foundation for the business. This included recruiting, investor management, systems/operations, deck development, meeting facilitation, onboarding new partners, and more.
Fora Travel - Consultant
https://www.foratravel.com/join-us?utm_source=google&utm_medium=paid_search&utm_campaign=dco_BrandSearch&utm_content=147158209376&utm_term=fora%20travel&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjwnOipBhBQEiwACyGLujEe01JWWTAArB-VKvje_YFfGqz0HmfTKlDT7MsAYtK-YJd16hlzkxoChhcQAvD_BwEAt Fora Travel, named one of Fast Company's Most Innovative Companies of 2023, over 4 months I developed the first prototype of a cohort-based training & development program for new travel advisors. This is the foundation of their offering for attracting new advisors.
Experience
The Nature Conservancy
Deputy Chief Of Staff to the CEO
Mar 2021 - Mar 2022
The Nature Conservancy is a global environmental nonprofit working to create a world where people and nature can thrive. We're proud of what we've accomplished since our founding in 1951: The Nature Conservancy has protected more than 117 million acres of land and 5,000 miles of rivers worldwide — and we operate more than 100 marine conservation projects globally. Learn more about The Nature Conservancy at https://www.nature.org/aboutus.
- Drove the development of the Executive Leadership Team (ELT)’s new strategic plan and OKRs (Objectives and Key Results), and agile management process, including spearheading the creation of the project management dashboard, organizational health dashboard
- Partnered with HR to implement CEO performance management process for 11 direct reports
- Oversaw all operations and administration for the Office of the CEO, including HR, Legal, and Finance, managing a budget of $4M+
- Oversaw the CEO Advance Team of 4 individuals, who are responsible for all process, planning and communications around the CEO’s internal and external engagements, most recently this included a revamp and restructure of the team and process
The Nature Conservancy
Director of Executive Operations & Engagements, Office of the CEO
Nov 2018 - Apr 2021
The Nature Conservancy is a global environmental nonprofit working to create a world where people and nature can thrive. We're proud of what we've accomplished since our founding in 1951: The Nature Conservancy has protected more than 117 million acres of land and 5,000 miles of rivers worldwide — and we operate more than 100 marine conservation projects globally. Learn more about The Nature Conservancy at https://www.nature.org/aboutus.
- Planned and executed international meetings and events for the CEO and Global Board of Directors, including global board meetings
- Acted as Interim Chief of Staff to Chief Global Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer, on temporary assignment, November 2020-March 2021, which included developing a recruitment plan that resulted in an additional $1 million in funding
- Developed and implemented executive onboarding and integration plans for the CEO and 3 C-suite hires over 6 months
- Managed CEO and Executive Leadership Team (ELT) KPI tracking and reporting, and currently working with Bain consulting team to develop foundational ELT purpose, charter and dashboard
The Nature Conservancy
Director of Donor Engagement
Dec 2016 - Dec 2018
The Nature Conservancy is a global environmental nonprofit working to create a world where people and nature can thrive. We're proud of what we've accomplished since our founding in 1951: The Nature Conservancy has protected more than 117 million acres of land and 5,000 miles of rivers worldwide — and we operate more than 100 marine conservation projects globally. Learn more about The Nature Conservancy at https://www.nature.org/aboutus.
- Acted as Project Director, managing 15 individuals part of project team, through implementation of a customer-centric donor engagement program overhaul in 3 key areas: product development, metrics, and systems
- Managed team of 6, executing 300+ trips and events per year with annual operating budget of $1M
- Executed 10+ meetings, trips and events globally for $5M+ capacity donors with up to $500,000 budgets, including a two-week Global Board of Directors field trip to Kenya and Tanzania for 36 people
The Nature Conservancy
Strategic Events Manager
Jun 2015 - Dec 2016
The Nature Conservancy is a global environmental nonprofit working to create a world where people and nature can thrive. We're proud of what we've accomplished since our founding in 1951: The Nature Conservancy has protected more than 117 million acres of land and 5,000 miles of rivers worldwide — and we operate more than 100 marine conservation projects globally. Learn more about The Nature Conservancy at https://www.nature.org/aboutus.
- Executed 40+ high-touch donor events for $5M+ capacity donors, with varying budgets and timelines, ranging in size from 10-150 individuals, including 8 for the President & CEO and 7 for the Global Board of Director
- Designed guidelines on event sustainability as part of project to create events kit for campaign events hosted by donors and internal teams as part of $7 billion fundraising campaign
- Presented at internal conferences on best practices for experiences to facilitate donor engagement
Absolute Travel
Strategic Alliance Manager
Jan 2014 - Jun 2015
A luxury, boutique travel company based in NYC.
- Upgraded affinity travel program, tripling the number of affinity partners and growing program into a robust line of business
- Acted as primary liaison with $100,000+ capacity level donors of prominent NGO partners to drive client conversion
- Acted as the lead project manager on 20+ high-level trips annually to 10+ countries, for up to 80 participants per trip with as many as 4 departures per month, in partnership with multiple international vendors
- Represented the interests of Absolute Travel at a wide range of conferences and events
- Oversaw on-the-ground logistics for high profile clients, including for example: a board trip to LA for 50 Ultra High Net Worth trustees
Send me Talent
Chat with the founders of Go Fractional to learn what problems you could be solving tomorrow.