During the 2024 election cycle, Switchboard worked with over 2,700 campaigns and organizations from school board to federal races, strengthening Democratic digital fundraising and organizing programs up and down the ballot. In addition to the automated messaging platform that we launched in 2021, through which organizations have sent billions of messages, we’ve continued to build out an integrated suite of tools, including an emailer, forms builder, and fundraising analytics dashboards, with the goal of bringing together multiple outreach channels with powerful analytics in an easy-to-use platform.
We’re looking for a high-trust, high-agency operator to join us as Deputy COO. You’ll work directly with the COO to both handle the daily operational needs of the business and help us build the systems that will support our next phase of growth. We don’t want to just build great products, we also want to be a great organization where people can build their careers. This is a unique opportunity to step into a broad, high-impact role at a growing company, blending execution, ownership, and strategic thinking.
We’re looking for someone with strong operational leadership experience—someone who has managed people or projects across internal functions, set priorities, and driven work forward with autonomy. You don’t need to be a deep specialist in any one area, but you should bring the judgment, communication skills, and ownership mindset to confidently lead business and internal operations. You spot what’s broken, fix it, and build the process so it doesn’t break again. You take ownership, communicate clearly, and get shit done.
What You’ll Do
🏗️ Build for Scale
- Work alongside the COO to think through and implement systems for scale.
- Identify tools, processes, and operational changes that make our work better — then own the rollout.
- Bring structure to chaos — help us move from reactive to proactive in how we operate.
💸 Financial Operations
- Run core financial ops:
- Billing, invoicing, A/R follow-up
- Expense and vendor management
- Bookkeeping coordination and accounting support
- Oversee tax and compliance workflows
👥 People & Internal Operations
- Keep the trains running on time: office management, team event coordination, etc.
- Internal coordination and team support — making sure people have what they need to do their best work.
- Manage operational HR, Compliance, and IT functions.
- Ensure we have a strong performance management process to support professional development of our team members.
🧩 The Catch-All (and the Glue)
- Handle one-off operational problems and help the team get unstuck when new challenges pop up.
- Think critically — we want someone who doesn’t just do the thing, but asks whether it’s the right thing.
- Take loose goals and ideas and turn them into action.
What You Bring
- 10+ years of experience operating in fast-paced, ambiguous environments — ideally in a scaling startup or similar setting — with a strong track record of cross-functional execution, change management, and end-to-end ownership of internal operations from strategy through implementation.
- Strong operational chops — you’ve managed complex projects, kept things from slipping through the cracks, and handled back-office functions before.
- Low-ego, high-ownership — you’re just as comfortable running a vendor call as you are picking up mail.
- Comfortable with ambiguity — a lot of this is new, and we’re figuring it out together. You bring structure and clarity to messiness.
- A strong communicator — alignment is key. We’re hands-off by design, so we want someone who checks in early and often and keeps things moving forward.
Compensation
- $185-207K annual salary and an equity grant depending on experience
- Switchboard covers 100% of health, dental, and vision coverage for employees and 75% for dependents
- Employer-provided long-term disability and life insurance
- 21 days of paid time off plus federal holidays
- Unlimited sick leave
- 12 weeks paid parental leave for parents of any gender, including adoptive parents
- 401(K) match with immediate vesting
Diversity
We believe the best products and companies are built by diverse teams where everyone’s perspectives are heard and respected. We strongly encourage people of color, LGBTQ+, women, and members of other underrepresented groups to apply. Even if you’re not sure if the role is a good fit, please apply! We are committed to providing reasonable accommodations to individuals with disabilities in the hiring process and on the job.
Candidates must be authorized to work in the US. We're unable to sponsor work visas at this time.