Vice President of Operations

About the Organization

Global Outreach International (GOI) is committed to bringing God’s love to every nation in this generation by showing and sharing the Good News. The organization works as a missions family made up of missionaries, home office staff, donors, churches, and board members, all aligned around the same calling. Because the work is global, caring well for the people who do it is treated as an essential part of the mission.

Role Overview

The Vice President of Operations is a servant-leader who champions the operations team and supports missionaries through the full journey of ministry, including launch, field service, and re-entry. The role values strong administrative capability, but even more importantly, it calls for humility, relational strength, trust-building, and genuine care for people. This position is part of the Leadership Team and provides overall direction for operations areas such as strategic planning, human resources, missionary care, missionary kids, and mobilization.

The role is based in GOI’s home office in Tupelo, Mississippi, reports to the Chief Executive Officer, and may involve substantial travel. A deep understanding of missionary life is essential, including firsthand experience with support raising, cross-cultural ministry, and returning to one’s home country after field service. That lived experience is a core requirement for the job.

Key Responsibilities

• Build trust within the operations team by taking time to understand current systems and culture before introducing changes, and by leading with care and respect.
• Support missionaries and staff through difficulties, conflict, setbacks, and growth by offering guidance, empathy, and accountability.
• Coach and develop direct reports and broader team members to strengthen leadership and professional growth.
• Preserve the appropriate boundary between pastoral-style missionary care and performance management so that trust remains intact.
• Represent the needs of remote staff and field missionaries when decisions are made that affect their work and well-being.
• Ensure appropriate accountability for missionaries and their ministries.
• Set long-term direction for the operations function and align departmental goals with GOI’s overall strategy and mission.
• Improve collaboration across departments while respecting the unique roles and pace of each team.
• Review existing systems and procedures regularly, address gaps, and implement changes that strengthen sustainability without weakening GOI’s relational culture.
• Shape the structure of the operations department, including succession planning, and adjust it as needed.
• Create policies and processes for each operations area.
• Review and approve operations budgets and contribute to organization-wide budget planning.
• Oversee compliance related to missionary agreements and memorandums of understanding with partner organizations.
• Lead planning and delivery of Missionary Orientation and Training.
• Stay current on relevant laws and regulations and evaluate how changes affect organizational risk.
• Work with other leadership members on major organizational issues and strategic planning.
• Ensure operations activity follows board-approved policies, bylaws, mission, and organizational goals.
• Coordinate with internal and external partners on governance, community engagement, marketing, and fundraising as needed.
• Set benchmarks, timelines, resources, and accountability measures for strategic objectives.
• Communicate strategic priorities and partner with others to carry them forward through coordinated plans and budgets.

Supervisory Scope

This position directly supervises the following directors:

• Director of Human Resources, responsible for succession planning, talent management, change management, organizational and performance management, training and development, and compensation.
• Director of Mobilization, who leads efforts that support short-term missions, long-term career missionaries, and church partnerships.
• Director of Missionary Care, who oversees systems that support missionaries’ spiritual, emotional, and physical well-being and serves as the contact for crisis or concern situations.
• Director of Third Culture Kid Ministries, who develops support strategies for missionary children and serves as a resource on third culture kid matters for missionaries and churches.

Character and Cultural Fit

GOI is looking for a leader who listens before acting, earns trust before making changes, and provides pastoral leadership alongside operational oversight. The ideal candidate should bring humility, approachability, reliability, a servant-hearted mindset, and clear communication. The person must also be personally committed to GOI’s mission, values, statement of beliefs, and workplace culture, including maintaining fellowship with believers, handling conflict biblically, and integrating faith into daily decisions.

Qualifications

Required:

• Firsthand overseas missionary experience, including practical understanding of support raising, intercultural ministry, and re-entry. This is a foundational qualification for the role.
• Clear alignment with GOI’s mission, core values, statement of beliefs, and organizational culture.
• Substantial background in strategic planning, business operations, and team development within a nonprofit setting.
• Experience working with senior-level stakeholders on shared commitments and organizational goals.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills with the ability to represent the organization to varied internal and external audiences.
• Proven ability to help managers and cross-functional teams reach strategic objectives.
• Meaningful experience in a supervisory or management role.
• An undergraduate degree.

Preferred:

• Graduate-level education.
• Experience in financial management.
• Background in developing and evaluating operational processes.
• Comfort using office technology and software commonly used in nonprofit operations.

What to Expect in the First Six Months

The early focus in this role is relationship-building rather than rapid restructuring. In the first six months, the new Vice President of Operations is expected to build trust across the team, learn existing workflows and culture with curiosity, understand the distinct needs of each department, improve communication across teams, clarify roles where needed, begin shaping a long-range operations vision, and tackle urgent issues in a collaborative way.

Compensation and Benefits

GOI provides a salary range of $90,000 to $110,000 per year. Compensation is set based on regional market conditions, education, and experience. The benefits package includes medical coverage, a retirement plan, and vacation, holiday, and sick leave.

Additional Information

This role is based in Tupelo, Mississippi, and may require considerable travel. The organization places strong emphasis on servant leadership, faith alignment, and care for missionaries and staff across the full span of ministry service.