Summary
Our client is a Series A-funded healthtech startup looking for an interim COO to help define and build the company’s Operations function to keep pace with its rapid growth.
The role will be for a duration of around 90 days, with a minimum commitment of three days per week. The interim role could transition into a full-time role at the end of the contract period subject to the company’s needs and the individual’s performance in the interim role.
Key responsibilities
1. Defining the role of the Operations function:
- Based on company strategy and priorities, determine how Operations will support the short-, medium- and long-term needs of the company.
- Identify requirements of the Operations function with respect to potential new business lines.
- Align with other functions within the business on what falls within the remit of Operations.
2. Building an Operations team that can support customers globally:
- Identifying and mitigating potential complexities (e.g. legal and jurisdictional) with regards to Operations as the company scales globally.
- Defining what the Operations team should look like in 18 months’ time in terms of organisational structure, roles and reporting lines.
- Defining hiring processes and standards.
- Writing Operations team job descriptions.
- Determining the correct sequence and pace of hiring.
- Conducting interviews and hiring to fill new roles in the Operations team.
3. Managing customers:
- Identifying the requirements of customers and aligning internal timelines accordingly.
- Identifying the needs of potential pipeline opportunities and expected wins.
4. Deploying routines, rhythms and dashboards:
- Writing Operations process guidelines.
- Managing the OKR process for the Operations function.
- Ensuring that the correct leading and lagging metrics are set as goals and built into dashboards.
Experience required
Essential:
- A minimum of 10 years of professional experience
- A minimum of 5 years of senior operations (COO or VP Operations) experience, preferably in the Healthcare industry
- Success scaling at least one fast-growing organisation
Desirable:
- MBA
- International experience
- STEM degree
Likely personality traits
- Fast mover – capable of setting and driving ambitious agendas forward
- Ambitious – laser focus on quickly achieving global scale
- Multi-tasker – can juggle multiple workstreams successfully
- Highly productive – obsessed with improving how things are run
- Emotional intelligence – can work well with a diverse group of people
- Global citizen – understands how things differ by geography