Chief Operating Officer (COO)

Objective

Own the operational, financial, and executional backbone of the company so that the CEO can focus on vision, growth, and external relationships. The COO ensures the executive team executes against strategy with discipline — through OKRs, accountable leadership, sound financial management, and a well-run operating system — so the company scales predictably and profitably.

KPI

• 100% of departments reviewed monthly against KPIs, OKRs, and Health Indicators, with documented recommendations
• Company profitability / EBITDA margin vs. plan
• Budget variance (actual vs. forecast) held within an agreed threshold
• Hiring bar maintained: consistent pass-rate against defined criteria and low early-tenure attrition on new hires
• Resource allocation (comp and budget) demonstrably tied to priority and merit, validated in periodic audits
• Executives satisfaction and retention across managed industry partnerships
• Adoption and reliability of the company Work OS across teams

Areas of Responsibility

Executive Team Management

• Run regular executive team meetings
• Ensure every department sets OKRs and Health Indicators for department, team, and individual levels
• Hold department C-level executives accountable for quarterly OKR execution
• Analyze KPIs, OKRs, and Health Indicators across all departments monthly and recommend improvements
• Train and develop other executives

Operations Team Management

• Own and maintain the company’s Work AI OS
• Provide leadership and direction to the Operations team

Strategic Planning & Execution

• Conduct strategic research for new internal projects
• Execute and control company strategy
• Partner closely with the CEO on company direction and decisions

Resource Allocation & Oversight

• Ensure compensation and budget allocation follow priority and merit
• Maintain a high, consistent hiring bar aligned with company principles

Financial Management

• Track profitability and perform financial forecasting
• Manage budgeting, including departmental budgets
• Control and optimize income and expenses
• Drive financial planning by analyzing company performance and risk

Partnerships

• Manage relationships with industry partners
• Provide onboarding support to partners

Skills

• Strategic execution & OKR/performance-management systems — able to translate strategy into measurable goals and cadences
• Financial acumen — P&L ownership, budgeting, forecasting, and risk analysis
• Executive leadership & coaching — holding senior peers accountable and developing them
• Operational systems design — building and running a company-wide Work AI OS
• Data-driven decision making — synthesizing KPIs/OKRs/health indicators into clear recommendations
• Cross-functional stakeholder management — aligning departments with competing priorities
• Partnership management — building and sustaining external strategic relationships

Knowledge

• OKR, KPI, and health-indicator frameworks, and how to run them as a company-wide performance management system
• Financial statements, budgeting cycles, and forecasting methods suited to a professional-services /consulting business model
• Company operating-system methodologies and tooling and how to select and run one at scale
• Current state of the AI consulting and enterprise AI adoption market, so operational, hiring, and resourcing decisions track where the business is headed

Experience

• 3+ years as an Associate Partner (or equivalent senior leadership role) at a top-tier strategy consultancy (McKinsey, BCG, or Bain), leading engagements on operating model design, organizational transformation, or performance management
• Prior experience operating (not just advising) inside a fast-growing company — having sat inside the business making the calls, not only recommending them
• Track record improving financial performance and risk visibility at a company-wide level, in a role with direct P&L or budget accountability
• Experience building or scaling a company operating system/management cadence from the ground up in a company of comparable size and growth stage
• Background leading or working with distributed/remote, cross-border teams