Business Operations Manager

Company Description

Guardant Health is a leading precision oncology company focused on guarding wellness and giving every person more time free from cancer. Founded in 2012, Guardant® is transforming patient care and accelerating new cancer therapies by providing critical insights into what drives disease through its advanced blood and tissue tests, real-world data and AI analytics. Guardant tests help improve outcomes across all stages of care, including screening to find cancer early, monitoring for recurrence in early-stage cancer, and treatment selection for patients with advanced cancer. For more information, visit guardanthealth.com and follow the company on LinkedIn, X (Twitter) and Facebook.

The Manager, Business Operations is a trusted operational partner to Client Services Executive team. You will turn business priorities into coordinated plans, lead cross-functional initiatives, and provide executive support that keeps leaders focused on the business. You will bring structure, accountability, and consistency to operations across teams. Working with limited supervision, you will own assigned programs and operational processes within approved priorities, budgets, and delegated authority. You will weigh competing demands, resolve issues, recommend solutions, and elevate decisions that need leadership approval. Success requires sound judgment, discretion, strong follow-through, and the ability to balance program ownership with hands-on executive support.

What You’ll Do

Business Planning and Program Execution

• Partner with Client Services leadership on organizational and operational planning, translating approved priorities into work plans with clear deliverables, timelines, owners, and success measures.
• Lead cross-functional initiatives on behalf of executive leadership, managing scope, schedules, approved budgets, dependencies, and risks, and driving accountability for commitments. Escalate material changes to scope, resources, or commitments for leadership approval.
• Work with the Workforce Planning Manager to coordinate monthly headcount adjustments, consolidate inputs, track leadership decisions, and support implementation of approved staffing changes. The Workforce Planning Manager owns workforce analysis, staffing forecasts, and recommendations; Client Services leadership approves staffing decisions through established organizational processes.
• Run the recurring Client Services business review process, including scheduling, contributor deadlines, consolidation of performance data and presentation materials, and follow-up on decisions and action items. Functional owners remain accountable for the accuracy and completeness of their submissions.
• Align priorities and coordinate execution with Sales, Marketing, the Client Services Center of Excellence, and other stakeholders.
• Coordinate business process outsourcing (BPO) logistics in support of decisions made by senior leaders and designated functional owners.

Executive Partnership and Communications

• Anticipate executive needs and tailor support to leadership priorities, communication styles, and decision-making preferences.
• Assess incoming requests and issues, then resolve, route, defer, or elevate them within delegated authority and company policy.
• Prepare and coordinate executive presentations, briefings, business review materials, and sensitive internal and external correspondence, obtaining appropriate review and approval before distribution.
• Facilitate cross-departmental communication so stakeholders understand decisions, commitments, and next steps.
• Identify commitments, operational risks, and unresolved matters that need leadership attention, and recommend action.

Financial and Administrative Operations

• Support development and management of the Client Services operating budget with leadership and Finance, including tracking expenditures, identifying variances, and coordinating follow-up. Budget ownership and spending authorization remain with designated business leaders and authorized approvers.
• Coordinate vendor engagement, contract review and approval workflows, purchase orders, and invoice processing in line with procurement policies. Contract execution and purchasing approvals remain with authorized signatories and approvers.
• Manage executive expense reporting and corporate card purchases within established authorization limits, maintaining accurate records and policy compliance.
• Track budgets and spending for assigned projects, meetings, recognition programs, and team activities; flag anticipated overruns and obtain approval before commitments exceed approved budgets.

Executive Scheduling, Meetings, and Travel

• Manage complex calendars for the VP and, as needed, the SVP, prioritizing meetings, preparation time, and travel within agreed executive preferences and leadership direction. Escalate competing executive priorities that require leadership resolution.
• Coordinate leadership meetings, offsites, and team-building activities, including agendas, materials, logistics, and action tracking.
• Arrange domestic and international travel within company policy and approved budgets, prepare itineraries and meeting context, account for time zones, and manage schedule changes.
• Maintain the Client Services team calendar and communicate key deadlines, events, and milestones.

Team Programs and Enablement

• Manage administration of the Client Services awards and recognition program with the Workforce Planning Manager and leadership, including nomination workflows, selection logistics, approved budgets, award fulfillment, and recipient communications. Client Services leadership approves selection criteria, recipients, and spending.
• Coordinate team swag and branded merchandise, including item selection, vendor ordering, budget tracking, and distribution within approved budgets and brand guidelines.
• Standardize and coordinate Client Services onboarding processes, materials, and introductions with hiring managers and stakeholders. Hiring managers and functional owners remain accountable for role-specific training and readiness.
• Maintain working knowledge of Guardant Health products and services to support team priorities and communicate effectively.

Process Improvement and Operational Visibility

• Develop and maintain documentation, project trackers, and operational tools that improve efficiency, visibility, and accountability across teams and geographies.
• Work with the Workforce Planning Manager and stakeholders to monitor and report key operational metrics, identify risks and opportunities, and prepare recommendations for leadership. Functional owners remain accountable for source data and decisions within their areas.
• Recommend and implement approved process improvements, establish clear ownership, and assess whether changes deliver their intended results. Obtain appropriate approval for changes affecting functional policies, staffing, budgets, or strategic direction.
• Perform other related duties consistent with the role.

What You’ll Bring Required

• Bachelor’s degree and 8+ years of progressively responsible experience in business operations, program or project management, executive support, chief of staff, or comparable roles.
• Demonstrated success owning complex programs and cross-functional initiatives, coordinating multiple stakeholders, and driving results through influence in a matrixed organization.
• Experience directly supporting senior executives, including complex calendar management, meeting preparation, travel coordination, and confidential communications.
• Strong business judgment and analytical skills, with the ability to assess sensitive or ambiguous matters, recommend practical solutions, and work with limited supervision.
• Experience supporting operating budgets and managing vendor relationships, contract coordination, purchasing, and expense processes.
• Excellent written, verbal, and interpersonal communication skills, including preparing clear executive communications and presentation materials.
• Professionalism, discretion, and sound handling of confidential information.
• Strong organizational and project management skills, with the ability to balance ongoing executive support with cross-functional project commitments.
• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Outlook, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, plus experience with collaboration platforms such as Zoom and Teams and project-tracking tools such as Smartsheet.

Work Environment

This position is based in Guardant Health’s Palo Alto office. [Hybrid] Travel to Guardant offices, offsite meetings, and team-building events is required.

AI & Digital Fluency

Demonstrate curiosity, sound judgment, and the ability to critically evaluate and responsibly leverage AI-enabled tools in accordance with company policies, ethical standards, and regulatory requirements to improve the efficiency, effectiveness, and quality of work.

Hybrid Work Model

This section is applicable to onsite employees who are eligible for hybrid work location as specified by management and related policies. Guardant has defined days for in-person/onsite collaboration and work-from-home days for individual-focused time. All U.S. employees who live within 50 miles of a Guardant facility will be required to be onsite on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays. We have found aligning our scheduled in-office days allows our teams to do the best work and creates the focused thinking time our innovative work requires. At Guardant, our work model has created flexibility for better work-life balance while keeping teams connected to advance our science for our patients.

Annualized Base Salary Ranges

The annualized base salary ranges for the primary location and any additional locations are listed below. This range does not include benefits or, if applicable, bonus, commission, or equity. Each candidate’s compensation offer will be based on multiple factors including, but not limited to, geography, experience, education, job-related skills, job duties, and business need. Primary Location: Palo Alto, CA Primary Location Base Pay Range: $139,300 - $191,550 Other US Location(s) Base Pay Range: $118,405 - $162,818 If the role is performed in Colorado, the pay range for this job is: $125,370 - $172,395.

Employee may be required to lift routine office supplies and use office equipment. Majority of the work is performed in a desk/office environment; however, there may be exposure to high noise levels, fumes, and biohazard material in the laboratory environment. Ability to sit for extended periods of time.

Guardant Health is committed to providing reasonable accommodations in our hiring processes for candidates with disabilities, long-term conditions, mental health conditions, or sincerely held religious beliefs. If you need support, please reach out to View email address on click.appcast.io

A background screening including criminal history is required for this role. GH will consider qualified applicants with criminal arrest or conviction histories in a manner consistent with applicable law including but not limited to the LA County Fair Chance Policies and the Fair Chance Act (Gov. Code Section 12952).

Guardant Health is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, or protected veteran status and will not be discriminated against on the basis of disability.

All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.

If you like wild growth and working with happy, enthusiastic over-achievers, you'll enjoy your career with us! Our Work Experience is the combination of everything that’s unique about us: our culture, our core values, our company meetings, our commitment to sustainability, our recognition programs, but most importantly, it’s our people. Our employees are self-disciplined, hard working, curious, trustworthy, humble, and truthful. They make choices according to what is best for the team, they live for opportunities to collaborate and make a difference, and they make us the #1 Top Workplace in the area.

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