Operations & Business Manager

Job Description

Job Description

The Opportunity

This is this company's first dedicated operations leadership role. The Operations & Business Manager will build and lead the operating system that supports the firm, while directing administrative staff to execute routine work. The goal is to create clear processes, decision rules, ownership, controls, and reporting so the business runs reliably, and the technical team can remain focused on client work.

This position is appropriate for someone who has worked across several functions in a small business or professional-services environment and is ready to turn informal practices into durable systems. The role combines hands-on leadership during the transition with ongoing management, delegation, and continuous improvement.

What you will lead

1. Client intake and proposal operations

· Own the process from inbound inquiry through signed agreement, including qualification workflow, scheduling, NDA routing, proposal assembly, follow-up, and CRM hygiene.

· Ensure each opportunity has a documented owner, next action, and due date, and that inactive opportunities reach a defined outcome.

· Coordinate technical scoping and capacity input from engineers, while keeping process ownership and follow-through within operations.

· Maintain approved templates, commercial terms, and escalation rules for nonstandard requests.

2. Project cadence, capacity, and business reporting

· Run the recurring project and resource-planning cadence, including agenda preparation, follow-up, and accountability for agreed actions.

· Oversee project setup, budget tracking, and data quality in Productive.io.

· Produce practical reporting on utilization, available capacity, project budgets, and margins, and identify items requiring management action.

· Help the team maintain the operating rhythm during busy periods rather than allowing planning and follow-up to be displaced by urgent work.

3. Administrative team and business process

· Supervise and prioritize the work of administrative staff, including offshore support engaged through a staffing vendor.

· Separate management work from routine execution, then delegate scheduling, reminders, data entry, document preparation, filing, and standard follow-up wherever appropriate.

· Document decision rules, approval thresholds, exception paths, and standard operating procedures so routine questions do not automatically route to the President.

· Monitor work quality, timeliness, controls, and backup coverage so no critical process depends on one person.

4. Financial operations

· Own the invoicing and receivables process, including timeliness, accuracy, follow-up cadence, escalation triggers, and application of stop-work policy.

· Lead recurring work-in-progress reviews to confirm that billable work is captured and invoiced appropriately.

· Coordinate day-to-day accounting workflows with administrative support, QuickBooks Online, and outsourced financial and accounting advisors.

· Develop reporting that gives the President clear visibility into receivables, cash, work in progress, and operating exceptions.

Additional responsibilities

After the four primary operating areas are stabilized, the role will also coordinate or oversee:

· Payroll workflow, benefits administration, onboarding and offboarding, PTO administration, personnel records, handbook maintenance, workers’ compensation, BWC matters, and required employment registrations.

· A renewal and compliance register covering insurance, registrations, standards-body memberships, software, vendor contracts, and required filings.

· Vendor and IT coordination, office and property administration, and other recurring business obligations.

· Selected executive workflow during onboarding, as described below, followed by delegation of routine support work.

Decision rights and accountability

The Operations & Business Manager will receive written decision rights and escalation boundaries. The intent is to enable sound decisions at the appropriate level rather than route routine matters to the President.

· Approve spending within a defined dollar limit and approved budget categories.

· Apply approved invoicing, delinquency, collections, and stop-work policies without case-by-case approval.

· Use approved agreements and commercial templates, reject unauthorized edits, and approve defined commercial exceptions within a written authority matrix.

· Escalate legal, liability, indemnification, intellectual-property, confidentiality, unusual financial, and other nonstandard risk provisions to the President or outside advisor.

· Direct and supervise administrative staff and assign routine execution work.

· Escalate major personnel decisions, business strategy, unusual commercial risk, and matters outside the documented authority framework.

How responsibilities are divided

· Operations Manager owns the operating system, decisions within delegated authority, controls, metrics, escalation, quality, and accountability.

Required

· Five or more years of progressive experience in operations, business management, practice management, or office management, including meaningful responsibility across multiple functions in a small business or professional-services setting.

· Direct ownership of accounts receivable and collections, including client-facing payment conversations and escalation decisions.

· Hands-on experience with payroll, benefits, onboarding, and core people-administration workflows.

· Demonstrated success creating or improving a process, policy, control, or operating cadence that other people consistently followed.

· Ability to lead through influence, make decisions within defined authority, and respectfully challenge the owner when needed.

· Strong written communication, follow-through, judgment, discretion, and attention to detail.

· Working proficiency with QuickBooks Online and Microsoft 365, or closely comparable systems with the ability to learn quickly.

Compensation and benefits

· Target base salary of $65,000–$75,000, depending on experience, with flexibility for an exceptional candidate whose background matches the full scope of the role.

· Health, dental, and vision coverage, including employer contribution

· Retirement plan and employer match

· PTO and paid holiday policy