Chief Operating Officer (COO)

Company Overview

Not specified

Job Summary

Chief Operating Officer (COO)

About the Role

The Chief Operating Officer (COO) will be responsible for owning and scaling the organisation’s operational engine. This is a hands-on, operations-first leadership role requiring deep expertise in automation, compliance, risk management, operational controls, and large-scale execution.

The COO will work closely with the CEO and executive leadership team to build scalable, technology-driven operating models that support rapid growth, operational excellence, customer outcomes, and financial performance.

The role provides an opportunity to expand beyond functional leadership into broader business and P&L ownership, based on performance and business readiness.

Responsibilities

• Operational Leadership: Develop and execute strategies, systems, processes, and performance metrics across operational functions to support business growth.
• Build Scalable Models: Design scalable operating models to support increasing customers, products, transactions, and revenue.
• Operational Excellence: Establish SLAs, operating metrics, quality standards, controls, and governance mechanisms.
• Process Optimisation: Improve productivity, cost efficiency, turnaround times, accuracy, operational reliability, and customer outcomes.
• Banking, Payments & Credit Operations: Oversee transaction processing, settlements, reconciliations, payment issues, disputes, chargebacks, credit servicing, repayments, and collections.
• Compliance & Risk Management: Oversee KYC, customer verification, transaction monitoring, fraud operations, complaints, and regulatory controls.
• Automation & Process Excellence: Drive AI-enabled automation, workflow optimisation, and technology-led process improvements in partnership with Product, Engineering, and Data teams.
• Hyper-Growth & Forward Planning: Translate business and product objectives into actionable operational plans and build readiness for new products, customer segments, and partnerships.
• Customer & Commercial Outcomes: Drive improvements in customer satisfaction, retention, service quality, resolution times, product reliability, and cost-to-serve.
• Leadership: Lead and develop VPs, Directors, and Senior Managers while building a high-performance culture centred on ownership, data, speed, customer outcomes, and continuous improvement.

Qualifications

• 18+ years of overall experience, including significant senior operational leadership experience.
• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Finance, Engineering, or a related field; MBA from a Tier 1 business school preferred.
• Proven leadership experience in hyper-growth FinTech, digital-first financial services, or consumer technology.
• Strong career progression across Core Operations, Business Operations, Banking Operations, Payments, Credit, Compliance, Risk, Process Excellence, or Automation.
• Demonstrated success in scaling large, complex, technology-enabled operations.
• Strong understanding of automation, AI-led operations, compliance, KYC, fraud, risk controls, and process improvement.
• Experience managing multiple functions and leading senior leadership teams.
• Strong understanding of operational budgets, unit economics, cost-to-serve, and customer outcomes.
• Experience within an international financial-services ecosystem is strongly preferred.

Preferred Skills

• Deep expertise in automation, AI-enabled operations, and operational risk & compliance.
• Strong stakeholder management and cross-functional collaboration skills.
• Strategic and data-driven approach to decision-making.
• Ability to operate effectively in a fast-paced, high-accountability environment.
• Experience building and leading high-performance teams.
• Familiarity with financial-services partnerships, banking relationships, payments ecosystems, and regulated operations.

Experience

• 18+ years of relevant experience, including senior leadership roles across Operations, FinTech, financial services, or consumer technology.
• Experience scaling complex, regulated, and technology-enabled operations at scale.
• Prior experience influencing or owning a business P&L is advantageous.
• Founders, former founders, and professionals from top-tier consulting backgrounds with strong subsequent operating leadership experience may also be considered.

Operating Environment

• Fast-paced, high-growth and technology-led environment.
• Strong emphasis on cross-functional collaboration, ownership, and execution.
• The role will involve managing senior internal stakeholders as well as external partners across the financial-services ecosystem.
• The ideal leader should be comfortable operating with high accountability, speed, and data-driven decision-making.