Chief Operating Officer

Job description

Attain Talent is seeking a Chief Operating Officer with executive responsibility for defining, refining, and overseeing critical global financial and operational processes. These include order-to-cash, procure-to-pay, customer and program profitability tracking, capacity forecasting, sales & operations planning (S&OP), customer acquisition tracking, and KPI development and reporting. In this role, The COO will lead all post-sales execution functions—including delivery, professional services, client success, support, and implementation—while establishing the financial and governance frameworks necessary to improve cash flow, EBITDA, and client retention. The COO will drive operational scalability and enterprise maturity by enhancing and expanding process infrastructure, implementing best-of-breed software solutions, and aligning decision-making with real-time data and KPIs. The COO will have full decision-making authority over all post-sales operations including Project Delivery, R&D/Product, and Finance. The COO will also have full approval of Contracting/SOWs and Pre-sales approval of costing/pricing of effort to deliver the contracted scope to the customer. The COO will also be responsible for creating and maintaining customer trust, executing services contracts, and enabling scalable revenue growth through disciplined execution and margin management, while building a next-generation SaaS operating model. **Key Responsibilities Include** **a) Operational Leadership and Delivery Execution** - Serve as executive leader for all post-sales operations including professional services, client delivery, support, and implementation. - Create and lead a standardized execution framework: project dashboards, time tracking, milestone reviews, estimation models, and delivery KPIs. - Act as escalation point for critical accounts; personally intervene to stabilize at-risk contracts and establish customer trust. - Establish and lead a formal Opportunity Review Board (ORB) to approve margin integrity, project timelines, and resource alignment pre-sale. - Institute standardized governance frameworks and implementation of control mechanisms (e.g., delegation of authority matrix). - Lead internal resource planning and workforce optimization across U.S. and international teams. - Build and lead the internal project management, implementation, and support functions, ensuring high retention and staff performance. **b) Margin & Financial Discipline** - Develop and track KPIs to measure customer profitability, services margins, cash conversion, and project-level health. - Lead project level cash flow modeling using ETCs and POS modeling; track and forecast margin leakage and reallocate resources accordingly. - Implement SaaS vs. Services margin tracking and align accounting methods with GAAP guidelines for cost capitalization. - Develop and negotiate change orders or deliverable structures to improve cash timing and reduce revenue risk. - Develop and implement contract margin enhancement strategies across the portfolio.2 - Define and optimize company-wide processes including order-to-cash, procure-to-pay, and S&OP; ensure alignment with finance and delivery systems. - Oversee subcontractor and partner management; introduce rigorous vendor/subcontractor financial risk assessment and propose offshoring restructuring where applicable. - Develop and track KPIs to measure customer profitability, services margins, cash conversion, and project-level health. **c) Technology, Tools, and Platform Infrastructure** - Assess existing tools and technology and, where needed, recommend and implement scalable third-party platforms (e.g., time tracking, CRM, FP&A tools, ERP modules) to improve automation, reporting, and governance. - Develop business cases for technology investments to support growth from $25M to $100M+ in revenue. - Optimize data architecture and integration layers in collaboration with cross-functional teams; lead tooling transformation initiatives aligned with board and CEO directives **d) Team Development & Cultural Leadership** - Manage “no-good-news” manager check-ins to surface hidden risks and create an action-oriented performance culture. - Drive 360 talent reviews across teams (PM, TM, SMEs, etc.), identifying leadership, overutilized or underutilized resources, and skill gaps. - Introduce internal AI strategy to automate low-value manual tasks and improve operational scalability. - Work closely with U.S. and India-based teams to ensure operational continuity, team development, and cultural alignment. - Foster an inclusive, high-performance environment through authentic leadership that promotes accountability, transparency, and collaboration. **e) Product & Cross-Functional Alignment** - Conduct deep product-performance and roadmap reviews to assess reusability, ROI by module, and alignment to delivery. - Ensure SaaS product development processes (SAFE/agile) are institutionalized with clear acceptance criteria and training cadence. - Lead cross-functionally with Sales and Product to align pre-sales messaging with delivery capacity. - Establish strong cross-functional ties with sales, product, finance, and HR to ensure unified execution and sustainable growth. **f) Process Innovation** - Lead a portfolio of business transformation projects, including scoping, execution, and continuous evaluation. - Define and implement new processes to meet evolving strategic needs as defined by The COO, Board, and operational leadership. - Promote process governance through a recurring Opportunity Review Board (ORB) and a continuous improvement culture. **g) CEO and Board Collaboration** - Act as a trusted execution partner to The COO, balancing founder alignment with independent operational credibility. - Collaborate closely with the board and CEO to execute vision and goals. - Serve as the primary executive liaison to the board for operational matters, reporting on cash flow, delivery performance, ARR growth, and potential structural changes. - Support strategic initiatives such as M&A integration, restructuring, and major contract pivots. **Reporting, Scope and Access** - **Board Access:** The COO will participate in all relevant board meetings concerning operational performance, financial forecasting, and client delivery. The COO will provide a recurring operational scorecard that tracks execution KPIs, margin progress, and client success metrics. - **Functional Authority:** The COO will have full decision-making authority over all post-sales operations including Project Delivery, R&D/Product, and Finance. The COO will also have full approval of Contracting/SOWs and Pre-sales approval of costing/pricing of effort to deliver the contracted scope to the customer. This includes the ability to redesign delivery functions, oversee subcontractors, restructure cost models, implement new tools, and make any organizational changes necessary to meet operational and financial targets. The COO will also have the authority to select, structure, and manage the leadership team within his purview. - **Company Access & Support:** The COO will be granted full access to delivery teams, project financials, subcontractor agreements, operational systems, and related documentation necessary to fulfill responsibilities. The company will provide all required administrative, technical, financial, and operational support to enable the execution of the COO’s duties. - **CEO Partnership:** The COO will maintain a direct and collaborative relationship with the CEO. The COO is expected to act as a strategic advisor while maintaining clear execution ownership across delivery, operations, and internal cross-functional alignment. **Additional Information** Salary range is $250,000-$290,000 with bonus and equity incentives. Our client offers a comprehensive benefits package designed to support employees’ health, financial well‑being, and time away from work. Benefits for eligible employees include medical, dental, and vision coverage with employer cost‑sharing; company‑paid life and disability insurance; a 401(k) plan with a 3% safe harbor employer contribution that is fully vested; generous paid time off that increases with tenure; and paid company holidays. Attain Talent is committed to fair and equitable compensation practices. The individual base salary for this position is unique to each candidate and will be commensurate with experience, education, and skills. *Interested in this position but the compensation isn’t quite right? Let us know your expectations, and we’ll see if we can make it happen based on your qualifications.* Salary Range $250,000—$290,000 USD **Attain Talent is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to sex, race, color, religion, national origin, disability, protected Veteran status, age, or any other characteristic protected by law.** Applicants have rights under Federal Employment Laws. 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