Director of Operations

At Beam, you get to do work that really matters. We’re solving the world’s toughest social problems. And we’re growing fast 🚀

It’s not easy. Nothing worth doing ever is. But we take care of everyone who works here with everything from coaching to personal budgets and pay highly competitively. 

You’ll be joining a company that’s having a huge impact on people’s lives with a culture where you can be yourself, have fun and progress rapidly. 

About the role

This is an unrivalled opportunity to join the leadership team of the UK’s leading tech for good, one of the Hottest 10 Startups in London according to WIRED magazine and on LinkedIn’s Top 15 UK Startups list for 2022.

Reporting directly to Beam’s CEO, Alex Stephany, you’ll play a uniquely impactful role in transforming the lives of thousands - and soon, millions - of the most disadvantaged people in the UK and beyond.

As Director of Operations, you will lead the largest and fastest growing team within the business who deliver our employment service, and will scale our model in the next chapter of our growth.

A proven leader with an exceptional track record scaling teams and operational processes, you’re ready for a role with incomparable legacy.

Please note this role is UK based, and we are unable to sponsor visas at this time

You’ll be

• As only the fourth hire into Beams Senior Leaderships Team, you will play a key role in shaping Beam’s long-term strategy

• Leading and rapidly building our operational team:
  • Significantly scaling the team by working with our Talent and People teams to attract, hire and onboarding some of the best talent out there
  • Maintaining our high-performance and fun culture where your team is happy, focused and deeply motivated to succeed
  • Coaching, developing and role modelling for our talented managers who’ll report to you
  • Building a strong and supportive team culture that’s aligned to our core values

• Scaling our impact by taking our delivery model to the next level
  • Driving continuous improvement through a culture of disciplined experimentation, including by working collaboratively with our Product & Engineering team
  • Staying closely connected to the operational work of your junior team to ensure our model is as safe, human and scalable as possible
  • Taking overall responsibility for departmental KPIs and leading indicators

You are

• Passionate about innovation and social impact and committed to promoting equality of opportunity in the UK and far beyond
• Action-oriented and highly adaptable - you're a natural problem solver able to break down complex problems into simple solutions
• An exceptionally talented people leader with a stellar track record of building and leading empathetic and diverse teams
• Excited by building a world-class team with a high-performance culture that balances social impact with team wellbeing
• A deeply analytical systems-thinker who thrives at the intersection of people and process
• Excited by the prospect of rolling up your sleeves and getting close to the day to day front line deliver

You’ll need

• >5 years leadership experience in a leading Series A (or beyond) VC-backed tech start up
• A proven track record of delivering impact in an operational role: you’ve helped scale a business before and are excited to do it again
• Significant people management experience - you have experience leading teams of at least 20 people - and are unfazed at the challenge of building teams into the hundreds
• Experience creating and scaling operational, end-to-end processes in a complex environment
• Exceptional communication and writing skills - you communicate clearly, concisely and positively

About Beam

We’re a team of over 70 working from our beautiful coworking space in Shoreditch and from home. We’ve picked up an armful of awards for our work (including one from our former Queen!) We’re one of the 10 hottest startups in London, according to WIRED magazine and one of LinkedIn’s Top 15 UK Startups for 2022. We’re also proud to be rated a top company to work for Escape the City, Tempo and The Dots.

We’re committed to hiring diversely and inclusively. You don’t need a degree to work here and we love to hear from ethnic minority candidates and/or those who’ve experienced social disadvantage. 63% of people we support are from ethnic minority backgrounds and 17% have disabilities. We believe we serve these people best when we’re a diverse and inclusive team.

Our benefits

• Salary of £100-150k, highly competitive for seed stage tech for good space
• EMI-qualifying share options
• Annual company retreat
• A laptop – choose between a MacBook Air or PC
• £500 personal development budget
• Monthly counselling budget
• 1:1 workplace coaching with More Happi
  
• Regular team talks from leading UK tech entrepreneurs
• Weekly team lunch in our Shoreditch office
• Hundreds of perks, discounts and freebies from Perkbox
• Free subscription to Calm meditation app
• Discounted bike and accessories with Cyclescheme
• Unlimited holiday (we recommend ~25 days + Bank Holidays per year)
• Hybrid working from our Moorgate office or at home (2 days in the office, 3 from home)
• Your own financial wellbeing coach, through Bippit

Application process

We take hiring seriously. We have a five-stage interview process, giving you plenty of time to learn about Beam while we get to know you.

1. A 25-45 minute video call with Beam's Chief of Staff, Rachel Astall
2. 60-minute scenarios task with Beam’s CEO, Alex
3. Strategic presentation with Beam’s COO Seb Barker and CEO, Alex
4. Working session with a couple of members of the team you'll lead
5. Final culture and values meetings with members of the Beam team

Feeling excited? 

Start your journey to the most rewarding and challenging role of your career. We're excited to hear from you.