Business Operations & Strategy Lead (Remote, Canada)

Zesty.ai

19h•Remote

About The Position

ZestyAI is transforming how the insurance industry understands and prices risk using advanced AI. We partner with leading insurers to deliver better underwriting, smarter pricing, and improved resilience in the face of climate risk. We are looking for a highly versatile Business Operations & Strategy Lead (IC) to help build and scale critical business operations at ZestyAI. This is a unique opportunity for someone who thrives at the intersection of strategy and execution—and wants to move beyond advising into building and operating critical business systems. You will initially focus on improving and scaling how our customers move from pricing through contracting to customer handoff, partnering closely with Sales, Legal, Finance, and Customer Success. Over time, the role is expected to expand into broader operational and strategic initiatives across the company. At the same time, you will design and implement AI-driven systems and workflows that make business operations faster, smarter, and more scalable. This role is especially well-suited for someone who: Enjoys solving ambiguous, cross-functional problems, Wants to build and scale processes in a high-growth environment (~$25M–$100M ARR), Is excited to apply AI and automation to real business operations, Is motivated by direct ownership of business outcomes.

Requirements

Strong problem-solving and structured thinking skills, with the ability to break down complex, ambiguous business problems and drive to practical solutions
Details matter - you obsess over finished product
Zero defect - we all make mistakes, but you find ways to check your work and sense check output
Ability to operate effectively in a fast-paced, high-growth environment
Strong cross-functional collaboration and stakeholder management skills
High ownership mindset—you are comfortable both designing solutions and executing them yourself
Experience working on operational, revenue, pricing, go-to-market, or business process challenges
Exposure to enterprise customer environments, commercial operations, contracting, or complex transaction structures (direct or indirect)
Understanding of business data structures such as CRM data
Experience building, redesigning, or improving business processes in ambiguous environments, particularly in companies scaling from ~$25M–$100M ARR.
Familiarity with AI tools, automation, or system design thinking (hands-on experience and/or python familiarity is a plus; strong learning mindset is essential)
Experience driving cross-functional initiatives involving multiple stakeholders and competing priorities
You’ve taken ownership of a messy, cross-functional problem and built a scalable solution—not just recommended one
You are excited about AI and agentic workflows and their potential to transform business operations
You are looking to transition from advisory → operator, with direct accountability for outcomes
You enjoy working at the intersection of strategy, operations, systems, and execution

Nice To Haves

Systems integration experience is a plus
Deep experience with quote-to-cash workflows or contracting
Familiarity with CRM, CLM, or related systems
Industry experience in insurance or enterprise SaaS

Responsibilities

Serve as the central coordinator for complex enterprise opportunities from pricing through contract execution and customer handoff
Partner closely with Sales, Legal, Finance, and Customer Success to improve operational efficiency and execution quality across the customer lifecycle
Structure and review commercial terms for pricing integrity, scalability, and operational feasibility
Own and evolve key business workflows including approvals, contracting, pricing governance, exception management, and operational readiness
Identify bottlenecks, process gaps, and scaling risks across go-to-market operations and drive practical solutions
Support operational initiatives tied to customer onboarding, renewals, partner workflows, and cross-functional execution
Design and implement AI-first workflows and systems that reduce manual effort and compress cycle times
Build and deploy agentic solutions (AI agents, copilots, orchestration layers) to support operational decision-making and workflow execution
Use AI to augment business processes including pricing analysis, workflow routing, contract generation, knowledge retrieval, and operational monitoring
Continuously evolve processes toward adaptive, self-improving systems rather than static workflows
Partner cross-functionally to integrate automation into core business operations
Act as a force multiplier by increasing organizational leverage without linear process overhead
Support high-impact operational and strategic initiatives across the business as company needs evolve
Help drive cross-functional initiatives related to: Pricing and monetization strategy, Customer contracting and commercial operations, Operational readiness for new products or workflows, Partner and vendor operational processes, Customer onboarding and lifecycle optimization, Internal knowledge management and workflow standardization, KPI definition and operational reporting, AI enablement across business functions
Help leadership identify opportunities to simplify operations, improve scalability, and increase organizational effectiveness
Contribute to special projects that sit at the intersection of strategy, operations, and execution