Chief Operating Officer

Aardvark Studios•Conshohocken, PA

3d•Onsite

About The Position

Aardvark Studios is an independent experiential marketing company seeking an exceptional Chief Operating Officer to lead the next stage of its growth. The COO will be responsible for all post-sale operations, including program management, production, fabrication, tour operations, field execution, facilities management, information technology, and operational systems. This role involves working directly with the founder and leadership team, having meaningful authority to make decisions, develop people, improve systems, and drive results. The goal is to scale the company without sacrificing its creativity, speed, energy, and customer focus.

Requirements

Significant senior operating leadership experience as a COO, division president, general manager, or comparable operating executive.
Experience leading approximately 25 to 50 or more employees across multiple departments or operating functions.
Experience managing a business unit with approximately $20 million to $50 million or more in revenue.
Demonstrated history of building teams, developing leaders, and implementing operating systems.
Strong knowledge of job costing, labor management, and project profitability.
Experience overseeing complex, deadline-driven, project-based work.
A record of measurable operational and financial improvement.
Experience partnering directly with a founder, entrepreneur, or highly visionary leader.
Ability to clearly explain what you inherited, what you changed, and what results you produced.
Willingness and ability to roll up your sleeves and get into the work; a hands-on leader.
Proven leadership characteristics: decisive, people-focused, systems-minded, financially literate, detail-oriented, direct and respectful, resourceful, and ambitious.
Capability and ambition to potentially run the company one day.

Nice To Haves

Direct experience in the experiential marketing world.
Understanding of complex, project-based work involving job costing, labor planning and productivity, production schedules, quality and attention to detail, capacity and resource planning, demanding clients, multiple projects moving simultaneously, deadlines that do not move, and execution in both controlled and unpredictable environments.
Relevant backgrounds may include experiential marketing, live events, touring, theme parks, commercial or specialty construction, custom manufacturing, fabrication, or other complex project-based industries.

Responsibilities

Lead program management, production and fabrication, tour operations, field execution, facilities management, information technology, and operational systems, processes and accountability.
Work directly with the founder and leadership team.
Make decisions, develop people, improve systems, restructure departments and drive results.
Build a stronger team by developing existing leaders, recruiting talent, and establishing clear ownership.
Create a team that solves problems, makes decisions, and delivers results without unnecessary dependence on the founder or COO.
Put the right people in the right seats by evaluating the organization, clarifying roles, responsibilities, and expectations, and making necessary personnel decisions.
Unify production and tour operations into one coordinated organization, improving communication, handoffs, resource planning, and accountability.
Implement or strengthen a proven operating framework (e.g., EOS, Lean) to establish clear priorities, useful meetings, visible commitments, fast issue resolution, and consistent follow-through.
Build useful scoreboards and dashboards to provide timely information for decision-making, including labor performance, job profitability, project status, capacity, quality, deadlines, and operational risks.
Improve project execution and profitability by strengthening estimating, project planning, labor management, purchasing, scheduling, job costing, change management, and project closeout.
Ensure teams understand both the creative objective and financial expectations of every project.
Raise the standard of quality, protecting and improving attention to detail in finished experiences, build quality, vehicle condition, facility cleanliness, and team professionalism.
Build an organization that lasts by creating systems, leaders, and habits that remain strong without depending on one person.