Manager of Strategic Operations

Sarah O. Jewelry•Wheat Ridge, CO

22h•$135,000 - $150,000

About The Position

This role is for a proactive, highly accountable operator who can translate a CEO's vision into action. The individual will naturally connect dots across teams and initiatives, anticipate future needs, and take ownership without explicit direction. They will be comfortable owning complex, cross-functional initiatives and special projects from start to finish, bringing structure to ambiguity, driving alignment, and ensuring progress without constant CEO involvement. The role requires balancing strong judgment with decisive execution, surfacing thoughtful recommendations, challenging assumptions, and sharpening the path forward. Once a direction is set, the individual will execute with conviction and keep the organization moving, understanding that final decisions rest with the CEO and their role is to facilitate those decisions and their execution.

Requirements

5–8+ years of experience in operations, management consulting, corporate strategy, or project leadership, ideally within retail, jewelry, or luxury.
A strong cross-functional operator who can align diverse stakeholders, manage competing priorities, and keep initiatives moving.
Exceptional communication skills with the judgment to know when to lead independently and when to involve senior leadership.
A strategic thinker who can translate ideas into clear plans, timelines, and action.
Comfortable in a founder-led or owner-operated environment where you’re expected to move with urgency and operate without a large support structure.
Working knowledge of HR and finance, with the ability to coordinate effectively across both functions.

Nice To Haves

Experience in a Chief of Staff, Head of Operations, consulting, or similarly high-ownership role is a plus.

Responsibilities

Own and drive cross-functional initiatives from start to finish - scoping, planning, and execution across departments.
Proactively identify operational gaps and opportunities and bring forward recommendations for review.
Manage multiple concurrent priorities and maintain progress without ongoing direction.
Act as the accountable owner for initiatives that don't sit within a single department.
Analyze company and customer data to surface insights that inform executive decision-making.
Develop, implement, and maintain SOPs across the organization.
Lead initiatives spanning culture, finance, operations, technology, communications, industry research, data insights, and retail expansion.
Build strong working relationships with the Founder, CEO, Directors, and fractional leaders to maintain alignment and trust.
Coordinate across departments to manage dependencies and keep initiatives moving without routing through the CEO.
Hold stakeholders accountable for commitments and deadlines, addressing slippage directly and constructively.
Anticipate blockers, risks, and misalignments before they affect timelines or outcomes.
Prepare briefing materials and recommendations to support executive decision-making.
Coordinate executive priorities, scheduling, and follow-through on key initiatives.
Track decisions and action items and monitor progress through completion.
Assess, prioritize, and escalate matters requiring executive attention.
Coordinate leadership team meetings - agendas, materials, notes, and follow-up actions.
Own the annual operating calendar.
Maintain and communicate the status of key organizational initiatives and priorities.
Support recurring planning, review, and accountability meetings across the organization.
Identify organizational trends, risks, and opportunities and communicate them to leadership.
Support the CEO with hiring and onboarding, and on operational initiatives such as deck creation, research, and quarterly and annual strategy sessions.
Identify opportunities to leverage technology and AI to streamline company operations.