Senior Strategy & Operations Lead, US Tax Operations

Rippling•San Francisco, CA

3d•$81,840 - $122,760•Onsite

About The Position

US Tax Operations is responsible for resolving tax notices that clients receive from the IRS and state agencies, as well as managing the filings, payments, and amendments work that helps prevent those notices. The organization includes notice-resolution specialists, managers, and pillar leads across notices, filings, payments, and amendments. As the organization has grown, the leadership team has outgrown its current operating structure. This newly created role will build and own the operating cadence, reporting, accountability mechanisms, and planning processes that help US Tax Operations operate effectively at scale. Today, coordination, reporting, and follow-through often sit with pillar leads and managers who are also responsible for day-to-day execution. In this role, you will take ownership of those operating responsibilities so leaders can focus on running and scaling their teams. You’ll establish reliable executive reporting, drive accountability for commitments, partner with pillar leads on capacity planning, and lead cross-functional initiatives that improve how the organization runs. This role requires someone who can bring structure to ambiguity, operate independently, and move work forward without needing deep tax or payroll subject-matter expertise. Over time, this role is expected to help build a dedicated operations function for US Tax Operations, with a path to managing a small team as the function matures.

Requirements

Experience in management consulting, strategy and business operations, program management, or a similar role in a fast-paced, high-growth environment.
Demonstrated ability to take ambiguous problems or loosely defined mandates and turn them into structured plans, processes, and measurable outcomes.
Strong project and program management skills, including the ability to coordinate multiple stakeholders, manage competing priorities, and drive initiatives through completion.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to translate complex or ambiguous priorities into clear plans, actionable updates, and executive-ready reporting.
Strong organizational skills and attention to detail, with the ability to maintain accurate tracking of goals, commitments, decisions, and progress.
Ability to operate independently with significant autonomy and influence stakeholders without formal authority.
Sound judgment, a results-oriented mindset, and the ability to identify when work is off track, understand why, and drive corrective action.
Experience building operating cadences, business reporting, accountability mechanisms, or planning processes for a growing organization.
Experience with capacity planning, workforce planning, or translating workload forecasts into hiring plans.
Experience partnering with senior leaders and cross-functional teams to drive operational improvements.

Nice To Haves

Experience with Jira or a similar project and initiative-tracking system is a plus.
People management experience, or a strong interest in developing as a people leader, is a plus.

Responsibilities

Own the operating cadence: Establish and maintain the planning, review, and follow-through processes that keep US Tax Operations leadership aligned on priorities, progress, and risks.
Build executive-ready reporting: Develop and maintain clear reporting that gives leadership an accurate, current view of progress against annual operating plan goals, including risks, delays, and root causes.
Drive accountability: Track action items, decisions, and commitments from recurring leadership forums, ensuring clear ownership and timely follow-through.
Lead capacity planning: Partner with pillar leads to translate projected workload and growth into hiring plans, including planning for extended international hiring lead times.
Solve ambiguous operating problems: Identify operational gaps, create structured solutions, and drive cross-functional initiatives through completion with minimal oversight.
Build a scalable operating function: Help define and integrate new specialist roles, including a Systems Lead and Quality & Enablement Lead, and establish the management structure needed as the function grows.
Measure success and operating discipline: Ensure initiatives are tracked accurately, commitments are completed, and risks are surfaced early with clear explanations and corrective actions.