Strategy & Operations Manager, Communications

OpenAI•San Francisco, CA

3d•$216,000 - $240,000•Hybrid

About The Position

OpenAI’s Communications team is responsible for helping people understand our mission, technology, and impact. The team works across the company to communicate clearly and thoughtfully with a wide range of audiences in a rapidly evolving environment. Within Communications, the Strategy & Systems team is building a new model for how communications organizations operate—combining strong strategic judgment, effective operating systems, and the growing capabilities of AI. We design the frameworks, tools, and ways of working that help the broader team focus on its highest-impact priorities and execute them effectively. We are looking for a Strategy & Operations Manager to help make this operating model real. You will translate priorities into action, lead high-impact initiatives from idea through implementation, and design better ways for the Communications team to work. You will take ownership of complex projects that require clear thinking, strong follow-through, and a willingness to challenge how work has traditionally been done. You will partner with senior leaders, technical builders, and cross-functional teams to bring structure to ambiguous problems, strengthen execution, and apply AI in practical ways that improve how the organization operates. This role is based in San Francisco, CA. We use a hybrid work model of three days in the office per week and offer relocation assistance to new employees.

Requirements

Have 10+ years of professional experience, including significant experience in strategy and operations, business operations, program leadership, or a related field.
Have a track record of working closely with senior leaders to drive complex, cross-functional initiatives.
Have led initiatives from an early idea or loosely defined problem through execution and measurable results.
Are energized by the opportunity to rethink how teams work with AI and have experience introducing AI tools, building AI-enabled workflows, or helping an organization adopt new ways of working.
Bring strong strategic judgment and can distinguish high-impact work from activity that creates motion without meaningful progress.
Can translate an ambiguous challenge into a clear plan, align the right stakeholders, and sustain momentum as priorities evolve.
Bring strong analytical skills and experience using data to inform decisions, measure outcomes, and improve organizational effectiveness.
Can partner effectively with technical builders and have experience using agentic, automation, or no-code tools.
Communicate clearly, build trust across functions, and exercise good judgment about when to push for a decision, simplify a process, or pursue a different approach.
Are highly organized and capable of managing multiple complex initiatives without losing sight of strategic context or execution details.
Care deeply about the work of communications and are excited to help build a team that operates at the pace and ambition of OpenAI.

Responsibilities

Lead strategic initiatives and special projects across Communications, turning ambiguous opportunities into clearly defined problems, aligned plans, and successful implementation.
Help shape how the team sets priorities, makes decisions, and follows through on its most important work—including launches, campaigns, reactive moments, and longer-term initiatives.
Design an AI-forward approach to project and program management, building systems that maintain momentum, surface risks early, and make ownership and dependencies clear.
Build operating rhythms, planning frameworks, and shared processes that create clarity without adding unnecessary meetings, manual tracking, or layers of coordination.
Translate emerging AI capabilities into practical workflows that reduce repetitive work, strengthen coordination, and allow team members to focus on work that most benefits from human judgment.
Drive the adoption of new tools and ways of working across the Communications organization, partnering with systems builders and team leads to understand user needs and continually improve the experience.
Work closely with senior leaders to translate strategic priorities into clear plans, decisions, milestones, and measurable outcomes.
Build strong partnerships across Communications, Marketing, Global Affairs, Product, and other teams to connect work across organizations and resolve gaps in ownership or execution.
Use data and qualitative insights to evaluate effectiveness, measure impact, and identify opportunities to improve how the team operates.
Help create a culture of clear ownership, thoughtful experimentation, continuous improvement, and high-quality execution.