Director of Operations - Americas

Role Summary 

As Director of Operations at Kainos, you will work closely with the Head of Sector/Region in guiding the strategic development and continuous improvement of short and long-term operational and financial goals for the sector/region. The role will operate in a dynamic, fast-paced, growth environment.    

This successful candidate must be a proven leader of people — someone who can inspire, align, and develop diverse, distributed teams while driving meaningful change in a global, fast-paced environment.  

The role requires a track record of successfully delivering transformation initiatives, especially those that simplify processes, modernize systems, and strengthen operational alignment across teams and geographies. 

You will be accountable for the successful delivery of all operational processes and enable your team to operationally direct one or more client groups within the sector/region. You will establish and monitor all sector/region budget(s) in line with the growth and needs of the wider BU, working with the sector/region management and leadership team(s) to ensure commercial targets are met or exceeded.   

Key Responsibilities  

Strategy 

• Provide Finance and Operational insights for strategic initiatives, including geographical expansion, inorganic growth opportunities, and new product or service investments. 

People Leadership & Team Development  

• Lead a team of regional Operations Leads, setting clear expectations and providing coaching to support development and high performance. 

•  Create development pathways for high-potential operations talent, partnering with HR on talent assessment, career progression, and succession planning. 

• Foster an inclusive environment that values diverse perspectives and promotes belonging across the team. 

Operational Excellence & Governance 

• Oversee annual planning and budgeting for the region/sector, including sales targets, commissions, headcount, expense controls, and alignment with broader commercial objectives. 

• Drive cross-functional coordination with Finance, HR, Legal, Delivery and other teams to translate strategic goals into operational success, while sharing best practices that maximise value across the BU and wider Kainos. 

• Manage sales-to-revenue forecasting and commercial performance, including revenue projections, utilisation metrics, backlog accuracy, and actionable KPIs that support high-quality management information. 

• Strengthen project profitability and governance, ensuring consistent standards across approvals, financial controls, bonuses, benefits, payroll, and operational reporting. 

• Lead workforce planning and recruitment oversight, maintaining robust processes, training materials, and SOPs to ensure operational continuity and effective onboarding for new team members. 

• Partner with Delivery leadership to remove barriers, resolve bottlenecks, and improve delivery margin through efficient operations and strong working-capital controls. 

Systems & Process Transformation 

• Align technology and process improvements across systems, including Workday (HR, PSA, Finance, and Employee Engagement), Adaptive (Budgeting and Planning), MS Dynamics (CRM), Microsoft Fabric, and PowerBI (Operational Reporting). 

• Establish and maintain data accuracy standards, automated reporting, and real-time visibility into business performance. 

• Coordinate with IT and Finance teams on system testing, releases, and workflow automation initiatives. 

• Lead change programs across systems, workforce planning, and process automation, driving standardization and simplification of order-to-cash, approval, and performance management processes. 

• Sponsor major initiatives, including Workday automation, CRM optimization, and modernization of financial forecasting. 

•  Implement governance frameworks and performance metrics to ensure consistent, data-driven decision-making. 

Entity, Legal, and Compliance  

• Assure contracting and entity compliance across the region / sector. 

• Partner with Legal and Finance on commercial models, local contracting requirements, and property management decisions 

• Ensure strong collaboration with Finance, HR and Legal to ensure all people policies are fit for purpose. 

Core Qualifications and Requirements  

• Substantial demonstratable experience in operations, finance, or business management within a global, matrixed organization. 

• Significant experience in a professional services environment, including demonstrable success in a similar role. 

• Strong commercial awareness within a professional services environment with evidence of P&L responsibilities. 

• Advanced financial acumen with expertise in budgeting, forecasting, and operational analytics. 

• Demonstrated experience leading global change initiatives across multiple time zones and business functions. 

• Strong record of building and developing high-performing teams and fostering a culture of accountability and empowerment. 

• Proven ability to translate strategic objectives into operational execution and measurable outcomes. 

• Exceptional stakeholder management and communication skills across executive and regional levels. 

• Hands-on familiarity with Workday, PSA, CRM, Adaptive, PowerBI, and other enterprise systems. 

• A willingness to travel offsite including all Kainos offices as and when required.