Head of Operations

Head of Operations (Head of Operational Excellence)

London | Hybrid (up to 3 days per week in the office)

Full-time, Permanent

£75,000-£85,000

About the role

Cloudscaler is growing fast, and we are looking for a senior operational leader to help us scale intelligently.

As Head of Operations, you will be responsible for the full operational backbone of the company including; finance, people/HR operations, compliance and risk, health and safety, governance, and internal business processes. This role owns how the business runs day to day and ensures the right structure, controls, systems, and disciplines are in place to support sustainable growth.

This is a hands-on leadership role. You will both manage and execute across finance, HR, operational processes, compliance, and risk, bringing structure, automation, and clarity to our internal operations. Working closely with our founders and leadership team, you will ensure Cloudscaler scales in a controlled, compliant, efficient, and data-driven way.

This role is ideal for someone who enjoys building and strengthening the foundations of a growing business. You must have demonstrable experience leading and running finance, people/HR, and operational functions within a scaling organisation, ideally in a technology consulting or professional services environment. While you do not need to be a deep technical specialist in every domain, you must bring strong commercial judgment, a holistic understanding of business services functions, and a proven ability to translate strategy into practical, hands-on execution.

This role is responsible for overseeing and delivering all core business services functions. It is intentionally a hands-on “doer” role, combining day-to-day operational management across finance, HR, compliance, risk, and health & safety with longer-term strategic planning and continuous improvement.

What you will be doing

Driving operational strategy

• Translate Cloudscaler’s business goals into clear, measurable operational plans

• Define and track meaningful KPIs across finance, people, and operations

• Provide clear, concise reporting and insights to leadership and the Board

• Use data to spot risks, inefficiencies, and opportunities before they become problems

• Help shape the long-term strategy of the business through operational insight

Process improvement, automation, and technology

• Review how we work today and redesign processes to be leaner, smarter, and more scalable

• Identify opportunities to automate manual or repetitive work across the business. partnering with our Chief AI Officer to explore how AI can improve operational effectiveness

• Ensure key processes are clearly documented and easy for teams to follow

Finance and commercial operations

• Take a holistic view of finance and what matters most for leadership decision making

• Oversee financial processes and reporting, ensuring accuracy, clarity, and scalability

• Drive automation to shorten month-end close and invoicing cycles

• Work with external accountants, auditors, and finance partners

• Use financial and operational data to highlight risks, improve margins, and control costs

People and HR operations

• Oversee HR systems and processes, with a focus on efficiency, compliance, and employee experience

• Partner with the Head of Talent Acquisition to improve recruitment processes and outcomes

• Own and improve joiner, mover, and leaver processes

• Ensure compliance with UK employment law, IR35, and equality regulations

Recruitment and workforce planning

• Work with leadership to forecast hiring needs and priorities

• Lead structured resourcing discussions and workforce planning

• Support the long-term shift towards a higher permanent workforce ratio

Risk, compliance, and quality

• Coordinate audits and compliance activity, working with internal and external experts

• Maintain ISO accreditation and associated management systems

• Ensure compliance with data protection, health and safety, and other regulatory requirements

• Identify operational risks and ensure mitigation plans are documented and owned

What we are looking for

Experience and skills

• Senior operational leadership experience in a fast-growing business, ideally technology or professional services

• Strong understanding of how finance, people, and operations fit together

• Proven experience improving processes and making businesses run more efficiently

• Comfortable using data and technology to inform decisions and drive change

• Strong Excel skills and confidence working with dashboards and reporting

• Experience working with common HR, finance, and collaboration tools

• An interest in automation and AI, with a desire to learn and apply new approaches

• Experience leading teams and managing competing priorities

Personal qualities

• Structured, organised, and proactive

• A strategic thinker who can also get hands-on when needed

• Comfortable with ambiguity and change in a fast-paced environment

• Calm under pressure and pragmatic in approach

• Emotionally intelligent, able to handle sensitive conversations with confidence and fairness

• Curious about new technology and how it can improve the way businesses operate

• Commercially minded and able to connect detail to big-picture outcomes

Why join Cloudscaler

This is a rare opportunity to shape the operational engine of a scaling consultancy with strong technical foundations and ambitious growth plans. You will work closely with our founders, influence company strategy, and have real ownership over how we evolve as we grow towards 200 employees and beyond.

If you enjoy building, improving, and scaling businesses, and want to do that in an environment that values technology, clarity, and impact, we would love to hear from you.

Cloudscaler are proud to be an equal opportunity employer, committed to equal opportunities regardless of gender identity, sexual orientation, race, ancestry, age, marital status, disability, parental status, religion or medical history.

If you require reasonable adjustments during the recruitment process or within the workplace, please let us know when you speak to our Talent Acquisition team or contact [email protected] at the earliest opportunity.