Head of Strategy & Operations
About this role
About remove
remove is a non-profit organisation with a mission to enable innovators globally to realize the "net" in net zero. remove has established the premier global startup accelerator programs focused solely on Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) across Europe, India, Sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America. To date, we have supported over 200 startups and cultivated a global CDR community. We also develop CDR ecosystems and engage in strategic projects to close systemic gaps in carbon removal globally. We are a small, remote team that works like a startup: high standards, an agile approach and a lot of ownership per person. Our work is funded by leading climate foundations and philanthropic partners such as The Grantham Foundation for the Protection of the Environment and Stichting DOEN.
About the role
We are looking for a senior professional to lead strategy and operations at remove, managing our talent and running the engine that keeps us moving. You will work very closely with our two co-founders, manage our program managers, and be the person who makes sure the right things get done, well and on time, as we grow our impact in new ways and into new regions at a pivotal stage of our organization.
What you will own
Strategy
Lead strategic thinking, be a sounding board to the co-founders, and the person who "writes the strategy down" and plans for its execution.
Prepare and run strategy days, offsites and team meetups.
Own key strategic documents and shape important external documents.
Planning and Operations
Develop and own our roadmap and workplans. Keep everyone accountable to shared goals and spot early and proactively when plans need to change.
Own our operating rhythm: recurring meetings, brainstorms, 1:1s, team updates, retros and milestone planning.
Develop and improve the processes and documentation the team relies on, including program SOPs and team policies.
People and team
Line-manage our program managers: debottleneck daily operations, set priorities, manage workload, coach the team, manage development plans, etc.
Lead hiring and onboarding for new team members and external support, and plan team capacity as we grow. We are not expecting to grow team members in large numbers; we intend to remain a lean and mighty team.
Look after team health and ways of working in a fully remote, multicultural team.
Fundraising operations
Run the process behind the co-founders’ fundraising efforts.
Maintain and develop core materials such as our decks, concept notes and one-pagers, and draft or coordinate grant applications.
Own impact reporting content and contribute to funder reports.
Strategic projects & programs
Scope & lead strategic initiatives from idea to delivery, alongside recurring work.
Oversee our programs and systems as we expand.
Oversee our entity’s brand and communications.
Who you are
You must have
12+ years of experience, including roles where you ran strategy, operations and/or a PMO for a leadership team. You have done this job before with a laser focus on high standard and timely execution. You don’t let things fall through the cracks.
Experience supporting fundraising or business development, e.g. pipelines, proposals and reporting.
A track record of managing people well, ideally in small remote teams.
Comfort with ambiguity. You can build structure where there is none and adjust it as things change.
Resourcefulness and agency. You see what needs doing and do it without waiting to be asked, including the unglamorous parts. You have an entrepreneurial spirit and drive in conceptualising and executing initiative, with strong organisational and documentation skills.
Excellent communication, writing and synthesis. You can turn a messy conversation into a clear plan, deck or proposal.
Excellent interpersonal skills, with the ability to inspire and persuade diverse groups, in a cross-cultural remote setting.
Ability to work autonomously in a remote workspace, meeting deadlines and managing several work streams simultaneously.
Adaptability, curiosity and eagerness to keep learning in a dynamic environment.
Ability to speak and write in English fluently.
Willingness to travel locally or occasionally regionally/globally, if necessary.
It is a plus if you have
A university degree (MSc. preferred) in a relevant field (e.g. environmental science, engineering, sustainability, business administration)
Experience in and a strong passion for climate action, carbon removal or the wider sustainability field.
Experience with accelerators, startups or entrepreneurship programs.
Experience with foundations or philanthropic funding.
Experience working in or with partners in the Global South.
A coaching or facilitation background.
Practicalities
This role reports to the two co-founders.
Location: remote, in Europe. Preference will be given to those based in Northwestern Europe due to proximity to the co-founders. Occasional travel for team meetups and selected events.
Contract: full time, with start date April 1, 2027. Depending on your location, you may be employed through an employer-of-record provider. You must be able to work in your country of residence. We will not sponsor visas or work permits.
Salary: competitive for non-profit salary bands for small teams in your location.
What we offer
A flexible and remote-first workplace.
An impact-driven role as part of a mission-driven team and organisation working with entrepreneurs globally.
A unique opportunity to experience and shape strategy for a future billion-dollar industry in its early days.
Exposure to a great network and community of CDR innovators and experts.
A learning budget to develop yourself.
Flexible holidays and biannual team off-sites.
How to apply
Submit your CV and a short cover letter (no more than one page) detailing your relevant experience and why you believe you would be the ideal candidate for the role. We will review applications on a rolling basis.
Our process: a 30-minute introductory call with Rawan Gebran (Senior Director @ remove) followed by a take home task that you will present, then an interview with both co-founders, Hans Westerhof & Marian Krueger and a conversation with the team. We aim to make a decision by January 2027 for a start in April 2027. In the final round, we will ask for the contact details of 3 references willing to speak about their experience with you, professionally.
If you’ve built and run the strategic and operating backbone for a small and agile team before and want to do it for the organization helping CDR startups globally get off the ground, we want to hear from you! We're an equal opportunity employer and welcome candidates from all backgrounds to apply.
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