COO - Software, IT Security, IT, Banking and Services Ref: Lestyn

Introduction

COO to join leadership team.

Leadership position designed to strengthen execution across the business, create greater accountability within the Business Units, and provide the operational leadership required to support continued growth.

Take significant ownership of the day-to-day operational execution of the business.

Strong software industry experience, commercial business acumen, executive presence, exceptional communication skills and natural leadership ability.

A strong business leader to drive people, priorities, accountability and execution.

Duties & Responsibilities

1. Business Operations & Execution

• Translate the company's strategic objectives into clear operational priorities and actions.

• Ensure all Business Unit Managers understand their priorities, targets, responsibilities and deadlines.

• Drive a culture of urgency, ownership and execution across the organisation.

• Establish clear accountability for agreed actions and business outcomes.

• Monitor progress against priorities and proactively address delays, blockers and underperformance.

• Ensure decisions made at leadership level are translated into action and followed through.

• Provide regular, concise and meaningful operational feedback to the MD and leadership team.

2. Leadership of Business Units

• Provide strong operational leadership to Business Unit Managers and other senior leaders.

• Ensure BU Managers are focused on the activities that have the greatest commercial and strategic impact.

• Challenge leaders where priorities are unclear, execution is slow or accountability is lacking.

• Identify cross-functional issues and ensure they are resolved rather than allowed to escalate.

• Build a high-performance leadership culture based on ownership, transparency and delivery.

• Coach and develop BU leaders to become stronger business managers.

3. Commercial & Business Leadership

• Develop a strong understanding of the commercial performance of each Business Unit.

• Monitor revenue, gross profit, pipeline, sales performance, delivery performance, utilisation and other key business indicators.

• Ensure operational decisions are aligned with the company's financial and commercial objectives.

• Work closely with Sales, Technical, Services, Finance and other functions to optimise business performance.

• Identify opportunities to improve profitability, efficiency, customer retention and growth.

• Challenge assumptions and ensure decisions are supported by sound business reasoning and data.

4. Sales & Software Business Environment

The successful candidate must have a strong understanding of the software sales environment.

Experience should ideally include

• Enterprise software sales

• Software resellers

• Cloud / cybersecurity / IT infrastructure

• Professional or managed services

• Vendor relationships

5. Communication & Reporting

• Create a disciplined operating rhythm across the leadership team.

• Ensure managers provide timely, accurate and meaningful feedback.

• Improve communication between Business Units and executive leadership.

• Provide the MD with a clear view of what is happening across the organisation.

• Escalate significant risks and issues early, together with recommended solutions.

• Ensure leadership meetings result in clear decisions, owners and deadlines.

6. Performance & Accountability

• Establish and monitor meaningful KPIs for Business Units and leadership functions.

• Hold leaders accountable for agreed targets and commitments.

• Address poor performance proactively and constructively.

• Ensure that problems are surfaced early rather than hidden or allowed to continue.

• Create a culture where "I didn't get to it" are not acceptable substitutes for ownership.

7. Organisational Improvement

• Identify inefficiencies, duplication and operational bottlenecks.

• Improve processes and ways of working across the organisation.

• Drive greater collaboration between departments.

• Ensure the organisation is structured and operating effectively as the business evolves.

• Support the MD and leadership team with organisational design and strategic execution.

Desired Experience & Qualification

• A natural leader with strong executive presence.

• Commercially astute with strong business acumen.

• Highly experienced in the software / technology industry.

• Comfortable operating at executive and senior-management level.

• Highly results-oriented and execution-focused.

• Able to create urgency without creating unnecessary conflict.

• An exceptional communicator who can engage with both executives and operational teams.

• Confident challenging senior stakeholders and holding them accountable.

• Decisive and comfortable making difficult decisions.

• Highly organised and able to manage multiple priorities.

• Solutions-oriented rather than focused on finding someone to blame.

• Resilient and able to operate in a fast-paced, changing environment.

• Highly ethical, trustworthy and discreet.

• Able to build strong relationships while maintaining appropriate authority.

• Comfortable working closely with an entrepreneurial MD and leadership team.

Non-Negotiable Characteristics

• Leadership presence – People naturally listen to and respect this individual.

• Urgency – They create momentum and do not allow important matters to drift.

• Accountability – They follow up, challenge and ensure commitments are delivered.

• Business acumen – They understand how the business makes money and what drives profitability.

• Communication – They communicate clearly, directly and consistently.

• Integrity – They have strong personal and professional ethics and will always do what is right for the business.

• Commercial technology experience – They understand the realities of selling and delivering software solutions.

Package & Remuneration

Rneg