Have you taken a SaaS business through massive growth in the early days? Are you the kind of person that drives order to carnage in an environment that is constantly changing and evolving? Are you a builder at your core, building teams and strategies to fulfill a huge vision and mission?

Duel is rapidly scaling, driven by ambitious growth plans and a thriving team across multiple functions. We are seeking a strategic VP of Operations on a 12-month maternity contract to drive operational excellence, scale our team, and guide our US expansion throughout 2025. The company is growing from 50 to over 100 people in the next 12 to 18 months which means it will be undergoing all the exciting, vital changes as everything breaks on the way. It'll be your job to make this as smooth as possible.

You've seen this movie before, you’ll be the operational architect, shaping processes and strategies that fuel our long-term success and help us complete our mission to make Brand Advocacy the industry standard playbook for building brands .This role demands leadership, cross-functional collaboration, financial oversight, and a deep understanding of people management to ensure that all aspects of our operations align with our growth objectives.

The Business:
Duel is a SaaS company on a mission to empower brands to grow through the advocacy of the people who love them. It was founded by world-record-breaking adventurer and former brand ambassador Paul Archer, alongside viral games developer Naio Tsarouchis, and we exist to show there’s a better way to build businesses, to build a better future, proving that caring for people builds brand, which builds long-term and exponential profit returns.

The Duel Brand Advocacy Platform allows enterprise brands to do just that - scaling how they manage their relationships with thousands of advocates, customers, creators and brand ambassadors. We’re proud today that brands such as Abercrombie & Fitch, Monica Vinader, Charlotte Tilbury, Spanx, Victoria’s Secret and Elemis (to name a few, but not to name some household names that are yet to go live) are doing just that. The Duel team comprises psychologists, brand experts and community builders as well as young entrepreneurs, psychologists and other exceptional talents.

The Role

• Operations Management: Your job is to make sure the trains run on time.You’ll lead the operational cadence, ensuring key meetings and processes align with our growth plans. This includes overseeing company-wide meetings, setting OKRs, and financial reporting.
• People & Culture Management: Lead our People department and oversee talent acquisition, workforce planning, and employee engagement, ensuring we foster a culture of innovation and growth.
• Market Expansion: Drive Duel’s US expansion, specifically in NYC where we will be hiring extensively next year, setting operating principles and culture for our 2025 growth strategy.
• Financial Oversight: Provide strategic financial oversight, working closely with the Finance department and our CEO to ensure alignment on business decisions, spend, and headcount planning.
  
  Leadership & Collaboration: A key member of the Senior Leadership Team, you’ll support cross-functional operations while maintaining cultural and operational continuity across the company.

The Person

• Execution and Articulation: You are at your best when driving results and clearly communicating the vision. You’ll take a remarkable strategic plan, and turn it into clear actionable steps, ensuring that day-to-day operations are aligned with our growth goals. You’re articulate and seamlessly articulate complex ideas in a way that inspires confidence across teams to delivery for scaling effectively, at home and internationally
• Bringing People to Life: You understand our success hinges on its people. A people-centric operator skilled at nurturing talent and motivating teams, empowered to innovate, championing an appreciation for diverse perspectives that foster a cross-functional, collaborative environment where everyone can contribute and grow. You focus on enabling others to execute, removing roadblocks and driving growth through unlocking the full potential of people.
• Authentic Enthusiasm: You have an authentic enthusiasm that’s infectious. A genuine intention to create operational excellence, mission-led growth and engagement across multiple teams. You worry more about the solution than you do the problem, understanding the solution of one problem can bring us face to face with another problem to solve. Your authenticity builds trust, both internally and externally, fueling a culture of excitement and purpose.
  
  The Experience

• Proven experience in a senior operations role within a scaling SaaS or tech company.

• Experience leading operational processes, such as company cadence, OKRs, and company-wide meetings (board experience preferred).

• Expertise in overseeing company culture, talent acquisition, workforce planning, and performance management.

• Prior experience in leading market expansion projects, especially US-focused expansions.

• Strong financial acumen, with experience in cash flow management, budgeting, and financial modelling.

• Proven ability to work closely with Senior Leadership Teams, providing cross-functional support across operations, finance, and people management.

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to engage at a senior level.

What We Offer
We want to build a remarkable company with remarkable people and a remarkable culture that you will want to shout from the rooftops about. In a relaxed, flexible, and fun environment, the team is driven to making the business a success while enjoying what we do and who we do it with.

• Flexible working hours - if you need to fit around childcare or life, we understand.

• 32 days of annual leave (including an end-of-year break).

• On-going training where required.

• Choose your own benefits package, including wellness and growth options.

• Options scheme for all full-time employees - it’s important to us that everyone shares in what we build.

• Remote-first working with in-person meet-ups 4x a year.

• £85,000 - £105,000