Head of Business Operations

VTT; Espoo; On-site; EUR 120,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

VTT in Espoo, Finland, seeks a Head of Business Operations in the Digital Systems area to drive operational excellence and ensure strategy execution across a ~750-person unit.

You will lead a team of Business Operations Managers, partner with support functions, and coordinate with other business areas to harmonize processes, improve governance, and enable executives to focus on external impact and long-term success.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of leadership experience in operations management, preferably in R&D or product development environments.
• Experience delivering governance and operating models across a large organization.
• Proven ability to lead transformation and harmonize processes across multiple units.

Responsibilities

• Direct Manager to a team of Business Operations Managers and lead operational governance.
• Support EVP in decision preparation, action follow-up, and risk management.
• Collaborate with support functions and other business areas to implement common processes.
• Oversee budgeting, resource planning, and financial follow-up in coordination with controllers.

Skills

Leadership

Operations mgmt

R&D environment

Cross-functional

Job description

Are you ready to play a pivotal role in driving operational excellence and ensuring seamless strategy execution within a visionary research, development, and innovation organisation? If you're a leader with a passion for driving impact and enabling long-term success with a meaningful mission, VTT might be just the place for you.

VTT is one of the leading applied research organisations in Europe. What unites us are curiosity, a passion for learning, and a purpose: to solve the biggest challenges of our time and turn them into sustainable growth and well-being. Our cross-disciplinary community of over 2000 brilliant minds from 55+ different nationalities focuses on creating impact through science-based innovation. In recent years, we have created ground-breaking innovations such as the world's fastest and most accurate radiation detector, a cancer-sniffing sensor device for smartphones, and a headphone set entirely made of microbial materials. Get to know us further by exploring VTT's tech & infra.

We are now looking for a Head of Business Operations in our Digital Systems business area!

The main purpose of this position is to act as the right hand to the Digital Systems business area Executive Vice President, ensuring operational excellence, consistent execution of strategy, and smooth internal processes across our Business area of around 750 people. Your success will be measured by effective operational governance, harmonized VTT-wide practices, and the provision of high-quality decision-making support and oversight. This role enables the EVP and research area VPs to focus on external impact and long-term success by ensuring that the everyday work such as resource management, technology investments, QEHS and operative execution are running smoothly. You will define and ensure VTT-wide common processes and operative ways of working together with your Head of Business Operations colleague from our other business area, Materials & Energy. In this role, you will lead a dedicated team of Business Operations Managers and drive continuous improvement as part of the Digital Systems business area leadeership team.

Your responsibilities as Head of Business Operations:

• Direct Manager to a team of Business Operations Managers, and Business area wide leader of operational governance.
• Supporting the EVP in decision preparation, action follow-up, and risk management
• Working in close co-operation with support functions and your colleague in Materials & Energy Business Area to ensure VTT wide implementation in all common processes and ways of working.
• Overseeing business area-level internal processes such as operative processes, QEHS, government grant allocations, and overall responsibility for resourcing and financial planning in collaboration with business controllers and investment coordination
• Driving continuous improvement and harmonization of business area operations and providing feedback and ideas for continuous improvements in VTT common processes and ways of working
• Ensuring effective strategy execution follow-up, including contributions to must-win battles and the effective implementation of Technology Portfolios
• Close co-operation with Controllers on financial follow-up and government grant allocation tracking
• Participation in internal steering groups for challenging projects
• Coordinating corrective actions in projects facing deviations or difficulties
• Ensuring systematic documentation and action tracking in leadership meetings

Requirements:

• At least 5 years of experience working in a leadership role with operations management focus
• Experience in an operative leadership role in R&D, research or product development environment
• You have experience being responsible for the 360 views of the organization or unit. You have experience in ensuring functioning operating models, finances, and legal agreements. You have had the responsibility to follow that plans lead to excellent execution
• Some years of line management experience with direct reports
• Proven ability to lead transformation and drive continuous improvement and harmonized processes not just within your own team, but also across wider organisation and VTT as a whole.
• Excellent coordination, follow-up, and risk management capabilities
• Strong communication, influencing and collaboration skills across different organizational levels
• Experience in leading teams and supporting executive-level decision-making

As a person, we hope that you:

• Are a proactive leader who fosters clarity, consistency, and simplicity in business area-wide ways of working
• Promote transparent communication and shared understanding across teams
• Are capable of both the coaching and empowering leadership style, but also being firm and direct when necessary
• Have experience leading people through some transformation

With VTT, you’llenjoy:

• Visionary work in technology. We offer positions at the cutting-edge of technology and engineering, from next-generation microelectronics and quantum technology to automation and robotics, energy systems, and more. Our research agenda is dedicated to creating sustainable growth by solving systemic and technological challenges, so your work will go towards creating a real, positive impact. Read more about our strategy – Chain reaction for growth .
• Fascinating projects, excellent research environment.Our researchers get to work on a combination of cutting-edge academic research and applied customer projects locally and internationally. At VTT, you'll have state-of-the-art research facilities, such as Micronova, the Finnish research infrastructure for micro-, nano-, and quantum technologies.
• Great career opportunities, superb colleagues. At VTT, excellence in research is a strategic priority. We offer long-term positions and stable career paths in top-level research. People tend to stay with us for over ten years since there are always new roles and responsibilities to grow into. Collaborating in a cross-disciplinary community with superb colleagues is a source of learning, inspiration, and fun. Read more about our organisational culture as the builder of the world's most meaningful place to work.
• Support for your well-being. Our people are our main asset, so we take good care of them. We aim to nurture excellent team spirit and leadership and offer versatile well-being services to enable a good work-life balance. On top of 6 weeks of paid holidays annually (after one year of work), we offer exercise and culture benefits, hobby clubs, and other versatile services aiming to support your occupational wellbeing.

Interested and want to hear more?

For further information, please contact Erja Turunen, [e-mail].

VTT

VTT is a visionary research, development and innovation partner. We drive sustainable growth and tackle the biggest global challenges of our time and turn them into growth opportunities. We go beyond the obvious to help the society and companies to grow through technological innovations. We have 80 years of experience in cutting-edge research and science-based results. VTT is at the sweet spot where innovation and business come together.

VTT – beyond the obvious.