Head of Strategy & Business Operations

Adyen; Amsterdam; On-site; EUR 150,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading financial technology platform is seeking a Strategy & Business Operations Lead in Amsterdam or Chicago. This role involves shaping global strategy, leading cross-functional initiatives, and building a high-performing team. Ideal candidates have over 15 years of experience in strategic roles and a proven track record in operationalizing company-wide strategies. The position offers a collaborative environment focused on achieving ambitious goals.

Qualifications

• 15+ years of experience in Strategy, Business Operations, or related roles.
• 5+ years of experience in leading high-performing teams.
• Ability to influence direction and outcomes without direct authority.
• A trusted partner to leadership, capable of building strong relationships and credibility across different functions and levels of the organization.
• Data-driven, leveraging quantitative and qualitative insights to inform recommendations, decisionmaking and trade-offs.
• End-to-end owner with a bias for action, taking accountability from problem definition to implementation.

Responsibilities

• Shape and drive Adyen-wide strategic planning and priorities.
• Lead investment and resource discussions aligned with business outcomes.
• Monitor business health with performance dashboards and KPIs.
• Strategic Communication: Design and roll out a clear company wide strategy communication plan.
• Leadership: Establish, lead and develop a high-performing team to deliver across Strategy & Business Operations.

Skills

Strategic thinking

Leadership

Data-driven decision-making

Cross-functional collaboration

Stakeholder mgmt

Execution

Job description

This is Adyen

Adyen provides payments, data, and financial products in a single solution for customers like Meta, Uber, H M, and Microsoft - making us the financial technology platform of choice. At Adyen, everything we do is engineered for ambition.

For our teams, we create an environment with opportunities for our people to succeed, backed by the culture and support to ensure they are enabled to truly own their careers. We are motivated individuals who tackle unique technical challenges at scale and solve them as a team. Together, we deliver innovative and ethical solutions that help businesses achieve their ambitions faster.

Strategy & Business Operations Lead

The Strategy & Business Operations Lead will play a critical role in shaping and driving Adyen’s long term direction. This role sits at the intersection of strategy, planning and business operations and partners closely with Leadership to drive company wide alignment, informed decision making and eventually ensure we deliver.

You will lead strategic, cross-cutting initiatives, establish strong operating rhythms and build a high performing team to support the Adyen growth and evolution. This is a full-time position based in our Amsterdam or Chicago office reporting into our VP of Global Strategy & Execution.

What you’ll do

Company wide Strategy

• Support shaping the global Adyen strategy and strategic initiatives.
• Enable strategic decision making through a clear and aligned framework across different options (across Buy-Partner-Build).
• Analyze market dynamics and assess internal capabilities to inform strategic decisions. Drive deep dives and/or intelligence on trends and opportunities.

Strategic Planning

• Shape and drive Adyen wide Strategic Planning, Priorities and Goals in close collaboration with the business and Strategic Finance.
• Lead investment and trade-off discussions, connecting resources and investments to strategic priorities and business outcomes.

Business Operations

• Shape, implement and drive business operations rhythms through business reviews: Monitor the health of the business through the creation of performance dashboards, key performance indicators and tracking priorities at varying levels.
• Cross functional alignment and connect strategy (e.g. commercial, operations etc) across Adyen.

Strategic Communication

• Design and roll out a clear company wide strategy communication plan, working closely with Internal and External Communications to ensure consistent messaging across all teams and functions at Adyen.

Leadership

• Establish, lead and develop a high-performing team to deliver across Strategy & Business Operations.

Who you are

• 15+ years of experience across Strategy, Business operations, Corporate Development, Product, Finance or related roles within Tech companies.
• 5+ years of proven experience building, leading and scaling high-performing teams.
• A long-term systems thinker with a proven track record of scaling, operationalizing and evolving company strategy.
• A trusted partner to leadership, capable of building strong relationships and credibility across different functions and levels of the organization.
• Highly effective at influencing direction and outcomes without direct authority.
• Experienced in operating within cross-functional environments, balancing diverse perspectives and ultimately driving execution forward.
• Data-driven, leveraging quantitative and qualitative insights to inform recommendations, decisionmaking and trade-offs.
• Able to distill complex, ambiguous problems into clear insights, structured approaches and actionable next steps.
• End-to-end owner with a bias for action, taking accountability from problem definition to implementation.

Our Diversity, Equity and Inclusion commitments

Our unique approach is a product of our diverse perspectives. This diversity of backgrounds and cultures is essential in helping us maintain our momentum. Our business and technical challenges are unique, and we need as many different voices as possible to join us in solving them - voices like yours. No matter who you are or where you’re from, we welcome you to be your true self at Adyen.

Studies show that women and members of underrepresented communities apply for jobs only if they meet 100% of the qualifications. Does this sound like you? If so, Adyen encourages you to reconsider and apply. We look forward to your application!

What’s next

Ensuring a smooth and enjoyable candidate experience is critical for us. We aim to get back to you regarding your application within 5 business days. Our interview process tends to take about 4 weeks to complete, but may fluctuate depending on the role. Learn more about our hiring process here. Don’t be afraid to let us know if you need more flexibility.

This role is based out of our Amsterdam or Chicago office. We are an office-first company and value in-person collaboration; we do not offer remote-only roles.