Head of Operations (COO Track) – DTC / E-commerce

Expert Executive Recruiters (EER Global); Polska; On-site; PLN 583,000 - 894,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Direct partnership with Founder

Build operations function from ground

International exposure

US/Europe/Asia travel

Job summary

EER Poland is seeking a Head of Operations to lead a fast-growing DTC business operating in the US market. You will build an operating system that scales the company beyond the founder’s day-to-day involvement and create a data-driven, accountable, and automated operations function from scratch.

This is a leadership role for a builder, operator and problem-solver who will start with source data to identify bottlenecks, implement measurable improvements, and design KPIs, dashboards and processes

Qualifications

• Experience with P&L ownership and financial understanding.
• Experience building a function, team, operating model or processes from scratch.
• Experience in a rapidly growing or scaling organisation.
• Experience in product-led business (DTC, e-commerce, retail) preferred.
• Experience designing systems that operate without day-to-day involvement.
• Demonstrated measurable results rather than vague claims.

Responsibilities

• Take ownership of day-to-day operations and understand how the business actually works.
• Identify operational bottlenecks and convert them into measurable improvements.
• Deliver tangible results quickly with early meaningful improvements.
• Build processes, KPIs and dashboards that create a single source of truth.
• Establish accountability and decision-making cadences across the organisation.
• Own P&L, cash flow, working capital, inventory and operating economics.
• Improve supply chain, fulfilment, procurement and operational efficiency.
• Develop automated processes to reduce manual work.
• Collaborate with the Founder on strategic priorities, product development and scaling.
• Build the Operations function and its structure from the ground up.
• Hire and develop an Operations Manager to take on day-to-day execution.

Skills

P&L ownership

Operations leadership

Data-driven decisions

AI & automation

Cross-functional collaboration

Problem-solving

Job description

EER Poland is looking for a Head of Operations to join a fast-growing, profitable DTC business operating in the US market.

This is a newly created leadership role with a simple mission:

Build an operating system that allows the company to scale without depending on the Founder for day-to-day operations.

This is not a role for someone who simply wants to inherit an established operations department.

It’s for a builder, operator and problem-solver who enjoys turning complexity into a scalable system.

In your first months, you will go deep into the business — starting with the source data, not assumptions.

You will:

• Take ownership of day-to-day operations and understand how the business actually works
• Identify the biggest operational bottlenecks and turn them into measurable improvement opportunities
• Deliver tangible results quickly, with the expectation that the first meaningful improvements happen early
• Build processes, operating routines, KPIs and dashboards that create a clear single source of truth
• Establish accountability and decision-making cadences across the organisation
• Take ownership of P&L, cash flow, working capital, inventory and operational economics
• Improve supply chain, fulfilment, procurement and operational efficiency
• Build processes that continue working without you having to personally manage them
• Use AI and automation in practical, measurable ways to eliminate manual work and improve how the company operates
• Work closely with the Founder on strategic priorities, product development and scaling the organisation
• Build the Operations function and its organisational structure from the ground up
• Hire and develop an Operations Manager who can eventually take over a significant part of the day-to-day execution
• Move progressively from hands-on operational ownership into broader strategic leadership

We’re looking for someone who has built, scaled and transformed, rather than simply managed.

You should ideally have:

• Experience with genuine responsibility at $20M+ business scale, ideally $50M+
• Strong P&L ownership and financial understanding
• Experience building a function, team, operating model or processes from scratch
• Experience in a rapidly growing or highly scaling organisation
• A track record of measurable X Y results, rather than statements such as "significantly improved" or "successfully transformed"
• Experience with physical products, DTC, e-commerce, retail, consumer goods or another product-led business
• Strong understanding of supply chain, inventory, fulfilment, procurement and/or manufacturing
• Experience designing systems and processes that continue to work without your direct involvement
• Experience building teams and organisational structures
• A combination of strategic thinking and willingness to get into the details
• Practical experience using AI and automation, ideally having personally built or implemented automations that improved operations

We are particularly interested in people who can demonstrate:

Build from zero

You have created something that didn’t previously exist — a function, team, process, system or operating model.

Data before opinions

You make decisions based on source data, understand the economics of the business and can connect operational decisions to financial outcomes.

You have built an organisation that no longer depends on you personally — and have successfully moved yourself into a higher-level role as a result.

Ownership

You don’t wait for someone else to tell you what the problem is. You find it, quantify it, take responsibility and fix it.

WHAT CLIENT OFFER

Direct partnership with the Founder

The opportunity to build the Operations function from the ground up

High transparency around business numbers and decision-making

International environment across the US, Europe and Asia

Travel opportunities to the US and China

You enjoy walking into a business that is growing faster than its systems, figuring out what is actually broken, building the solution, measuring the result and then making yourself unnecessary to the day-to-day operation.