Business Operations Manager

Guardant Health; Palo Alto (CA); On-site; USD 150,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Guardant Health, a leading precision oncology company in Palo Alto, seeks a Manager, Business Operations to partner with Client Services leaders. You will translate priorities into actionable plans, manage cross-functional initiatives, and provide executive support to drive decisions and accountability across teams.

You will balance program ownership with hands-on support, coordinating budgets, staffing, and communications to ensure leadership priorities are executed effectively.

Responsibilities

• Partner with Client Services leadership on organizational and operational planning, translating priorities into work plans with clear deliverables, timelines, owners, and success measures.
• Lead cross-functional initiatives on behalf of executive leadership, managing scope, budgets, dependencies, risks, and accountability for commitments.
• Coordinate with the Workforce Planning Manager to support staffing changes and provide executive-level staffing input.
• Run the Client Services business review process, consolidating performance data and presentation materials with leadership approval.
• Align priorities and coordinate execution with Sales, Marketing, the Client Services Center of Excellence, and other stakeholders.

Skills

Cross-functional leadership

Executive support

Budget management

Program management

Stakeholder coordination

Job description

Company Description

Guardant Health is a leading precision oncology company focused on guarding wellness and giving every person more time free from cancer. Founded in 2012, Guardant® is transforming patient care and accelerating new cancer therapies by providing critical insights into what drives disease through its advanced blood and tissue tests, real-world data and AI analytics. Guardant tests help improve outcomes across all stages of care, including screening to find cancer early, monitoring for recurrence in early-stage cancer, and treatment selection for patients with advanced cancer. For more information, visit guardanthealth.com and follow the company on LinkedIn , X (Twitter) and Facebook .

The Manager, Business Operations is a trusted operational partner to Client Services Executive team. You will turn business priorities into coordinated plans, lead cross-functional initiatives, and provide executive support that keeps leaders focused on the business. You will bring structure, accountability, and consistency to operations across teams.

Working with limited supervision, you will own assigned programs and operational processes within approved priorities, budgets, and delegated authority. You will weigh competing demands, resolve issues, recommend solutions, and elevate decisions that need leadership approval. Success requires sound judgment, discretion, strong follow-through, and the ability to balance program ownership with hands-on executive support.

What You'll Do

Business Planning and Program Execution

• Partner with Client Services leadership on organizational and operational planning, translating approved priorities into work plans with clear deliverables, timelines, owners, and success measures.
• Lead cross-functional initiatives on behalf of executive leadership, managing scope, schedules, approved budgets, dependencies, and risks, and driving accountability for commitments. Escalate material changes to scope, resources, or commitments for leadership approval.
• Work with the Workforce Planning Manager to coordinate monthly headcount adjustments, consolidate inputs, track leadership decisions, and support implementation of approved staffing changes. The Workforce Planning Manager owns workforce analysis, staffing forecasts, and recommendations; Client Services leadership approves staffing decisions through established
• Run the recurring Client Services business review process, including scheduling, contributor deadlines, consolidation of performance data and presentation materials, and follow-up on decisions and action items. Functional owners remain accountable for the accuracy and completeness of their submissions.
• Align priorities and coordinate execution with Sales, Marketing, the Client Services Center of Excellence, and other stakeholders.
• Coordinate business process outsourcing (BPO) logistics in support of decisions made by senior leaders and designated functional owners.

Executive Partnership and Communications

• Anticipate executive needs and tailor support to leadership priorities, communication styles, and decision-making preferences.
• Assess incoming requests and issues, then resolve, route, defer, or escape them within delegated authority and company policy.
• Prepare and coordinate executive presentations, briefings, business review materials, and sensitive internal and external correspondence, obtaining appropriate review and approval before distribution.
• Facilitate cross-departmental communication so stakeholders understand decisions, commitments, and next steps.
• Identify commitments, operational risks, and unresolved matters that need leadership attention, and recommend action.

Financial and Administrative Operations

• Support development and management of the Client Services operating budget with leadership and Finance, including tracking expenditures, identifying variances, and coordinating follow-up. Budget ownership and spending authorization remain with designated business leaders and authorized approvers.
• Coordinate vendor engagement, contract review and approval workflows, purchase orders, and invoice processing in line with procurement policies. Contract execution and purchasing approvals remain with authorized signatories and approvers.
• Manage executive expense reporting and corporate card purchases within established authorization limits, maintaining accurate records and policy compliance.
• Track budgets and spending for assigned projects, meetings, recognition programs, and team activities; flag anticipated overruns and obtain approval before commitments exceed approved budgets.

Executive Scheduling, Meetings, and Travel

• Manage complex calendars for the VP and, as needed, the SVP, prioritizing meetings, preparation time, and travel within agreed executive preferences and leadership direction. Escalate competing executive priorities that require leadership resolution.
• Coordinate leadership meeti