Business Operations Manager

campfire; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 180,000 - 280,000; Full time

Job summary

Campfire is seeking an exceptional Operations Leader to own the business behind the business. You’ll tackle high-stakes problems with autonomy, guiding cross-functional teams from messy to scalable.

You’ll define planning rhythms, metrics, contracts, GTM operations, and infrastructure, partnering with leadership to drive ARR, bookings, retention, and efficiency, while pushing automation and AI-enabled tooling.

Qualifications

• 2-4 years in business operations, top-tier consulting, banking, VC or PE, or founding a startup.
• Excellent in spreadsheets and building models that hold up to scrutiny.
• AI-native in how you work, using tools like Claude Code to automate work.
• Commercially sharp: read contracts and negotiate better terms with vendors.
• Clear communicator: explain messy problems to leadership and collaborate with sales/ops.
• Relentless follow-through; you complete items and close loops.
• Comfortable with ambiguity; you will define new areas and roles.

Responsibilities

• Own planning, goal setting, and metrics cadence across the company.
• Define core metrics and own reporting for ARR, pipeline, bookings, retention, and spend.
• Manage vendor negotiations, renewals, and contract lifecycle with legal.
• Own CRM configuration, territory/quota planning, and sales compensation mechanics.
• Oversee insurance, office/real estate, compliance, and internal systems.
• Lead special projects like new markets, partnerships, monetization, and pricing.
• Automate processes to scale with AI and reduce headcount where possible.

Skills

Ownership mindset

Analytical thinker

Follow-through

Ambiguity tolerance

Contract negotiation

Tools

Claude Code

Internal tools

Job description

About Campfire

Campfire is building modern accounting software for startups and mid-size tech companies, and we're going head to head with giants like NetSuite to do it. Our AI-native general ledger runs the close, revenue recognition, and reporting for finance teams that have outgrown QuickBooks and refuse to settle for a legacy ERP.

The role

You'll own the business behind the business. You'll be the person leadership sends in on Campfire's highest-stakes problems, including ones nobody here has solved before. You'll get problems, not tasks, and you'll be expected to take them from "this is a mess" to "this runs itself." You'll work directly with every team at Campfire, and you'll have the authority to make decisions.

What you'll own

• The operating rhythm. Help build and run the planning, goal-setting, and metrics cadence the company runs on. Make sure every team knows the number they own and whether they're hitting it.

• The numbers leadership trusts. Set the definitions for every core metric, then own the reporting for ARR, pipeline, bookings, retention, and spend. When the founders or the board ask a question, you have the answer, pulled straight from the raw data yourself.

• Commercial contracts and vendors. Run vendor negotiations and renewals, manage the contract lifecycle with legal, and make sure we never auto-renew something we don't need.

• Sales and GTM operations. Own CRM configuration, territory and quota planning, and the mechanics of how reps get paid. Make the sales team faster without letting the data get messy.

• The company's infrastructure. Insurance, office and real estate, compliance, and the systems that keep a growing company running. Nothing falls through the cracks on your watch.

• Special projects that matter. New market launches, partnerships, monetization and packaging work alongside our pricing lead, board prep. You'll take new initiatives from zero to one. When something important doesn't have an owner yet, it lands with you.

• Automation over headcount. If a process runs on spreadsheets and goodwill, rebuild it with code, AI, and the right tools so it scales without adding people.

Who you are

We care more about trajectory than pedigree. If you've owned hard problems end to end and have the results to show for it, we want to hear from you.

• An owner, not a coordinator. 2-4 years in business operations, top-tier consulting, banking, VC or PE, or founding a startup. You've been the person things roll up to.

• Analytical to the core. You're excellent in spreadsheets and you build models that hold up to scrutiny - you can tell the story behind the numbers.

• AI-native in how you work. You already use tools like Claude Code to automate work, build internal tools, and get more done than a team twice your size.

• Commercially sharp. You can read a contract, spot the bad clause, and negotiate a better deal with a vendor.

• A clear communicator. You can walk leadership or the board through a messy problem and leave them with a decision, and you're just as effective working alongside an AE or a support rep.

• Relentless follow-through. You close loops. When you say something will get done, it gets done, and people stop checking.

• Comfortable with ambiguity. Half of this job doesn't exist yet. You'll define it.

Why this role

• Direct line to leadership. You work with leadership on decisions that move the business.

• Breadth you won't find elsewhere. Finance, sales, legal, and operations all cross your desk. It's a launchpad into leadership and the fastest path to running a business yourself.