Chief Operating Officer

MUSEUM OF ICE CREAM; New York (NY); On-site; USD 350,000 - 600,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive pay

Annual bonus

401(k)

Stock options

PTO & sick time

Dental insurance

Health insurance

Vision insurance

Classpass perks

Employee development

Free museum tickets

Retail discount

Job summary

Museum of Ice Cream seeks a Chief Operating Officer to partner with the CEO and scale a founder-led, fast-growth hospitality brand across operations, people, finance, marketing, production, technology, and guest experience.

You will build alignment, implement disciplined systems, and maintain the energy and culture that make MOIC unique, while expanding into new markets and continuing to delight guests.

Qualifications

• 10+ years leading consumer-facing, hospitality, experiential, retail, entertainment, or similarly dynamic businesses.
• Experience operating within founder-led and fast-growth environments.
• Strong business acumen across operations, people, finance, marketing, and organizational planning.
• Experience building scalable systems, processes, and operating structures.
• Effective leader across HQ and field organizations.
• Ability to travel for up to 50% of the time.

Responsibilities

• CEO partnership and enterprise leadership: Translate founder-led vision into scalable business execution and establish operating rhythms.
• Enterprise integration: Drive cross-function alignment across strategy, people, operations, and execution.
• Growth strategy & enterprise planning: Align commercial strategy with operational priorities and planning.
• Operational performance & scalability: Improve systems, training, and processes for hospitality excellence.
• Organizational infrastructure & enablement: Modernize workflows and decision-making frameworks.
• Expansion & strategic growth: Support new market launches and growth initiatives.
• Leadership, culture, and team development: Model MOIC's mission and values.

Skills

Operational leadership

Cross-functional leadership

Strategy execution

Travel readiness

Job description

• Please note: While multiple job postings may appear, this is for one open hire need. Candidate must be located in a city where MOIC maintains a presence. This includes New York City, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Chicago, Miami, or Boston

The Next Chapter of MOIC

Museum of Ice Cream isn't really a museum - and it's not really about ice cream either. What we've built is a category-defining experiential entertainment company that reconnects people with joy, nostalgia, and play. In less than a decade, MOIC has grown into a global brand with 13 locations across the U.S. and Singapore, millions of guests, and ambitious expansion ahead. Now we're looking for a Chief Operating Officer who can help scale the business without losing the magic that made it work in the first place.

This is a builder role, not a maintenance role. The COO will serve as the CEO's closest strategic partner - translating creative ambition into disciplined execution across operations, people, finance, marketing, production, technology, construction, and guest experience. We need someone who knows how to operate inside a founder-led, fast-growth environment: a leader who can bring structure without bureaucracy, accountability without killing creativity, and systems that actually work in the field. The right person understands both hospitality and scale - and knows how to align teams while keeping energy and culture intact.

MOIC has already proven it can become a brand people love. The next chapter is about building the infrastructure, leadership alignment, and operational rigor to support even bigger growth - more markets, more guests, and more impact globally. This is a rare opportunity to help shape one of the most distinctive experiential brands of the next decade alongside a founder-led leadership team that still thinks big, moves fast, and believes joy is serious business.

The Position

The Chief Operating Officer serves as a strategic partner to the CEO and a connective leader across the enterprise, helping scale Museum of Ice Cream through alignment, organizational execution, and operational excellence. This role is responsible for ensuring the business operates cohesively across all functions, translating company vision into disciplined execution while strengthening the systems, communication, and leadership infrastructure required to support continued growth.

Reporting to the CEO, the COO will work across the full organization, including operations, finance, people, marketing, production, construction, technology, creative, and guest experience, to ensure teams remain aligned around shared priorities, performance expectations, and business objectives. This leader helps connect strategy, people, operations, and execution so the organization can scale effectively while maintaining the creativity, hospitality, and culture that define the Museum of Ice Cream experience.

This is a builder and integrator role. We are seeking a leader who has helped organizations navigate growth, complexity, and scale by building alignment, improving execution, and strengthening organizational effectiveness across both headquarters and field operations.

Responsibilities

CEO Partnership and Enterprise Leadership: Serve as a strategic thought partner and trusted extension of the CEO. Translate founder-led vision into scalable business execution. Strengthen leadership alignment, communication, and accountability. Establish operating rhythms that support organizational growth.

Enterprise Integration and Business Execution: Drive alignment across all business functions and company priorities. Serve as a connective leader across strategy, people, operations, and execution. Partner across marketing, production, people, finance, operations, construction, technology, creative, and guest experience. Establish operating cadences and accountability structures that improve execution. Strengthen cross-functional relationships across HQ and field teams.

Growth Strategy & Enterprise Planning: Align commercial strategy, operational priorities, and organizational planning. Connect business intelligence, analytics, and cross-functional execution. Support enterprise prioritization and resource planning. Improve planning visibility and organizational focus across teams.

Operational Performance & Scalability. Support operational consistency, hospitality excellence, and scalable growth. Partner with operational leaders to strengthen systems, training, and processes. Ensure operational execution aligns with company standards and guest expectations. Improve scalability across existing and future markets

Organizational Infrastructure & Enablement: Strengthen internal systems, infrastructure, and operating processes. Improve planning, technology enablement, and operational coordination. Modernize workflows, communication, and decision-making frameworks. Increase organizational visibility and efficiency across the enterprise.

Expansion & Strategic Growth: Partner on new market launches, flagship openings, and growth initiatives. Support operational readiness, financial discipline, and brand consistency. Develop scalable launch playbooks and readiness frameworks. Improve cross-functional execution for market expansion

Leadership, Culture, and Team Development: Model MOIC's mission, vision, and values across the organization. Support leadership development and succession planning. Foster a culture of accountability, collaboration, and ownership. Help balance operational excellence with creative ambition

Success In This Role Looks Like

• Increase in dollar customer spend by 10% year over year, hitting our same store sales growth targets
• Increasing NPS, net review scores by provided targets
• Strong alignment and communication across leadership teams and business functions
• Clear operating rhythms and accountability structures that improve execution
• Scalable systems and processes that support continued company growth
• Successful execution of new market launches and enterprise initiatives
• Consistent operational performance and guest experience standards across locations
• Improved cross-functional business operations coordination and organizational effectiveness
• A high-performing culture built on collaboration, accountability, and ownership
• Strong partnership and alignment between the CEO, leadership team, and broader organization

Compensation

The compensation for this position is highly competitive and consists of a base salary, management bonus opportunity and comprehensive benefits program.

Requirements

• Proven experience helping high-growth organizations scale through strong operational execution and cross-functional leadership
• 10+ years leading consumer-facing, hospitality, experiential, retail, entertainment, or similarly dynamic businesses
• Experience operating within founder-led and fast-growth environments
• Strong business acumen across operations, people, finance, marketing, and organizational planning
• Demonstrated ability to improve organizational effectiveness, communication, and execution across teams
• Experience building scalable systems, processes, and operating structures
• Strong partnership orientation with the ability to work closely alongside a founder or CEO
• Effective leader across both HQ and field organizations
• Ability to travel for up to 50% of the time
• Exceptional communicator with strong relationship-building and leadership influence skills
• Ability to balance strategic thinking with hands-on execution in a fast-paced environment

Benefits

• Competitive pay
• Annual bonus
• 401(k)
• Stock options
• PTO and sick time
• Dental insurance
• Health insurance
• Vision insurance
• Perks including Classpass, commuter discounts, employee assistance program, and, of course, unlimited ice cream
• Employee development opportunities
• 16 free museum tickets per year for friends and family, with free entry for self
• 50% off retail products

Museum of Ice Cream is an equal opportunity employer and we value diversity at our company.

We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, marital status, veteran status, or any other status protected by applicable federal, state, or local law