Chief Operating Officer

Stanley House Consulting; United States; On-site; USD 250,000 - 360,000; Full time

Job summary

Stanley House Consulting is seeking a commercially minded, mission-driven Chief Operating Officer (COO) – Education, EdTech & AI Transformation to lead operational strategy and scalable delivery across a growing learning organization.

You will align people, processes and platforms to drive learner outcomes, educator effectiveness and strong financial discipline, while delivering data-informed transformation across a multi-site, technology-enabled education platform.

Qualifications

• Senior leadership experience as a COO or equivalent.
• Proven track record in strategic and operational transformation.
• Experience scaling multi-site operations and service delivery.
• Experience leading digital transformation and AI adoption.
• Strong program/project/portfolio management and PMO capabilities.
• Commercial and financial acumen with budgeting and P&L awareness.
• Strong people leadership and executive communication.

Responsibilities

• Lead enterprise operational strategy and operating-model design.
• Translate growth strategy into roadmaps, governance, and KPIs/OKRs.
• Drive transformation across education delivery, tutoring operations and customer operations.
• Lead scaling of multi-site operations and technology-enabled service delivery.
• Sponsor AI-enabled learning initiatives and partner with technology, data and education stakeholders.
• Establish governance for data quality, analytics and information security.
• Build dashboards and performance metrics to improve decision-making and capacity planning.
• Improve learner outcomes, educator productivity and customer satisfaction through data-informed execution.
• Lead cross-functional program management, delivery assurance and change management.
• Coach and lead operational leaders and delivery teams.
• Oversee budgeting, forecasting and financial management; contribute to P&L where relevant.
• Collaborate with CEO and board on growth strategy, international expansion, and due diligence where applicable.
• Support integration activities (M&A, systems, partner) as needed.
• Strengthen risk controls, governance and compliance across the organization.

Skills

Strategic operations

Executive leadership

Program management

Cross-functional leadership

Data-driven decision-making

KPI development

OKRs

Change management

Budgeting & forecasting

Stakeholder management

Job description

Lead the operating transformation behind the future of learning

Stanley House Consulting is seeking a commercially minded, mission-driven Chief Operating Officer (COO) – Education, EdTech & AI Transformation to lead operational strategy, organizational transformation and scalable delivery across a growing education and learning-technology organization.

This is an executive leadership opportunity for an accomplished Chief Operating Officer, COO, VP of Operations, Operations Director, Managing Director, General Manager, Chief Transformation Officer, Transformation Director or senior business operations leader who can turn ambitious growth plans into measurable operating performance.

You will lead the operating model, strategic operations, digital transformation, AI transformation, program delivery, performance management and organizational change required to scale a data-driven education platform. Your work will strengthen learner experience, learner outcomes, educator effectiveness, customer experience, service delivery, operational excellence and commercial discipline.

Working across Operations, General Management, Engineering, Project Delivery, Technology, Product, Data, Finance, Commercial, Marketing, Education Delivery and Customer Success, you will align people, processes, platforms, governance and performance insight around sustainable U.S. and international growth.

The Challenge You Will Help Solve

Education organizations and EdTech businesses need to improve learning outcomes while scaling consistently, modernizing technology, increasing operational efficiency and adopting artificial intelligence responsibly.

You will help create the systems, leadership capability, governance and execution discipline needed to deliver high-quality, personalized and measurable learning at scale. You will ensure that AI, automation, analytics and digital platforms create practical value for learners, educators, partners and the organization—not simply technology activity.

What You’ll Be Trusted To Do

• Lead enterprise operational strategy, operating-model design, business planning and execution across education operations, learner experience and enabling functions.
• Translate growth strategy into transformation roadmaps, operating plans, KPIs, OKRs, governance, accountability, milestones and measurable benefits realization.
• Drive business transformation, operational transformation, digital transformation, AI transformation, automation, process improvement and continuous improvement across education delivery, tutoring operations, learner services, customer operations and internal workflows.
• Lead the scaling of education operations, multi-site operations, network operations, partner operations and technology-enabled service delivery.
• Provide executive sponsorship for approved AI-enabled learning, tutoring, workflow automation, digital learning and platform initiatives, partnering with technology, product, data, legal, privacy, information security and education stakeholders.
• Establish operating governance for data quality, data governance, learning analytics, business intelligence, risk management, vendor management, information security and responsible AI adoption.
• Build executive dashboards, management reporting, operational analytics, predictive insight, performance metrics and KPI frameworks that improve decision-making, capacity planning, resource allocation and delivery performance.
• Improve learner outcomes, learner engagement, learner retention, educator productivity, customer satisfaction, service quality, quality assurance and operational efficiency through data-informed execution.
• Lead cross-functional program management, project delivery, portfolio management, PMO governance, change management, organizational development and delivery assurance.
• Build, coach and lead high-performing operational leaders, transformation teams, program teams and cross-functional delivery teams.
• Own or materially influence budgeting, forecasting, resource planning, financial management, commercial operations, cost optimization and P&L management, where this authority is confirmed within the role remit.
• Partner with the CEO, executive leadership team, board-level stakeholders and investors on growth strategy, international expansion, operational due diligence, investment readiness and IPO-readiness planning where applicable.
• Support M&A integration, post-merger integration, systems integration, operating-model integration, partner integration and business integration activity where relevant.
• Strengthen operational resilience, risk controls, escalation processes, compliance operations and performance accountability across the organization.

What Success Looks Like

• A scalable operating model supporting sustainable U.S. and international growth.
• Improved learner experience, learner outcomes, educator enablement, service delivery, customer experience and quality assurance.
• Measurable value from AI adoption, automation, digital platforms, data analytics and technology transformation.
• Stronger operational performance through dashboards, KPIs, forecasting, capacity planning, workforce planning and continuous improvement.
• Clearer alignment across operations, education, technology, engineering, product, data, finance, marketing and commercial teams.
• Improved financial discipline, resource utilization, cost management and P&L performance where applicable.
• Effective delivery of transformation programs, systems integrations, partner integrations and M&A integration initiatives.

What You Will Bring

You will be a strategic, hands-on executive operator with substantial experience leading complex, customer-facing, technology-enabled, multi-site or mission-driven organizations.

Required Qualifications

• Senior leadership experience as a COO, VP Operations, Operations Director, Managing Director, General Manager, Transformation Director, Strategy Director, Head of Operations or comparable executive operations leader.
• Demonstrated success in strategic operations, business operations, general management, operational excellence, operating-model transformation, organizational change or enterprise transformation.
• Experience scaling teams, systems, service delivery, shared services, multi-site operations, partner networks, enterprise platforms or customer operations.
• Experience leading digital transformation, AI adoption, automation, data-led operations, technology transformation, systems integration or platform-enabled service delivery.
• Strong program management, project management, portfolio management, PMO, change management, stakeholder management and cross-functional leadership capability.
• Commercial and financial acumen, including budgeting, forecasting, resource planning, financial planning, cost optimization and P&L accountability where relevant.
• Experience with performance management, KPI development, OKRs, management information, business intelligence, operational analytics, dashboards and data-driven decision-making.
• Strong people leadership, executive communication, organizational leadership, talent development and change-leadership skills.
• Working knowledge of data governance, privacy, information security, risk management, vendor governance and responsible AI practices in a business or education setting.

Preferred and Transferable Backgrounds

• Education, EdTech, learning technology, digital learning, online learning, tutoring, education services, learner experience, learner success, curriculum operations, training operations, higher education, workforce learning or professional learning.
• Information Technology and Services, SaaS, technology services, managed services, cloud operations, digital platforms, IT operations, data-center operations, infrastructure operations or enterprise technology transformation.
• Telecommunications, telecom operations, network operations, connectivity, service assurance, engineering operations, technical program management, engineering project delivery or large-scale customer operations.
• Renewable energy, energy infrastructure, utilities, engineering delivery, capital programs, field operations, asset-intensive operations or regulated service environments.
• M&A integration, post-merger integration, operational due diligence, transformation office, systems integration, operating-model redesign, enterprise PMO or international expansion.

Equivalent experience will be considered where it demonstrates the ability to lead complex operations, scale systems and teams, deliver technology-enabled change and create measurable learner, customer, commercial or operational outcomes.

Why Join?

This is an opportunity to shape the operating foundation of a purpose-led education organization at a pivotal point in its growth.

You will combine executive operations leadership with AI transformation, digital transformation, data-driven decision-making, education innovation, operational excellence and commercial execution. You will help create more scalable, consistent and personalized learning experiences while building the systems and teams required for long-term growth.

Stanley House Consulting is an equal opportunity employer. Employment decisions are based on job-related qualifications, merit and business needs, without regard to protected characteristics under applicable law.