Director, Business Operations

Octave; New York (NY); On-site; USD 200,000 - 219,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Remote work stipend

Internet & phone reimbursement

Equity program

Comprehensive benefits

Job summary

Octave in New York seeks a Director, Business Operations to partner with the VP of Operations, leading a multidisciplinary team across business operations, analytics, program management, and operational excellence. You translate strategy into priorities, build scalable operating plans, and drive growth, access, workforce effectiveness, and financial performance.

You will establish governance, create playbooks, manage cross‑functional initiatives, optimize processes with AI tooling, and coach

Qualifications

• 6+ years of experience in business operations, strategy and operations, program leadership, or a comparable field; at least 3 years in management consulting or investment banking.
• Track record of structuring ambiguous problems, developing analytically rigorous recommendations, and translating them into operating plans and measurable results.
• Experience leading multiple complex, cross-functional initiatives and creating accountability across teams you do not directly manage.
• Strong quantitative and financial acumen, including advanced Excel/Google Sheets modeling and forecasting, business cases, unit economics, and executive-level analysis.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including ability to produce crisp memos and executive presentations.

Responsibilities

• Lead the business operations and access strategy, setting the analytical agenda for demand, provider capacity, and payer participation.
• Build a repeatable program-management engine with governance, milestones, dependencies, and escalation paths.
• Drive operational efficiency and workforce management through workflow redesign, standardization, automation, and tooling improvements.
• Lead the function and shape how Octave operates by developing high-performing teams and owning planning cadences across Operations.

Skills

Strategic thinking

Operations leadership

Cross-functional collaboration

Data analysis

Project management

Business acumen

Education

MBA or advanced degree

Healthcare/tech-enabled services experience

Tools

Excel

Google Sheets

BI tools

Job description

About the Company:

Octave is a modern behavioral health practice creating a new standard for care delivery that’s both high-quality and accessible. With in-person and virtual clinics in multiple states, the company offers evidence-based individual, couples, and family therapy, while pioneering relationships with payers to make care more affordable through insurance. By raising the bar on how care is delivered and how providers are supported, we are building a sustainable system that values equity, affordability, and effectiveness.

Job Summary:

The Director, Business Operations serves as a strategic and operational partner to the VP of Operations, leading a multidisciplinary team across business operations, program management, analytics, and operational efficiency. This role translates company strategy into clear priorities, decision-quality insights, and scalable operating plans that improve access, growth, workforce effectiveness, and financial performance. The ideal candidate brings the analytical rigor of a strategist and the ownership of an operator, with the ability to lead complex cross‑functional initiatives, create structure amid ambiguity, and turn recommendations into measurable results. As a leader, this person will build durable systems, develop high‑performing teams, and help shape how Octave operates as the organization grows.

Management Responsibilities:

• Develops, coordinates, and implements systems, policies, procedures, and productivity standards.
• Provide leadership and guidance to the team, ensuring the achievement of goals and objectives.
• Foster a positive and collaborative work environment.
• Oversee the planning, execution, and completion of projects and initiatives within the team.
• Establish and monitor operational processes and workflows to enhance efficiency and productivity.
• Streamline operational processes, enhance efficiency, and improve overall organizational performance.
• Implement best practices, monitor key performance indicators (KPIs), and develop strategies to achieve operational excellence.

Duties & Responsibilities:

Lead Business Operations and Access strategy

• Set the analytical agenda for access, supply, and network optimization, connecting demand, provider capacity, and payer participation to growth and operating decisions.
• Lead analysis on retention, segmentation, utilization, and other critical metrics, creating a consistent business‑intelligence approach across Octave.
• Develop business cases and recommendations for new markets, channels, service lines, partnerships, and strategic transactions.

Build a repeatable program‑management engine

• Lead Octave's portfolio of cross‑functional launches and transformations, including new payers, geographies, channels, service lines, integrations, and internal capabilities.
• Establish clear governance, ownership, milestones, dependencies, and escalation paths; surface risks and tradeoffs with decision‑ready recommendations.
• Build reusable playbooks that make each successive launch faster, more predictable, and less resource‑intensive.

Drive operational efficiency and workforce management

• Build workforce‑planning capabilities, including demand and capacity forecasting, staffing models, scheduling optimization, and resource allocation.
• Lead workflow redesign, process standardization, automation, and tooling improvements that help Octave scale without compromising access, quality, or team experience.
• Establish service levels and performance rhythms, using proactive insights to identify bottlenecks and measure productivity, capacity, quality, and financial impact.

Lead the function and shape how Octave operates

• Lead and develop a high‑performing team across business operations, analytics, program management, and operational excellence.
• Translate company strategy into operational priorities and own annual and quarterly planning cadences for Operations.
• Serve as a thought partner to the VP of Operations and senior leaders, incubating new capabilities and driving high‑impact work that falls between existing teams.
• Build a culture of high standards, collaboration, and ownership while improving how the team uses data, tools, and AI to deliver results.

Education & Experience:

• 6+ years of experience in business operations, strategy and operations, program leadership, operational excellence, or a comparable field. With at least 3 years in management consulting or investment banking
• A track record of structuring ambiguous problems, developing analytically rigorous recommendations, and translating them into operating plans and measurable results.
• Experience leading multiple complex, cross‑functional initiatives and creating accountability across teams you do not directly manage.
• Strong quantitative and financial acumen, including advanced Excel or Google Sheets modeling and experience with forecasting, business cases, unit economics, performance metrics, and executive‑level analysis.
• Exceptional organization and follow‑through, with the ability to manage a broad portfolio without losing sight of critical details.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to produce crisp decision memos and executive presentations that make complex issues clear, synthesize tradeoffs, and drive decisions.
• People‑leadership experience and a demonstrated ability to coach and develop high‑performing teams.
• High agency and autonomy: you identify the highest‑leverage problems, create momentum without waiting for perfect direction, and take ownership through measurable results.
• Strong systems thinking: you can turn messy workflows and one‑off solutions into simple, durable mechanisms, including operating cadences, playbooks, SLAs, dashboards, and clear handoffs.
• Comfort operating in a dynamic environment where priorities evolve and the path is not always predefined.
• Practical experience using AI tools to improve analysis, workflow design, decision support, or team productivity.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience at a top‑tier strategy consulting firm followed by 3-5 years in an operating, strategy, or business operations role.
• MBA, another relevant advanced degree or equivalent experience.
• Experience in healthcare, a technology‑enabled services business, a marketplace, or another environment where supply, demand, access, and service quality must be managed together.
• Experience building or leading one or more of the following capabilities: business operations, program management, workforce management, operations analytics, continuous improvement, or automation.
• Familiarity with SQL, business‑intelligence tools, workforce‑planning systems, or other analytical and operational technologies; direct hands‑on expertise is helpful but not required.

Octave's Company Values

• We're human beings first. We operate with empathy and kindness – with our clients, with our collaborators, and with ourselves.
• People deserve better than status quo. We're willing to tackle the intractable problems, no matter how big, because someone should. We ask big questions, we craft big solutions, and we challenge ourselves and others to make it happen.
• No bystanders. No stars. No tourists. Each person has been selected to be here, and with that comes a responsibility to bring your expertise, share your ideas, and help make this company better.
• Partnership paves the path ahead. We don't operate in a silo, internally or externally. To transform the system, we believe in working with others to create something bigger, better, and stronger.
• Quality is crucial at scale. Quality is core to our business, and we refuse to sacrifice it as we grow.
• Progress is a process. In the pursuit of progress, we iterate, reflect, learn, adjust – and always leave things better than we found them.
• There are people behind every data point. We recognize that numbers tell only one part of the story, and we also do the work to understand impacts at the individual level.

Physical Requirements

• Prolonged periods sitting at a desk and working on a computer.
• Must be able to frequently communicate with others through virtual meeting applications such as Zoom and Google Meet.
• Must be able to observe and communicate information on company provided laptop.
• Move up to 10 pounds on occasion.
• Must be eligible to work in the United States without sponsorship now or in the future.

Compensation, Equity & Incentives

Base Salary Range

• Geo 1 (All other states & D.C.): $173,800 - $206,500
• Geo 2 (CO, HI, MD, RI): $191,200 - $209,200
• Geo 3 (AK, CA, CT, MA, NJ, NY, WA): $199,900 - $218,700

Variable Compensation & Equity

• Performance Bonus: This role is not currently eligible for bonus incentives.
• Equity Awards: This role is eligible to participate in Octave's equity program via Stock Options, subject to the terms of the applicable Equity Incentive Plan.
• Remote Work Stipend: New full‑time employees receive a $300 equipment reimbursement to support a home office setup.
• Internet & Phone Reimbursement: Full‑time employees are eligible for a monthly reimbursement of up to $75 for internet and cell phone related expenses.

Octave is committed to pay equity and transparency. Octave will not discharge or in any other manner coerce, intimidate, threaten, discriminate or retaliate against employees or applicants because they have: (i) inquired about, discussed, compared, or disclosed their own wages, benefits, or other compensation, or the wages, benefits, or other compensation of another employee or applicant; (ii) asked Octave to provide a reason for the employee's wages or lack of opportunity for advancement; or (iii) aided or encouraged others in exercising their rights to discuss wages, compensation, or benefits, or to seek pay equity.

However, except as otherwise provided by law, employees who have access to the compensation information of other employees or applicants as part of their essential job functions cannot disclose the pay of other employees or applicants to individuals who do not otherwise have access to compensation information, unless the disclosure is (a) in response to a formal complaint or charge, (b) in furtherance of an investigation, proceeding, hearing, or action, including an investigation conducted by the employer, or (c) in compliance with the company's legal duty to furnish information under applicable law .

Comprehensive Benefits

• Health & Wellness: Choose what works best for you with one High Deductible Health Plan (HDHP) and two PPO medical plan options, plus comprehensive Dental and Vision coverage.
• Medical Support: Enjoy access to a company‑sponsored membership with One Medical for convenient, modern care.
• Retirement: Plan for your future with a 401(k) that offers both traditional and Roth options.
• Paid Time Off: Time to recharge matters. Take advantage of a generous time off policy, up to 15 paid company holidays, and accrued sick time.
• Financial Protection: We've got you covered with company‑paid Life, AD&D, and Disability insurance, plus optional extras like Pet, Legal, and Worksite plans (Critical Illness, Hospital Indemnity, and Accident).
• Parental Leave (Bonding Time): Growing your family? Full‑time employees can take paid bonding leave after 6 months, whether it’s a new baby, adoption, or foster placement. Time off increases with tenure.
• Growth: Keep learning and leveling up with professional development reimbursement for role‑related growth opportunities.

How We Use Technology in Hiring

As part of our hiring process, we may use technology tools, including AI‑supported systems, to assist with reviewing applications or documenting interviews. These tools are designed to support our team, not replace human judgment, and final hiring decisions are always made by our team.

This job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities and activities may change at any time with or without notice.