Head of Operations

Turn; Chicago (IL); Hybrid; USD 200,000 - 280,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive compensation

Equity

Hybrid work

Direct access to CEO

Impactful work

Job summary

Turn, a Chicago-based, remote-friendly background check platform, seeks a VP of Operations to own daily execution, scale ticketing and escalation infrastructure, and turn data into actionable improvements. You will partner with the CEO and leaders across product, engineering, and customer success to standardize processes, automate where possible, and drive predictable outcomes. The role emphasizes in-person collaboration 1–3 days weekly.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of operations leadership experience in startup or high-growth environments.
• Experience running high-volume ticketing or case-management operations.
• Ability to translate compliance requirements into repeatable workflows.
• AI-enabled data-driven decision making as a core practice.
• Strong numerical mindset and capable of data-backed decisions.
• Growth mindset with a bias for action and continuous improvement.
• Ownership mindset with a bias toward resolving root causes.

Responsibilities

• Rebuild Turn's ticketing infrastructure and SLA framework to handle tens of thousands of tickets monthly.
• Lead operational teams across fulfillment, vendor management, and service delivery.
• Own vendor relationships and performance with data providers.
• Partner with product, engineering, and customer success to onboard clients and reduce manual work.
• Use AI and analytics to track KPIs and drive improvements; codify processes.

Skills

Leadership

Data-driven

AI native

Vendor management

Process improvement

Cross-functional collaboration

Tools

Zendesk

Jira Service Management

Salesforce Service Cloud

Job description

About Turn

Turn is a venture-backed, experienced team of entrepreneurs focused on driving unprecedented value to high-volume employers. As an award-winning background check platform with an API-first approach, Turn specialises in providing robust support to talent platforms, staffing agencies, and employers across more than 30 different industries throughout the U.S. and Canada.

The Role

We are looking for a VP of Operations to own how Turn runs, day in and day out. Our platform processes a high volume of background screens, and with it comes a high volume of operational work: tens of thousands of tickets every month across fulfillment, disputes, compliance reviews, and customer escalations. We need a leader who has built infrastructure to handle that kind of volume before, and who knows how to make it consistent, predictable, and measurable. This is a hands‑on, foundational leadership role. You will partner closely with the CEO and with our product, engineering, partnerships, and customer success leaders to rebuild our ticketing and escalation infrastructure, cut redundant work at the source, and give every team clear answers on how things work and why. The ideal candidate is a strategic operator who replaces ad hoc judgment calls with clear systems, and who uses AI and data to drive decisions, not just manage processes. This role is based in the Chicagoland area. Turn has historically been remote-first, and we are establishing a Chicago office for key leadership hires. You will be expected in the office one to three days per week, working side by side with the team.

What You’ll Own

Ticketing & Operational Infrastructure

• Own and rebuild Turn's high-volume ticketing infrastructure: queues, routing, prioritization, and SLAs that reliably handle tens of thousands of tickets per month and scale with our growth
• Reduce ticket volume at the source by eliminating duplicate and redundant ticket creation, partnering with engineering and product on automation
• Build documented, repeatable processes, including workflow diagrams, escalation paths, and clear decision criteria, so outcomes are consistent and predictable rather than case‑by‑case
• Build and maintain a data‑driven operating model, using AI tools and analytics to track KPIs (volume, turnaround time, backlog, accuracy) and drive continuous improvement

Operations Leadership

• Lead and develop the operations and QA teams across fulfillment, vendor management, and service delivery
• Own vendor relationships, SLAs, and performance management with data providers (including Equifax and similar CRA‑ecosystem partners)
• Partner with customer success, partnerships, and sales to ensure seamless client onboarding and retention, and equip client‑facing teams with clear explanations of how our operational processes work
• Lead incident response with ownership: acknowledge issues quickly, investigate root cause, fix them, communicate transparently, and put safeguards in place so they do not recur

Operational Compliance

• Operationalise FCRA requirements in day‑to‑day workflows, including consumer disputes, compliance reviews, and adverse action, in close partnership with our compliance and legal team
• Develop a deep, hands‑on understanding of the Turn platform so you can spot where product behavior and compliance requirements diverge, and drive fixes with product and engineering

Who You Are

• You have 8+ years of operations leadership experience, with meaningful time in a startup or high‑growth environment
• You have built and run high‑volume ticketing or case‑management operations (think thousands of tickets per day) and can speak in specifics about the systems, staffing models, and metrics that made them work
• You have operated in a regulated, high‑volume environment and are comfortable turning compliance requirements into practical, repeatable workflows
• You are AI‑native: you use AI tools as a default, not an afterthought, and you get excited about building systems that automate intelligently
• You are deeply data‑oriented: you make decisions with numbers, not gut feelings alone
• You have a growth mindset. You are always looking for ways to improve how the business operates, rather than defending the way things have always been done
• You lead with ownership. When someone flags a problem, your instinct is to say "you're right, let's dig in," investigate, fix it, and make sure it does not happen again
• You are a clear, direct communicator who can translate operational complexity into simple processes and documentation for clients, cross‑functional partners, and leadership
• You are a culture carrier: collaborative, solutions‑oriented, and high‑integrity
• You are based in the Chicagoland area (or willing to relocate) and excited to work in person with the team one to three days per week

Nice to Have

• Direct experience in background screening or the Consumer Reporting Agency (CRA) industry, including FCRA dispute processes
• Hands‑on experience with ticketing and workflow platforms (e.g., Zendesk, Jira Service Management, Salesforce Service Cloud) and workflow automation
• Familiarity with HubSpot or similar SaaS operational tooling
• Prior experience building an operations function from the ground up at a Series A–C company
• Background in fintech, HR tech, or compliance‑adjacent industries

What We Offer

• Competitive compensation including base salary, equity, and performance incentives
• Hybrid work environment with a Chicago office and flexibility
• Direct access to and partnership with the CEO and leadership team
• The opportunity to build something meaningful: you will have outsized impact at a company that is reshaping how background screening works
• A lean, collaborative team that moves fast and trusts each other