Strategic Operations Lead & FP&A Partner, Lithium

Socket.dev; Houston (TX); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Mariana Minerals in Houston is seeking a Business Operations Manager to lead operational strategy and drive business performance for our Lithium division, translating field results into financial insight and guiding leadership decisions.

You will own the performance framework, partner with Finance on budgeting and forecasting, and build scalable processes across operations, supply chain, and quality management, including ISO 9001 initiatives.

Qualifications

• 5-10+ years in business operations or program management; experience in energy, chemicals, manufacturing, or another industrial sector is a plus
• Demonstrated ability to build and own operational reporting systems (define KPIs, design dashboards, implement data collection workflows)
• Experience implementing or maintaining a quality management system; familiarity with ISO 9001 or similar frameworks preferred.
• Able to build operational structure around the technical and commercial work of others
• Strong communicator with experience distilling complex operational issues into clear updates for leadership and keeping distributed teams aligned
• Proven track record leading cross-functional projects in fast-moving environments with minimal oversight
• Experience working directly with frontline operations and executive leadership; comfortable influencing without authority across all levels
• Comfortable on-site in an industrial environment; this is a full-time, in-person role in Houston, TX

Responsibilities

• Financial and Operational performance management: Own the business performance framework for the Lithium business — integrating operational KPIs with financial metrics to give leadership a clear view of cost, production, and margin performance against plan.
• FP&A partnership: Work closely with the Finance team to support budgeting, forecasting, and variance analysis. Build the operational context behind the numbers and help translate field data into finance-ready reporting.
• Greenfield project development operations: Partner with the Business Development team to build processes, playbooks, and tracking systems from origination through DFS and into construction.
• Business process improvement: Identify and drive improvements across operational and corporate functions, including finance, supply chain, and HSE; lead ISO 9001 initiatives.
• Digitization and reporting infrastructure: Collaborate with software and data teams to build reporting systems and digital tools ensuring data flows from field to boardroom.
• Executive reporting and communications: Own the cadence of leadership reporting, ensuring timely and actionable information for decision-making.

Skills

Business Operations

Program Management

Cross-functional Collaboration

Data-driven Reporting

KPIs & Dashboards

ISO 9001

Job description

Mariana Minerals in Houston is seeking a Business Operations Manager to lead operational strategy and drive business performance for our Lithium division, translating field results into financial insight and guiding leadership decisions.

You will own the performance framework, partner with Finance on budgeting and forecasting, and build scalable processes across operations, supply chain, and quality management, including ISO 9001 initiatives.