Strategy & Operations Senior Associate

Faire; San Francisco (CA); Hybrid; USD 134,000 - 184,000; Full time

Job summary

Faire is seeking a Strategy & Operations Senior Associate in San Francisco to serve as the primary strategic partner for Faire's Head of Customer Experience. The role focuses on analytics, problem-solving, and operational execution to maximize impact across CX, Finance, Operations, and vendor teams.

You will help define capacity plans, design workforce management processes, and guide initiatives from ideation through launch, partnering with CX, Finance, Operations, and vendors.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree (or equivalent experience) and 4+ years in strategy & operations, management consulting, investment banking, strategic finance or business operations at a high-growth technology or fintech/marketplace company.
• SQL proficiency or a strong desire to learn
• Ability to build and maintain scalable financial models
• Demonstrated cross-functional leadership—able to partner with operators and technical teams, influence without authority, and drive initiatives from concept to impact
• Strong, structured communication (written and verbal) and executive-ready storytelling; experience leading business reviews and surfacing clear recommendations
• Team player who loves to deliver outstanding results while having a fun time with your teammates!
• Interest and desire to learn about complex operational workflows
• Desire to work in a fast-paced environment with constant change

Responsibilities

• Fill strategic, analytical, and operational gaps for CX, driving forward‑looking, high‑impact projects that help the org take on more strategic work in service of company goals
• Lead cross-functional support initiatives end‑to‑end as part of quarterly and annual planning: drive bottoms‑up opportunity sizing and scoping, frame the problem, align stakeholders, and land change management
• Refine and scale capacity models and WFM cadences across CX and use those learnings to drive cost savings initiatives across Faire
• Own the comms process between Finance, Operations, and vendor teams — translating financial forecasts into operational targets for cost and volume
• Drive CX's annual headcount planning and forecasting, including scenario analysis, initiative impact sizing, and budgeting
• Drive team performance management & accountability — building dashboards, monitoring, diagnosing, and reporting out on key trends across CX

Skills

Strategy & operations

Cross-functional leadership

Executive storytelling

Data analysis

Financial modeling

Communication

Education

Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience

Tools

SQL

Job description

About Faire

Faire is a technology wholesale platform built on the belief that the future is local. Independent retailers around the globe collectively represent a multi-hundred-billion-dollar wholesale market that has historically been fragmented and offline. At Faire, we're using the power of tech, data, and machine learning to connect this thriving community of entrepreneurs across the globe. Picture your favorite boutique in town — we help them discover the best products from around the world to sell in their stores. With the right tools and insights, we believe that we can level the playing field so businesses can grow and local communities can thrive.

We’re looking for smart, resourceful and passionate people to join us as we power the shop local movement. If you believe in community, come join ours.

About This Role

We're looking for a Strategy & Operations Senior Associate to be the primary strategic partner for Faire's Head of Customer Experience — driving the analytics, strategic problem-solving, and operational execution that help the team deliver its highest possible impact. This is an ideal role for someone who thrives in a hybrid of operational rigor and strategic problem-solving, with a strong desire to lead high-impact projects from ideation through execution. The ideal candidate is comfortable getting into the weeds of data and leveling up their recommendations to an executive audience, while appreciating the complexity of operations at a marketplace.

This role blends strategy, analytics, and hands‑on execution. You'll partner with Customer Experience, Finance, Operations, and vendor teams to define capacity plans, design workforce management processes, and guide initiatives — from support strategy to strategic program management — from ideation to launch.

You’re Excited About This Opportunity Because You Will

• Fill strategic, analytical, and operational gaps for CX, driving forward‑looking, high‑impact projects that help the org take on more strategic work in service of company goals
• Lead cross‑functional support initiatives end‑to‑end as part of quarterly and annual planning: drive bottoms‑up opportunity sizing and scoping, frame the problem, align stakeholders, and land change management
• Refine and scale capacity models and WFM cadences across CX and use those learnings to drive cost savings initiatives across Faire
• Own the comms process between Finance, Operations, and vendor teams — translating financial forecasts into operational targets for cost and volume
• Drive CX's annual headcount planning and forecasting, including scenario analysis, initiative impact sizing, and budgeting
• Drive team performance management & accountability — building dashboards, monitoring, diagnosing, and reporting out on key trends across CX

We’re Excited About You Because You Have

• A Bachelor’s degree (or equivalent experience) and 4+ years in strategy & operations, management consulting, investment banking, strategic finance or business operations at a high‑growth technology or fintech/marketplace company.
• SQL proficiency or a strong desire to learn
• The ability to build and maintain scalable financial models
• Demonstrated cross‑functional leadership—able to partner with operators and technical teams, influence without authority, and drive initiatives from concept to impact
• Strong, structured communication (written and verbal) and executive‑ready storytelling; experience leading business reviews and surfacing clear recommendations
• Team player who loves to deliver outstanding results while having a fun time with your teammates!
• Interest and desire to learn about complex operational workflows
• Desire to work in a fast‑paced environment with constant change

Nice To Haves

• Marketplace experience
• Customer Support experience

Why you’ll love working at Faire

• We are entrepreneurs: Faire is being built for entrepreneurs, by entrepreneurs. We believe entrepreneurship is a calling and our mission is to empower entrepreneurs to chase their dreams. Every member of our team is an owner of the business and taking part in the founding process.
• We are using technology and data to level the playing field: We are leveraging the power of product innovation and machine learning to connect brands and boutiques from all over the world, building a growing community of more than 350,000 small business owners.
• We build products our customers love: Everything we do is ultimately in the service of helping our customers grow their business because our goal is to grow the pie - not steal a piece from it. Running a small business is hard work, but using Faire makes it easy.
• We are curious and resourceful: Inquisitive by default, we explore every possibility, test every assumption, and develop creative solutions to the challenges at hand. We lead with curiosity and data in our decision making, and reason from a first principles mentality.

Salary Range

San Francisco: The pay range for this role is $133,500 to $183,500 per year.

This role will also be eligible for equity and benefits. Actual base pay will be determined based on permissible factors such as transferable skills, work experience, market demands, and primary work location. The base pay range provided is subject to change and may be modified in the future.

Hybrid Faire employees currently go into the office 3 days per week on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and a third flex day of their choosing (Monday, Wednesday, or Friday). Additionally, hybrid in-office roles will have the flexibility to work remotely up to 4 weeks per year. Specific Workplace and Information Technology positions may require onsite attendance 5 days per week as will be indicated in the job posting.

Why you’ll love working at Faire

• Move fast: You'll own meaningful problems that serve customers around the globe with the agency to move fast and see your results clearly.
• Equipped to scale: We invest in what matters, including the latest enterprise AI tools, to help you work smarter and get more out of every day.
• Best in class: Our team is full of sharp, kind, and generous colleagues who care about their craft and about helping you grow in yours.
• Real rewards. Competitive pay, equity, and comprehensive benefits designed to support your life inside and outside of work.
• Belonging: We're intentional about building an environment where every Faire employee has equal access to opportunities, growth, and success.

Faire was founded in 2017 by a team of early product and engineering leads from Square. We’re backed by some of the top investors in retail and tech including: Y Combinator, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Forerunner Ventures, Khosla Ventures, Sequoia Capital, Founders Fund, and DST Global. We have headquarters in San Francisco and Kitchener‑Waterloo, and a global employee presence across offices in Toronto, London, and New York. To learn more about Faire and our customers, you can read more on our blog.

Faire provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, genetics, sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression.

Faire is committed to providing access, equal opportunity and reasonable accommodation for individuals with disabilities in employment, its services, programs, and activities. Accommodations are available throughout the recruitment process and applicants with a disability may request to be accommodated throughout the recruitment process. We will work with all applicants to accommodate their individual accessibility needs. To request reasonable accommodation, please fill out our Accommodation Request Form (https://bit.ly/faire-form).

Privacy

For information about the type of personal data Faire collects from applicants, as well as your choices regarding the data collected about you, please visit Faire’s Privacy Notice (https://www.faire.com/privacy).