VP, Operations & Execution

Socket.dev; San Jose (CA); Hybrid; USD 180,000 - 260,000; Full time

Job summary

Accion Opportunity Fund (AOF) is seeking a hands-on Vice President of Operations and Execution to translate priorities into disciplined execution across core operations and customer-facing functions. You will manage leaders, analyze operations data, and drive cross-functional initiatives to improve performance and scalability for mission-driven lending and servicing programs.

The role combines people leadership with hands-on problem solving, analytics, and vendor management to ensure initiatives

Qualifications

• Ten or more years of progressive experience in operations, servicing, customer operations, or related discipline with leadership of managers.
• Proven ability to improve operating performance and execute complex implementations.

Responsibilities

• Lead daily performance of operations and service-delivery functions with clear ownership and metrics.
• Monitor volume, capacity, backlog, cycle time, quality, cost, and risk; drive corrective action.
• Resolve bottlenecks and escalations with managers, frontline teams, vendors, and partners.
• Translate priorities into workplans with milestones, owners, and decisions.
• Ensure on-time execution and elevate unresolved issues with clear options.

Skills

Operations leadership

Cross-functional leadership

Process improvement

Vendor management

Data analysis

Budget management

Customer operations

Zendesk

Service Portal

Tools

Zendesk

Service Portal

Job description

Hybrid, LA area, Bay Area, NYC metro, and South Florida

THE ORGANIZATION:

Accion Opportunity Fund (AOF) is a leading Community Development Financial Institution dedicated to providing underserved small business owners with access to capital, networks, and coaching. For over 30 years, AOF has helped small business owners create jobs, build wealth, and strengthen communities by providing responsible financing and business support services.

Since our founding, we have deployed more than $1 billion in financing and have served more than 4 million entrepreneurs through educational resources and business support programs. The majority of our clients come from historically underserved communities where access to traditional financing remains limited.

As AOF continues its mission of expanding financial inclusion, we are building a scalable, sustainable financial institution that combines mission impact with strong financial performance. Our strategic vision includes expanding our lending capabilities, strengthening enterprise risk management, and preparing for future growth across additional financial products, including Credit Union services.

To learn more, https://aofund.org/

POSITION SUMMARY:

Reporting to the Chief Operations and Servicing Officer, the Vice President of Operations and Execution is a hands-on operating leader responsible for translating priorities into disciplined execution across assigned operational and customer-facing functions supporting Accion Opportunity Fund Community Development and Accion Opportunity Federal Credit Union. The Vice President will manage leaders and teams, improve day-to-day performance, resolve complex operating issues, and ensure critical initiatives move from plan to implementation.

This is a working leadership role for an experienced operator who is comfortable moving between people leadership, operating data, workflow details, vendor performance, customer escalations, and cross-functional implementation. The successful candidate will set clear expectations, build capable managers, and personally engage in important work when additional structure, analysis, or problem solving is required.

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES:

Operational Leadership and Performance

• Lead the daily performance of assigned operations and service-delivery functions, establishing clear ownership, service levels, productivity expectations, quality standards, and operating routines.
• Maintain direct visibility into volume, capacity, backlog, cycle time, quality, customer outcomes, cost, and risk; use the data to identify problems early and drive corrective action.
• Resolve operational bottlenecks and escalations by working directly with managers, frontline teams, vendors, and cross-functional partners.
• Translate organizational priorities into practical workplans with accountable owners, milestones, dependencies, decision points, and measurable outcomes.
• Ensure operational commitments are completed on time and that unresolved issues are elevated with clear facts, options, and recommendations.

Process Improvement and Execution

• Examine end-to-end workflows and redesign processes to reduce friction, rework, handoffs, errors, and operating costs while strengthening the customer and employee experience.

• Lead implementation of operational changes from problem definition through testing, launch, adoption, stabilization, and benefit realization.
• Build practical controls, standard operating procedures, decision rights, and performance reporting that support consistent and audit-ready execution.
• Identify and implement automation and responsible AI use cases that improve speed, quality, capacity, and service delivery; ensure the operating teams adopt and sustain the changes.
• Partner on technology-enabled initiatives, including lending, servicing, customer support, and member-service capabilities, representing operational requirements and owning business readiness.

Customer and Member Operations

• Improve customer and member outcomes by strengthening the operational processes, service channels, case management, and handoffs that shape the experience.
• Use customer feedback, complaints, service data, and quality results to identify root causes and implement operational corrections.
• Drive effective use and continuous improvement of assigned service platforms, including Zendesk and the Service Portal, to increase self-service, improve response quality, and reduce avoidable contacts.
• Partner with Product and Marketing on customer journeys, communications, and campaigns while retaining accountability for operational readiness and execution within Operations.

People and Vendor Leadership

• Lead, coach, and hold accountable a team of operational leaders; establish clear goals, regular performance reviews, development plans, and succession coverage.
• Create an environment in which managers own results, address performance issues promptly, and remain close to the work of their teams.
• Manage workforce capacity and resource allocation across in-house and outsourced operations based on demand, service expectations, risk, and cost.
• Oversee assigned vendor and business-process-outsourcing relationships through clear contracts, scorecards, governance, issue resolution, and continuous performance improvement.
• Build productive relationships across Product, Technology, Marketing, Credit, Risk, Compliance, Finance, Data and Analytics, and other partners needed to deliver operational outcomes.

Risk Controls and Financial Stewardship

• Embed applicable regulatory, compliance, documentation, and control requirements into operating processes in partnership with Risk, Compliance, Legal, and Internal Audit.
• Monitor operational risks, control gaps, incidents, and remediation commitments; ensure corrective actions are completed and sustained.
• Manage assigned budgets, headcount, and vendor expenses; identify opportunities to improve unit economics without compromising service, control, or mission outcomes.
• Provide concise, fact-based reporting on operating performance, risks, decisions, and execution progress to senior leadership.

QUALIFICATIONS:

REQUIRED:

• Ten or more years of progressive experience in operations, servicing, customer operations, business-process management, or a related discipline, including leadership of managers and distributed teams.
• Demonstrated success improving operating performance and personally leading complex implementations from planning through sustained execution.