Head of Operational Improvement (CEO Office)

About the Organisation:

The organisation is a large-scale tropical forest restoration company operating in West Africa focused on restoring degraded biodiverse ecosystems through long-term community-centred projects.

With operations across multiple countries a workforce of 2000 employees and thousands of hectares already restored the organisation is scaling towards 100000 hectares under management in the next three years.

Projects are long-term and aligned with leading international standards (e.g. VERRA VCS CCB) delivering measurable climate biodiversity and socioeconomic outcomes in partnership with global organisations and local communities.

The Role:

Sitting in the co-CEO Office you will be the co-CEOs right hand on operational execution diagnosing gaps designing systems and embedding them across projects and functions. The role is not tied to a single function. You will move across priority areas (forest protection restoration livelihoods ESG) going deep on one problem at a time and leaving behind scalable systems.

This is a hands-on transformation role: diagnose design implement embed. Your mandate is to take us from project-based execution to repeatable systems bringing structure accountability and leadership visibility to fast-scaling operations across geographies.

This is an individual contributor role with no direct reports your influence comes from structured thinking rigour and trust not headcount.

• Diagnostics: Rapidly assess operational performance identify bottlenecks and prioritise high-impact interventions.

• System design: Build SOPs workflows and decision-making processes that are practical field-ready and scalable.
• Performance & accountability: Define KPIs build reporting frameworks and dashboards and establish clear ownership across teams.
• Implementation: Work directly with field teams to roll out systems and ensure adoption through training and iteration.
• Tooling: Evaluate and introduce tools that improve data collection operational tracking and decision-making.
• co-CEO support & stakeholder representation: Act as a proxy for the CEO on operational priorities and cross-functional execution. Over time the role is expected to involve managing high-level meetings with senior stakeholders in West Africa including government representatives ministers and strategic partners alongside or on behalf of the co-CEO. Final decisions remain with the co-CEO.

What Success Looks Like (1218 Months):

• Consistent operating systems embedded across all major functions
• Reliable KPIs and reporting across projects and geographies
• Measurable improvements in operational efficiency and execution quality
• A strong accountability culture with less firefighting and ad hoc decision-making
• Real-time performance visibility for leadership
• Growing presence in senior external engagements building toward independent representation of the CEO with government and strategic partners

Who you are:

• 47 years total of which at least 2 in top-tier operational consulting (Newton Partners in Performance AlixPartners Alvarez & Marsal Kearney or equivalent) or high-performance operational roles in complex field-based environments
• Strong track record solving operational problems and implementing durable systems KPIs and performance frameworks
• Exceptional structured thinking; able to move between strategy and execution seamlessly
• Credible and composed in senior stakeholder environments able to hold your own with executives partners and government counterparts
• Equally effective with field teams and in the boardroom
• Low ego high ownership strong bias for action and resilient in ambiguous fast-changing settings
• Willing to travel frequently and spend real time in the field
• Motivated by long-term environmental and social impact
• Experience in emerging markets preferred

Location:

• West Africa (Ghana / Sierra Leone) preferred; London considered. Frequent site travel required (strict minimum requirement of 15 weeks travel per year if London-based).

• Competitive salary plus benefits

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Required Experience:

Chief