Director - Business Operations - IDEO - Palo Alto

Job description
Director of Business Operations

IDEO helps companies innovate. We design products, services, environments, and digital experiences for organizations seeking new ways to provide value for their customers. IDEO creates visible and tangible strategies for innovation and executes all aspects of design and development, from conception through production. Our work environment appeals to self-directed, flexible team players that have great interpersonal skills, good judgment, learn quickly, work smart, and play hard.

IDEO’s more than 600 design thinkers create a culture rich in ideas, experience and empathy, which defines each of our eleven locations: Palo Alto, San Francisco, Chicago, New York, Boston, London, Munich, Shanghai, Tokyo and Singapore.

Position Summary

We are looking for a Director of Business Operations – a highly collaborative position for someone who can provide direction, experience and inspiration. This individual will work directly with the Managing Directorsof the location and the broader leadership team. The ideal individual embodies strong analytic capabilities as well as the ability to build trusting relationships across a diverse design team. This person must demonstrate a collaborative leadership style, great communication skills, and an ability to thrive in a ‘non-rules based’ environment of innovation. This person will help lead all financial and business aspects of IDEO Palo Alto. At IDEO, Operations is about supporting great decision making, building trust and demonstrating great judgment. We strive to build both a healthy business AND a generative innovation driven culture.

Reporting to IDEO Palo Alto’s Managing Director and the Global operations team, the key activities include:

Implement internal business & financial processes to support timely decision-making and effective leadership
Work with Leadership team to manage a balanced pipeline portfolio of projects
Work with Leadership Team and Recruiting to plan hiring, review location employee structure and plan for success through a financial lens
Communicate location financial operations and prepare necessary reports conveying the state of the business on a regular basis
Ensure financial benchmarks for pricing and project execution are maintained in alignment with business needs
Evaluate proposed and active design projects to assess pricing, margins and risk factors
Work alongside Project Leaders to track and manage budgets for fees and expenses for projects, and management of invoicing to clients
Work with the Finance team to ensure timeliness of project invoicing, handle invoicing issues, and deliver a seamless client experience
Work alongside a global business operations team in eleven locations to share, and lead, best financial practices throughout IDEO with particular focus on collaboration with the San Francisco (Bay Area) team

Desired Skills and Experience
Additional Skills Required
5+ years progressive experience in a business operations or project management capacity, preferably 3+ years within a professional services company or creative field (advertising, digital agencies, production companies)
Experience working with design/creative people in a project planning and execution capacity
Ability to perform risk management and assess all associated risks and financial benefits of potential project leads and ongoing projects
Ability to empathize and engage with designers and help them look at things through a business lens
Ability to synthesize aggregated knowledge, both financial and anecdotal, into a point of view and express it effectively
Ability to build and nurture relationships across multiple networks using collaborative and empathic skills
Comfort level in an ambiguous, non-rules based environment
Passion for business and operations
Strong analytical skills and exemplary time management/organizational skills
Excellent discretion, demonstrating sound judgment in dealing with confidential dialogues and information
Great communication and negotiation skills, bringing together different views, personalities, goals, and needs, and helping different stakeholders find business alignment and growth

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