Operations Director

Operations Director with IRG Media

Remote, EU / UK Preferred

£67,000 - £79,000 (DEO) + performance-linked upside (tied to quarterly KPI's)

We're looking for a strategic yet execution-obsessed Operations Director to own daily delivery, margin oversight, system maintenance, development and optimization of systems and processes — acting as the CEO's right hand in building a scalable business structure and operating model as the agency develops and grows as the agency scales.

You'll oversee the delivery engine at the heart of the agency — building infrastructure, embedding systems, and ensuring campaign outcomes hit our financial and quality benchmarks.

Must be an expert with CRM's like Clickup and Automation platforms like Zapier or Make.

About Us

IRG Media is a fast growing influencer marketing agency driving high-performance campaigns with creators across the US, UK, AU and EU. We've executed for brands like Holafly, MyHeritage, HelloFresh, and Revolut UK — with a growing portfolio of clients and a relentless focus on delivery quality, margin, and client retention.

Why This Role Exists Now

IRG is growing fast. With a busy team of specialists, things move quickly. This role ensures that everything stays organised, efficient and high-performing. The Operations Director is a newly designed role focused on:

- Ownership of systems and processes

- Driving consistency in utilisation, and margin delivery

- Maturing the business KPI's, financial and operational metrics

The Operations Director will make delivery predictable, team performance measurable and client success visible - setting new standards for how we structure and deliver our great work.

Responsibilities / Ownership1. System Design & SOP Enforcement

• Own and optimize all ClickUp systems and associated processes.
• Maintain and develop IRG's software suite , ensuring that the team adhere to best practices and are supported by best-in-class systems.
• Implement automations (Zapier, Slack, Make, ClickUp native) that reduce team workload
• Run weekly reviews of system compliance and flag gaps immediately

2. Margin and Cost Control

• Own gross margin tracking across all active projects
• Maintain ≥40% gross margin across the agency
• Flag low-margin risks before they affect client trust
• Create and embed systems to reduce overburn, reduce delivery drift and enforce cost pacing

3. Team Utilization and Accountability

• Track weekly utilization across all team members — with target ranges of 70–80%
• Manage capacity planning in ClickUp; reassign where needed to keep projects moving
• Enforce time tracking, task hygiene, and role accountability
• Own KPI enforcement and relevant tracking for the team.
• Build dashboards that create visibility for the leadership team

4. Leadership Responsibilities

• Contribute to and own, as required strategic initiatives as agreed with CEO / board
• Assist the CEO in structure, forward planning and operational decision-making as the business grows and scales
• Produce clear reporting and operational insight for the leadership team and board to assist with critical decision making
• Contribute to and help to maintain a positive, supportive and accountable agency environment

Success in This Role Looks Like

Within 30 days:

• You've taken ownership of ClickUp systems
• KPI tracking is live for delivery, margin, and team usage
• CEO has visibility into what's on track, what's late, and what's leaking margin / retention
• You have devised and agreed a plan with the CEO for agency operations

Within 90 days:

• You've reduced ops firefighting
• Team is running at target utilization
• Delivery and margin KPIs are being hit consistently
• You've reduced the agency delivery cycle by 15-25%.

Within 6–12 months:

• Delivery no longer depends on the CEO's direct oversight
• You've made delivery margins predictable
• Retention risks are flagged early, not late
• You've built dashboards the CEO actually relies on to make decisions
• The team's development is clearly visible.

You'll Thrive in This Role If...

• You think in systems, not tasks
• You enjoy taking messy workflows and making them clean, scalable, and trackable
• You're obsessive about closing feedback loops
• You know how to say "no" to unscalable fixes
• You know how to track the right numbers — and use them to make decisions
• You've operated in fast-moving agency environments or founder-led startups

PERFORMANCE-BASED BONUS IS TIED TO...

• Client Retention
• Team Utilization
• Delivery KPIs (on-time, error-free execution)
• Automation coverage and cycle time reduction

Progression

This role can grow into:

• COO, helping scale IRG into a sellable company
• ...but only when systems scale better because of you.

Benefits

• £67,000 - £79,000 (DEO) + performance-linked upside (tied to quarterly KPI's)
• Fully remote
• Clear progression into Senior Level Roles
• High-trust, high-expectation environment
• Large progression for growth (uncapped growth potential here given we are small)
• Be one of the early members to shape and build the company vision