Chief Operating Officer

About Us

Every year, millions die from preventable diseases because vital services do not reach them. A root cause is broken data: missing or unreliable IDs, fragmented records, and inflated reporting. Without accurate data on who receives services, governments and NGOs cannot deliver care effectively, track impact, or target life-saving resources. Simprints is a nonprofit tech company that partners with ministries and funders to verify identities, digitise workflows, and enable evidence-based decisions so the right services reach the right people at the right time. We co-design end-to-end digital solutions with the people who use them, from the frontlines to national dashboards. Our biometric products integrate with health records to drive accuracy, accountability, and insights. Studies have shown that Simprints increases impact through real-time, precision data, for example, increasing maternal health visits by 38% in Bangladesh or accurate HIV tracing by 62% in Malawi. To date, we’ve worked in over 18 countries, helping deliver health, aid, and finance to over 4 million people. Our mission is simple: make sure every vaccine, every dollar, and every public good reaches the people who need them most.

About the Role

Simprints is entering a new phase of organisational scale and operational complexity. We are looking for an operational and detail-oriented Chief Operating Officer (Fractional/Part-time) to help strengthen cross-functional execution, governance, and AI integration across the company. This is not a traditional “head of operations” role responsible for directly managing operational departments. Instead, this role is focused on improving how the organisation operates between functions: driving accountability, improving decision-making clarity, integrating AI into our operations, and helping the leadership team execute more effectively. You will work closely with the CEO and Management Team as an embedded executive operator, helping connect strategy to execution while improving organisational maturity without introducing unnecessary bureaucracy. This role is designed on a fractional basis (approximately 2-3 days per week), with an initial 3-6 month contract and the potential to continue long-term.

Key Responsibilities

• Cross-Functional Leadership & Execution
  • Drive cross-functional operational execution across the organisation.
  • Chair our weekly management team meetings, working with leadership teams to translate priorities into action, improve accountability, and strengthen organisational clarity and execution.
• Operational Governance & Compliance
  • Strengthen organisational operational maturity across governance, compliance, legal operations, operational risk management, and international scaling infrastructure.
• AI Transformation
  • Help embed practical AI-enabled ways of working across the organisation to improve productivity, scalability, coordination, and operational efficiency.

What Success Looks Like

• First 30 Days
  • Build strong working relationships and operational credibility across the Management Team.
  • Develop clear understanding of current organisational structure, operational pain points, governance gaps, and cross-functional friction points.
• First 90 Days
  • Take over chairing of Management Team meetings.
  • Establish clearer delegated authority and escalation pathways for recurring operational decisions.
• First 180 Days
  • Significantly improve cross-functional execution clarity, accountability, and operational coordination across the organisation.
  • Establish lightweight but scalable operational systems that improve execution without adding bureaucracy.

What are we looking for?

• Significant operational leadership experience within scaling startups, nonprofits, technology companies, or tech-for-good organisations.
• Experience operating as a COO, Chief of Staff, VP Operations, or equivalent senior operational leadership role.
• Strong track record of driving cross-functional organisational execution and operational clarity.
• Experience improving organisational systems, decision-making processes, and operational governance.

How We Work

We confront the grey. We practise transparency and radical candour, listen deeply, share information openly, and speak up when our ethical compass is challenged, so that psychological safety is real and everyone can do their best work. We leave our egos at the door. We bring curiosity, kindness, and a positive attitude, seek first to understand, and remember to laugh together. We stay humble about our small part in big global problems, and we remain bold about our ambition to drive change. We find a way. We plan with clear strategies, deliverables, deadlines, and metrics, step out of our comfort zones, and make it happen. When a plan is not working, we learn from the data, adapt quickly, and keep moving in service of the mission. We remember why we are here. Impact for people comes first. We act like owners, hold ourselves to high standards, and work across teams to close data gaps and increase coverage, so the right services reach the right people at the right time. We celebrate the differences. We treat every person with compassion, empathy, and respect, build inclusive spaces where diverse perspectives are welcomed, involve people in important decisions, and share credit generously, because our best ideas can come from anywhere.

5 Reasons to Join Simprints

• Genuine Impact. Work directly with our partners and users to deliver technology that has the potential to impact millions of lives across the globe.
• An incredible, diverse team. Our work is at the intersection of technology and global development, and we’ve managed to build an amazing team drawn from all over the world.
• Mutual Flex. We champion a work culture where autonomy and trust are paramount.
• Ultimate work-life balance. As long as you’re driving results and fostering teamwork, we encourage you to strike that perfect balance between your professional and personal life.
• Professional development. We promote continual learning and put our money where our mouth is with development plans and access to global experts.