At a Glance
- Tasks: Lead cross-functional projects and streamline operations to support growth.
- Company: Join Wave Group, a fast-growing tech-enabled professional services business.
- Benefits: Competitive salary, bonus, private healthcare, and 30+ days annual leave.
- Other info: Pathway to Chief of Staff role with real autonomy and trust.
- Why this job: Gain exposure to international expansion and work directly with founders.
- Qualifications: Strong academic background and exceptional execution skills required.
The predicted salary is between 60000 - 75000 £ per year.
Reports to: COO. A path to Chief of Staff. Occasional international travel.
About Wave Group
Wave Global Group is a tech-enabled professional services business with two service engines and a product arm that incubates and owns its software and data assets. Services, software, and data compounding together.
- Wave Talent: UK recruitment and staffing. Permanent and contract technology and digital professionals for VC-backed and enterprise clients. The original and largest revenue engine.
- WaveWorks: SoW-based enterprise consultancy. Multi-workstream technology programmes at seven-figure scale. The growth engine shifting Wave's revenue mix from services to programmes.
- Wave Labs: The group’s product and technology arm. Labs incubated and owns the group’s two proprietary assets: WaveMind, a self-serve AI hiring platform, built on Wave Talent’s proprietary candidate universe; and Mothership, an internal data lake with LLM copilot capability.
Wave is scaling across the UK, US, and UAE and building toward a meaningful exit. Every role is designed to compound against that trajectory.
The role in one paragraph
This is the operational layer directly beneath the COO. You own the cross-functional projects and infrastructure that sit above associate level but below director level. You protect the founders' time by making sure things land. You’re the first port of call for operational problems with no clear owner, and the person who turns the founders' vision into executed reality. You work on a project basis, flexing to whatever matters most that week.
You won’t be a specialist in any one function. Instead, you’re great at most things and fixated on what unblocks growth: the operational connective tissue across sales, the non-sales functions (finance, commercial, people, and marketing), and Labs. A core part of the job is making those three sides work as one, and keeping Labs connected to the rest of the business rather than running as an island. You won’t have every answer, but you’re sharp and resourceful enough to find it through research, advisors, suppliers and the team, then execute.
What you own and what success looks like:
The role spans six areas. Each sets out what you own and how we’ll know it’s working.
- International expansion (operational): The operational side of opening and running our UAE and US entities. Success looks like: New entities go live on or ahead of plan, with the right infrastructure from day one.
- Internal systems, tooling and SOPs: The systems the business runs on. Success looks like: Leadership has live, trusted dashboards, not ad hoc spreadsheets rebuilt each time.
- Operational bridge across sales, non-sales and Labs: The connective tissue across all three sides of the group. Success looks like: Sales, non-sales and Labs run as one engine, not three silos.
- Funding and growth readiness: Supporting the Group Strategy Director as an extension of their work. Success looks like: The Group Strategy Director has real leverage, because you carry the coordination and legwork.
- Compliance, governance and risk: The operational gaps in GDPR, data protection, compliance and security. Success looks like: The group reaches and holds clean, audit-ready foundations across data, compliance and records.
- General operational firepower: Being the first port of call for high-level operational tasks with no clear owner. Success looks like: When something has no owner, it comes to you and gets resolved.
Your first 90 days
The role is broad, but the early priorities are clear. In your first 90 days you take on the operational backbone the business is already carrying.
- International expansion: Pick up the UAE and US entity work and bring it onto a clear, managed timeline.
- Internal systems: Learn what leadership runs on today, then start building the dashboards, SOPs and documentation that remove single points of failure.
- The bridge: Map where things fall between sales, the non-sales functions and Labs, and close the most expensive gaps first.
- Ownership: Become the first port of call for operational items that currently land on the founders.
Who we are looking for
- Strong academic background.
- Above average at most things, expert in nothing yet, and energised by that.
- Exceptional execution.
- Genuinely tech and AI literate.
- Obsessed with growth and the points that unblock it.
- Proactive and resourceful.
- Comfortable moving between strategy and operational detail in the same day, and comfortable with ambiguity.
- Ambitious.
Why this role
- A seat at founder level.
- Exposure most people don’t get until much later.
- The remit is broad, and it’s yours.
- Real autonomy, real trust, and a path designed to grow into a Chief of Staff seat as the group scales into new markets.
Why work at Wave
- Shoreditch HQ with hybrid working (3 days in).
- 30+ days annual leave including birthday off and Christmas closure.
- Private healthcare with AXA.
- Enhanced parental leave.
- Performance-related bonus.
- Annual company trips for high achievers.
- Apple equipment.
- EMI share options tied to group growth.
Head of Operations in City of London employer: Wave Group
Wave Group is an excellent employer, offering a dynamic work culture that fosters innovation and collaboration in the heart of London. Employees benefit from competitive salaries, flexible hybrid working arrangements, and opportunities for professional growth while contributing to impactful projects that modernize policing through advanced AI solutions.
StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫
We think this is how you could land Head of Operations in City of London
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✨Engage in Professional Networks
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We think you need these skills to ace Head of Operations in City of London
Some tips for your application 🫡
Show Us Your Leadership Skills:In the corporate leadership and management field, it's essential to highlight your leadership experience. Use your CV to flesh out examples of how you've led teams to success or managed significant projects. We want to see specific instances where your actions made a tangible difference in your previous roles!
Quantify Your Achievements:Numbers talk, especially in management! When detailing your achievements in your CV or cover letter, don’t just say you improved team performance. Instead, say you boosted productivity by 30% over six months through effective strategy implementation. This makes your application pop and shows us what you can bring to Wave Group.
Craft a Compelling Cover Letter:Your cover letter is your chance to narrate your professional journey. We’re looking for motivation and a clear understanding of what corporate leadership means to you. Dive into your aspirations and how they align with the values and vision of Wave Group. Make it personal – we want to get to know you!
Tailor Your CV for Management Roles:Ensure your CV reflects the management skills that are essential for this role. Focus on competencies like strategic planning, team building, and problem-solving. Use a clean layout, and don’t forget to align your experiences with those keywords mentioned in the job listing. This will help you stand out from the crowd!
How to prepare for a job interview at Wave Group
✨Showcase Your Leadership Style
You’ll want to thoroughly convey your unique approach to leadership. During the interview with Wave Group, be ready to share real-life examples of how you've inspired and motivated teams in the past. Think about specific achievements that illustrate your strategic thinking and your ability to drive results.
✨Brush Up on Management Theories
Expect some technical questions related to management theories and practices. Brush up on concepts like transformational leadership, servant leadership, or situational leadership. Be prepared to discuss how you would apply these theories to the role at Wave Group, especially in the specific context of the challenges they’re currently facing.
✨Craft Your Vision for the Company
Since this is a full-time leadership role, spending time thinking about your vision for Wave Group could really set you apart. Consider potential strategies for growth and how you would lead teams towards achieving them. This shows not just enthusiasm, but also strategic foresight that they’ll likely be looking for in a candidate.
✨Emphasise Team Dynamics and Culture
In corporate leadership, team dynamics and organisational culture are everything. Be ready to discuss how you've fostered a positive work environment in previous roles. Bring up examples of how you've managed diverse teams effectively—this will resonate well at Wave Group as they’re likely seeking a candidate who can enhance their workplace culture.
