Research Operations Lead UK - Remote

At Cleo, we're not just building another fintech app. We're embarking on a mission to fundamentally change humanity's relationship with money. Imagine a world where everyone, regardless of background or income, has access to a hyper-intelligent financial advisor in their pocket. That's the future we're creating. Cleo is a rare success story: a profitable, fast-growing unicorn with over $380 million in ARR and growing over 2x year-over-year. This isn't just a job; it's a chance to join a team of brilliant, driven individuals who are passionate about making a real difference. We have an exceptionally high bar for talent, seeking individuals who are not only at the top of their field but also embody our culture of collaboration and positive impact. If you’re driven by complex challenges that push your expertise, the chance to shape something truly transformative, and the potential to share in Cleo’s success as we scale, while growing alongside a company that’s scaling fast, this might be your perfect fit.

We are looking for a strategic Research Ops Lead to design, build, and scale the engine behind our Research team. You won't just be maintaining the status quo; you will be responsible for designing and implementing an ‘Insights Architecture,’ managing global vendor contracts, and automating workflows to increase research velocity. You are a systems thinker who sits at the intersection of Procurement, Legal, Product Analytics, and User Research. Your goal is to remove friction points in the research lifecycle - from how we source diverse participants to how we integrate qualitative insights with data.

Key Responsibilities

• Participant Sourcing & Strategy: Design & Multi-Channel Sourcing: Move beyond basic databases to design a diverse, multi-channel participant strategy (internal, external, and community-based). Procurement & Vendor Management: Lead the procurement of contracts with external recruiting agencies and tooling platforms ensuring cost-efficiency and high-quality segment access.
• Knowledge & Insights Architecture: Systems Integration: Partner with Data Science and Product Analytics to design data flows that connect our research repository with broader data systems. Redundancy Reduction: Audit global research output to identify and reduce redundant studies, ensuring insights are reused across the business. Infrastructure Design: Regularly evaluate and manage the research tech stack. You will run frequent Value Assessments to ensure our tools are delivering ROI. Future-Proofing: Evaluate new tools against our future growth needs and current integration requirements.
• Governance & Ethical Workflows: Process Formalisation: Design and launch compliant, standardised data handling workflows (e.g., automated anonymisation processes). Ethics Leadership: Formalise and manage an internal Research Ethics Board or review process to ensure high-stakes research meets global standards.
• Process Automation & Change Management: Large-Scale Improvements: Build and deploy automated systems for research intake and project tracking. Enablement: Facilitate training programs that democratise research activities, allowing non-researchers to conduct basic studies safely while maintaining strict guardrails.

What We’re Looking For

• Contract & Vendor Expertise: Strong background in procurement and managing high-value vendor relationships.
• Change Management: You don’t just build tools and processes; you drive adoption across the organisation and can point to before and after metrics of operational efficiency.
• Compliance Literacy: Deep understanding of data privacy (GDPR/CCPA) and how to bake compliance into automated workflows.
• Autonomy: You are comfortable in the ‘ambiguity zone’ - defining your own problem space, scope, and solution roadmap without needing a step‑by‑step brief.

What do you get for all your hard work?

• A competitive compensation package (base + equity) with bi‑annual reviews, aligned to our quarterly OKR planning cycles.
• Work at one of the fastest‑growing tech startups, backed by top VC firms, Balderton & EQT Ventures.
• A clear progression plan. We want you to keep growing. That means trying new things, leading others, challenging the status quo and owning your impact. Always with our complete support.
• Flexibility. We can’t fight for the world’s financial health if we’re not healthy ourselves. We work with everyone to make sure they have the balance they need to do their best work.
• Work where you work best. We’re a globally distributed team. If you live in London we have a hybrid approach, we’d love you to spend one day a week or more in our beautiful office. If you’re outside of London, we’ll encourage you to spend a couple of days with us a few times per year. And we’ll cover your travel costs, naturally.

Other Benefits

• Company‑wide performance reviews every 6 months.
• Generous pay increases for high‑performing team members.
• Equity top‑ups for team members getting promoted.
• 25 days annual leave a year + public holidays (+ an additional day for every year you spend at Cleo, up to 30 days).
• 6% employer‑matched pension in the UK.
• Private Medical Insurance via Vitality, dental cover, and life assurance.
• Enhanced parental leave.
• 1 month paid sabbatical after 4 years at Cleo.
• Regular socials and activities, online and in‑person.
• We'll pay for your OpenAI subscription.
• Online mental health support via Spill.
• Workplace Nursery Scheme.
• And many more!

Welcoming Everyone

We strongly encourage applications from people of colour, the LGBTQ+ community, people with disabilities, neurodivergent people, parents, carers, and people from lower socio‑economic backgrounds. If there’s anything we can do to accommodate your specific situation, please let us know.