Senior Operations Manager

Location: UK preferred, continental Europe possible. Fully remote work is possible but a London or Oxford base would be valued.

Who we are

Carbon Gap is a climate not-for-profit focused on eliminating the carbon dioxide that’s already heating up the planet. We exist to drive essential climate action by making Europe a leader in carbon removal, working with governments, scientists, NGOs, and businesses to unlock policy support for the full spectrum of carbon removal techniques, storing carbon safely in trees, soils, oceans, rocks, and the built environment.

Joining our team means being at the forefront of a new field of climate action in a new kind of organisation. We’re a young team that’s growing quickly; we’re philanthropically funded and don’t answer to any outside interests; we have a start-up mentality that lets us move fast and experiment; and we’re committed to being an honest voice for the planet on climate change and carbon removal.

Our mission

Carbon removal, alongside emissions reductions, is absolutely essential to preserving a stable climate. We’re focused on addressing the knowledge, policy, and ambition gaps that are holding us back from a carbon removal ecosystem that delivers real progress on climate change.

Leadership from European countries - including the UK - is critical, both for ensuring that carbon removal can reach the scale necessary to achieve global climate goals, and for ensuring that a progressive vision of carbon removal can emerge that is not dominated by fossil or other corporate interests.

The role

Carbon Gap is in scale-up mode, growing a team in multiple jurisdictions and building the processes and infrastructure to enable top-tier performance. We’re looking for someone experienced with start-up operations in either the UK or Belgium, who can handle complex tasks independently and represent Carbon Gap externally, and who can help us to build more effective processes and ways of working. Carbon Gap needs to solidify its infrastructure while maintaining the agility of a startup, and it’ll be your job to make that happen.

This is an excellent growth opportunity for somebody looking to develop a COO skillset in an operational leadership role in an impactful climate organisation. In this role, you’ll work directly with Carbon Gap’s leadership and be at the centre of building a high-impact climate non-profit and making sure that it can deliver on its mission.

You’ll have full accountability for Carbon Gap’s operations, but will have access to external resources that bring deep expertise in many aspects of non-profit operations, finance, and accounting.

At the beginning, you’ll be instrumental to the successful launch of Carbon Gap as an operating entity, establishing internal systems and operating procedures with the support of external advisers where needed. Once established, you’ll be responsible for managing those procedures and tackling special projects as the organisation grows. Your responsibilities will include:

Responsibilities

• Establish a zero-defect operational environment; establish the policies, processes, systems, and controls necessary to support a startup NGO operating in multiple jurisdictions across Europe, and manage those processes on an ongoing basis.
• This includes financial, government, information, and HR systems, especially the creation of clear internal policies for hiring practices in each jurisdiction where Carbon Gap operates.
• Support operationalisation of reporting and compliance with legal requirements and donor requirements.
• Ensure effective use of outsourced operational support and advisors.
• Lead and manage special projects, including:
• Leading the definition and documentation of project scope and objectives
• Developing project schedule and work plans
• Overseeing external stakeholders and contractors and managing budget
• Identify and implement best practices for the way we work, internal culture building, and supporting the Carbon Gap team.
• Work with Carbon Gap leadership to identify and address operational roadblocks.
• Support the Board of Trustees.
• Manage external support and contractors as needed, including ongoing legal and accountancy support.
• Support the Policy and Communications team for event management and other operational needs.

What we offer

We take our team’s well-being and professional development seriously. We offer:

• A market-leading compensation and benefits package, bridging the pay gap between non-profit and for-profit roles
• A commitment to work/life balance, with generous holidays and the expectation that you fully disconnect while taking them
• Lots of flexibility within a hybrid working arrangement, with an office in Brussels being set up and regular retreats to come together as a team
• Support for your professional development as part of the Carbon Gap community, with opportunities to lead projects, publish content, learn from leading experts, work directly with policymakers and stakeholders, and take part in conferences and events

This role is full-time.

Who you are

• You’re committed to climate action. You don’t need to be an expert in carbon removal, but the idea that we can take carbon from the atmosphere, stop climate change, and begin repairing the damage we’ve done to the planet excites you.
• You love solving new challenge. You’re not afraid to work your way through a new problem, and you’re energised by the idea of finding a solution. You’re the first to volunteer when something unexpected needs to be done.
• …but repetitive work doesn’t discourage you. You get the work done, even when it isn’t exciting.
• You get right to the point. Faced with a lot of information, you’re great at figuring out what’s most important, synthesising it into findings and recommendations, and going from there.
• You excel on a small team and are happy playing different roles. Your flexibility lets you move between different projects and switch contexts smoothly.
• You’re an organisational and project management star. You bring order to chaos and are on the lookout for new tools and techniques to manage, organise, and execute great work. You effectively prioritise and don't miss deadlines.

💡 Climate change is a race issue and a gender issue. Carbon Gap is dedicated to broadening opportunities for groups that are underrepresented in the climate and carbon removal spaces, and to building an inclusive team where people of different backgrounds can thrive. We strongly encourage applications from people who do not see themselves represented in the current climate ecosystem.

What we are looking for:

• 3-7+ years relevant experience.
• Strong project management ability, with the ability to set and adhere to timelines and processes and a track record of successful internal and external project management.
• Ability to communicate clearly and concisely.
• Experience managing relationships with external service providers, like accountants and legal support.
• A basic understanding of accounting and accounting tools; experience with other operational tools (Slack, Notion, GSuite, Loom, project management software) is valuable.
• Experience in a fast-paced, growing environment, preferably as an early stage startup employee.
• Operations experience in a charity or non-profit is an asset but not required.

You don't need to meet all the requirements in order to be considered and we know you might need to grow into the role. As long as you feel like this is the right role for you, please don’t hesitate to apply.

Apply now

Apply ASAP. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis beginning in the first week of September and the process will conclude in late September.