Chief Operating Officer (COO) – LATAM

Company: Talentus Global
Employment Type: Full-time
Reports To: Chief Executive Officer
Location: Lima, Peru; Mexico City, Mexico; Bogotá, Colombia; or Buenos Aires, Argentina
Work Model: Remote/hybrid, with availability to work during U.S. Eastern Time business hours

About Talentus Global

At Talentus Global, we believe great technology outcomes start with the right people — delivered the right way.

We're a U.S.-based nearshore BPO and technology services firm with 30+ years of experience and an active presence across 20 countries, including full coverage throughout Latin America and Europe.

We help organizations scale and modernize without the friction of traditional outsourcing. Our model combines U.S. leadership, LATAM scale, aligned time zones, and senior-level execution — giving clients real operational control alongside genuine cost efficiency.

What we do: We deliver across the full transformation journey — from talent to technology to outcomes:
🔹 Smart Sourcing & Nearshore Staffing
🔹 Dedicated & Cluster Teams
🔹 Managed IT Services
🔹 Software Engineering
🔹 Enterprise Platform Implementations
🔹 EdTech & Higher Education Solutions & Services leveraging AI

Position Summary

Talentus Global is seeking an experienced, highly polished and results-oriented COO – LATAM to oversee and continuously improve the company’s operational activities across Latin America.

This is a hands-on management position requiring strong experience in Human Resources, financial operations, workforce management, administrative controls and regional operations. The Manager of Operations will oversee employee and contractor administration, financial reporting, budgeting, payroll coordination, resource planning, vendor management, compliance, service-delivery support and operational reporting.

The successful candidate must possess outstanding communication skills, excellent professional judgment, strong analytical and critical-thinking abilities and the confidence to interact professionally with employees, clients, partners and senior executives.

Applicants must currently reside in Latin America and be based in—or able to work from—Lima, Mexico City, Bogotá or Buenos Aires.

Key Responsibilities

Regional Operations Management

• Manage Talentus Global’s day-to-day operational activities across Latin America.

• Establish consistent operational processes, policies and performance standards across countries.

• Coordinate activities among Delivery, Human Resources, Finance, Recruiting, Sales and executive leadership.

• Monitor regional performance and ensure alignment with company objectives.

• Identify operational bottlenecks, inefficiencies and risks.

• Develop and implement practical process improvements and SOPs.

• Support the implementation and enforcement of company policies and standard operating procedures.

• Manage multiple priorities and respond effectively to changing business requirements in a fast-paced environment.

Human Resources Operations

• Manage and coordinate employee and contractor administration across LATAM.

• Conduct employee onboarding, orientation, documentation, transfers and offboarding.

• Generate employment agreements, contractor agreements and required personnel documentation.

• Maintain accurate employee, contractor, compensation, assignment, attendance and location records.

• Support workforce planning, organizational structures and headcount forecasting.

• Monitor employee attendance, leave, timesheets, performance and policy compliance.

• Coordinate performance-management processes, including objectives, reviews, corrective-action plans and follow-up.

• Support staff in addressing employee-relations, performance and conduct matters.

• Update and perform payments, payroll, compensation changes, bonuses, deductions and employee-status changes with Finance and external providers.

• Perform recruiting activities, including workforce requirements, candidate approvals and onboarding readiness.

• Help ensure compliance with applicable employment, contractor and workplace requirements in each LATAM country.

• Coordinate with local legal, payroll, accounting and Human Resources advisors when necessary.

• Handle employee, compensation and performance information with strict confidentiality and discretion.

Workforce and Resource Management

• Monitor employee and contractor allocation across client projects.

• Coordinate workforce planning, resource availability and staffing requirements.

• Track employee utilization, billable capacity, availability and bench time.

• Identify staffing gaps, overallocations and underutilized resources.

• Coordinate the reassignment and redeployment of employees between client engagements.

• Maintain accurate records of project assignments, availability and expected assignment end dates.

• Help ensure adequate staffing levels for current and anticipated client demand.

• Coordinate with Recruiting and Delivery leadership regarding upcoming resource requirements.

Financial Operations and Controls

• Manage and update operating budgets and forecasts.

• Monitor financial performance against budget and identify significant variances.

• Track project revenue, labor costs, utilization, gross margin and operating expenses.

• Maintain and review financial information using QuickBooks Online.

• Review timesheets, contractor hours, expense reports and supporting documentation.

• Update and execute payroll and payment approvals with executive team and external providers.

• Generate client invoicing by validating billable hours, contractual rates, expenses and project documentation.

• Identify cost-saving opportunities without compromising service quality.

• Implement and enforce approval controls for expenses, vendors, contractors and operational purchases.

• Prepare financial analyses and recommendations for executive leadership.

• Maintain strict confidentiality over financial, payroll, pricing and compensation information.

Systems and Process Management

• Ensure the accurate and timely use of company-approved ERP, HRIS, CRM, payroll, accounting, timesheet and project-management platforms.

• Manage and support operational processes using platforms such as Odoo, Deel, QuickBooks Online and comparable systems.

• Maintain standardized workflows for timesheets, approvals, staffing, payroll inputs, expenses and operational reporting.

• Develop, document and maintain standard operating procedures.

• Improve the accuracy and availability of operational, employee and financial data.

• Support system implementations, integrations and process-automation initiatives.

• Use artificial-intelligence tools to improve research, reporting, documentation, analysis and operational efficiency.

• Ensure that operational and financial records are complete, current and auditable.

Compliance and Risk Management

• Help ensure compliance with applicable employment, contractor, tax, privacy and data-protection requirements in each operating country.

• Coordinate with Legal, Human Resources, Finance and external advisors when necessary.

• Support compliance with client confidentiality, security and data-handling requirements.

• Monitor adherence to Talentus Global policies, contractual obligations and internal controls.

• Maintain appropriate documentation for employees, contractors, vendors and client engagements.

• Identify operational, financial and workforce risks and recommend mitigation measures.

• Support business-continuity, incident-response and disaster-recovery planning.

Reporting and Executive Communication

• Develop and maintain regional operations, Human Resources and financial dashboards.

• Provide weekly and monthly reports to executive leadership.

• Track workforce capacity, utilization, turnover, staffing requirements, project coverage and delivery risks.

• Report on revenue, expenses, labor costs, gross margin, budget variances and other financial indicators.

• Establish measurable operational objectives and key performance indicators.

• Analyze operational and financial data, identify trends and recommend appropriate actions.

• Prepare polished presentations, reports, spreadsheets and executive summaries.

• Communicate complex operational matters clearly to technical and nontechnical stakeholders.

• Represent Talentus Global professionally in meetings with employees, clients, vendors, partners and senior executives.

• Ensure that leadership receives timely, accurate and actionable information.

Key Performance Indicators

Performance will be evaluated using measures such as:

• Employee and contractor utilization

• Billable versus nonbillable capacity

• Gross margin by project or account

• Budget performance and cost control

• Payroll and payment accuracy

• Financial reconciliation accuracy

• Client-invoice support and timeliness

• Bench time and resource redeployment

• Time required to staff open positions

• Employee retention and turnover

• Employee onboarding and offboarding completion

• Performance-review and HR-documentation compliance

• Timesheet and approval compliance

• Project-staffing accuracy

• SLA and delivery compliance

• Client satisfaction and escalation resolution

• Accuracy and timeliness of operational and financial reporting

• Process adoption and audit readiness

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Operations Management, Finance, Accounting, Human Resources, Industrial Engineering or a related field.

• At least five years of professional experience, including a minimum of three years in an operations-management or regional-management position.

• Strong, demonstrated experience managing Human Resources operations, including employee administration, performance management, payroll coordination, employee relations, onboarding, offboarding and workforce planning.

• Strong, demonstrated experience managing financial operations, including budgeting, forecasting, expense controls, payroll inputs, vendor payments, project financials, utilization and gross-margin analysis.

• Hands-on experience with QuickBooks Online is mandatory, including financial reporting, expense tracking, invoicing, payment reconciliation and general-ledger review.

• Experience managing operations for a technology, software, IT services, consulting, outsourcing, BPO or nearshore-services company.

• Demonstrated experience managing distributed teams across multiple countries or locations.

• Strong experience with workforce planning, resource allocation, operational reporting and performance management.

• Working knowledge of LATAM employment practices, contractor models and regional operational requirements.

• Experience using ERP, HRIS, CRM, payroll, timesheet and project-management platforms, including Odoo, Deel, or comparable systems.

• Advanced hands-on experience with Microsoft Excel, Microsoft PowerPoint, Microsoft Word, Microsoft OneDrive, Microsoft SharePoint, Microsoft Power BI, Microsoft Power Automate and Teams.

• Strong working knowledge of leading artificial-intelligence tools, including ChatGPT, Claude or Google Gemini, with the ability to apply them responsibly to operational activities.

• Strong analytical and critical-thinking skills, with the ability to evaluate complex information, identify root causes and make sound business decisions.

• Strong financial understanding, including budgets, costs, revenue, utilization and margins.

• Outstanding written, verbal, interpersonal and presentation skills.

• A highly polished and professional communication style appropriate for interactions with clients and executive leadership.

• Strong executive presence, discretion, diplomacy and professional judgment.

• Excellent organizational, problem-solving and process-improvement abilities.

• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple competing priorities, meet demanding deadlines and perform effectively in a fast-paced, rapidly changing environment.

• Ability to communicate effectively with technical, operational and nontechnical audiences.

• Must be fully bilingual in English and Spanish, with excellent written and spoken proficiency in both languages.

• English proficiency of C1 or higher is mandatory.

• Must reside in Latin America and be based in Lima, Mexico City, Bogotá or Buenos Aires.

• Must be legally authorized to work in the country of residence.

• Experience supporting U.S.-based clients and executive teams.

Preferred Qualifications

• Hands-on experience with Odoo ERP is strongly preferred, particularly with Accounting, Employees, Timesheets, Approvals, Projects, Expenses, Sales, Sign and operational reporting.

• Experience in Higher Education, EdTech or education-related technology services is a plus but is not required.

• Experience managing nearshore software-development or professional-services operations.

• Knowledge of Agile delivery, ITIL, service-level management or project-management practices.

• Experience with information-security, privacy or compliance frameworks.

• Familiarity with FERPA, HIPAA, GLBA, GDPR, PII protection or related data-governance requirements.

• Project Management Professional, Lean Six Sigma, ITIL, Human Resources or financial-management certification.

• Masters or MBA in Business Administration, Operations Management, Finance, Accounting, Human Resources, Industrial Engineering or a related field.

Core Competencies

• Operational leadership

• Human Resources management

• Financial management and cost control

• Workforce and resource planning

• Outstanding communication skills

• Polished professional and executive presence

• Analytical and critical thinking

• Sound judgment and decision-making

• Accountability and ownership

• Data-driven decision-making

• Financial discipline

• Process improvement

• Cross-functional collaboration

• Client-service orientation

• Diplomacy and discretion

• Management of multiple competing priorities

• Performance under demanding deadlines

• Adaptability in a fast-paced environment

• Risk identification and escalation

• Digital and AI literacy

• Cultural awareness across Latin America

• Executive communication

• Ability to operate effectively in a rapidly growing company