COO

Chief Operating Officer (COO) — Delivery & Operations

We are looking for a COO with a strong background in software delivery within an IT services company. This is not a traditional administrative COO role. From the start, this person will take full ownership of the Delivery function, including a team of approximately 70–100 specialists, the management layer, and a diversified portfolio of several dozen client accounts. The role will also cover selected company-wide operational responsibilities.
The core mandate is to preserve the current level of structure and financial discipline while strengthening the management team and transforming the Delivery model. The company is moving from traditional outsourcing towards a consulting and outcome-based approach, where we take responsibility not only for completing tasks but also for delivering measurable business results for our clients.
The COO will report directly to the CEO and will have significant autonomy in operational decision-making within the agreed strategy and budget.

Role Context

The Delivery function currently manages 30–40 active client accounts. The structure includes Delivery Directors, Delivery Managers, and an Account Management function. Some managers combine project delivery, client relationship management, and account development responsibilities.
The company is transitioning from traditional T&M and outstaffing models towards product development, fixed-price, and outcome-based engagements. This requires a review of the current Delivery structure, broader ownership among managers, a deeper understanding of clients’ businesses, and the practical adoption of AI and automation.
Finance, Recruitment, and Front Office/Business Development will not report directly to the COO at the initial stage. However, the role requires close collaboration with these functions. The scope may expand over time based on performance and business needs.

Key Responsibilities

• Take end-to-end ownership of the Delivery function, including the project portfolio, teams, quality, timelines, financial performance, and client satisfaction.
• Lead Delivery through a strong management team by defining clear areas of ownership, developing managers, and increasing their autonomy.
• Manage Delivery economics, including project profitability, revenue, utilization, bench, allocation, capacity planning, and financial forecasting.
• Identify budget, timeline, and resource deviations early and ensure timely corrective action.
• Review the current Delivery structure and operating processes, remove unnecessary complexity, and build a model aligned with new client engagement formats.
• Balance short-term profitability with long-term client value, including retention, account growth, references, and follow-up projects.
• Strengthen Delivery’s involvement with clients by understanding their businesses and plans, anticipating risks, identifying upsell opportunities, and participating in strategic meetings.
• Contribute to presale and engagement activities, including solution shaping, delivery planning, team setup, budgeting, and risk assessment.
• Develop the company’s outcome-based and fixed-price delivery capabilities, ensuring that agreed outcomes are achieved within the committed budget and timeline.
• Return ownership of project analytics and operational indicators to Delivery. Finance should act as a control and validation function rather than the primary driver of operational decisions.
• Work with the quality and engineering standards function to maintain delivery quality without improving financial metrics at the expense of the product or long-term client relationships.
• Introduce AI and automation into Delivery processes, analytics, and management while taking a pragmatic view of their capabilities and limitations.
• Assess whether the current team is ready for the new operating model, develop the required competencies, and make people-related decisions where necessary.
• Coordinate selected company-wide administrative and operational matters through the relevant managers and specialists.
• Personally step into critical situations and client escalations when the team needs direct support.

The COO will not necessarily be expected to manage a permanent portfolio of projects personally. Both approaches are possible: directly leading selected strategic accounts or managing the function through a strong team of managers. However, when a serious issue arises, the COO must be willing to investigate it personally and support the team at an operational level.

Priorities for the First 3–6 Months

• Take ownership of the Delivery function and develop a clear understanding of the current portfolio, processes, team, and operating model.
• Assess project health, the management structure, accountability, and the quality of existing analytics.
• Identify key risks, inefficient or overly complex processes, and opportunities for automation.
• Prepare and align a prioritized transformation plan with the CEO.
• Begin implementing the agreed changes.
• Restore Delivery’s full ownership of project analytics, budgets, and timely response to deviations.
• Assess the management team and its readiness to operate under the new model.

What We Are Looking For

• Previous experience as a Head of Delivery, VP of Delivery, Delivery Director, Chief Delivery Officer, or COO with direct responsibility for software delivery.
• Leadership experience within an IT services business, such as outsourcing, technology consulting, or custom software development.
• Experience managing a scale comparable to 70–100+ specialists, preferably through Delivery Directors, Delivery Managers, or Project Managers.
• End-to-end ownership of a multi-project portfolio, including financial performance, delivery quality, timelines, client relationships, risks, and account development.
• Practical experience with project profitability, budgeting, forecasting, utilization, bench management, allocation, and resource or capacity planning.
• Experience developing managers, building leadership structures, managing performance, and implementing organizational change.
• A solid understanding of the software development lifecycle, technical projects, and the principles of managing engineering teams. Previous experience as a software developer and current coding skills are not required.
• Experience working directly with clients, including C-level stakeholders, and participating in presale, complex negotiations, escalations, and account development.
• An understanding of different commercial and delivery models, including T&M, fixed-price, and outcome-based engagements.
• The ability to think at the company level and connect Delivery decisions with business strategy, Finance, Sales, resources, and commercial outcomes.
• A practical interest in AI and automation and a clear understanding of how these tools are changing software development and the IT services market.