Founding Operations Associate

The company

WORK-SELF builds Maya Enterprise, the Human Context infrastructure for enterprise AI. AI agents increasingly perform work inside large organisations, but they need context about the people and decisions around that work: who owns it, which decisions an agent can make, when a person reviews the result and how exceptions are escalated. Maya provides this governed context through an MCP-native server so employees and agents can complete work through accountable workflows.

We are a London-based enterprise AI company. In our first year we won enterprise contracts across banking, utilities, property services and European public finance, reached EBITDA-positive operations with a small team, and deployed Maya with enterprise customers. We work with technology and delivery partners and hold a granted US AI patent assigned to the company. Our next stage is scaling product delivery, enterprise adoption and partner-led growth. The people joining now will help build that next stage.

The role

You will build and run the internal operations that allow a small enterprise AI company to scale without losing speed or accountability. The remit covers recruiting coordination, people administration, suppliers, basic finance operations, internal systems and company processes. Unlike the Founder Associate, your principal responsibility is the company's operating backbone, not enterprise sales or investor-facing GTM execution.
Expected compensation ranges: £28k – £36k per year (Base) + £50k - £85k (Equity) + Bonus on performance and standard benefits

What you will own

• Hiring operations. Keep job postings and ATS records accurate, coordinate interviews, candidate communications, reference steps and onboarding checklists, and maintain a professional experience for applicants.

• People and office processes. Own practical joiner and leaver workflows, equipment and access checklists, essential records, workspace coordination and internal policy documentation with the right advisers.

• Sales Ops and suppliers. Coordinate CRM, ERP, invoices, expenses, purchase approvals, vendor records, contracts and basic budget tracking, escalating decisions to the appropriate owners.

• Internal systems and reporting. Maintain dependable shared trackers, calendars, documents and process ownership. Improve data hygiene, routine reporting and information access across the team.

• Process improvement. Notice recurring friction, write a better process, automate safely where appropriate and close outstanding actions. Keep sensitive employee and candidate information confidential.

You will know you are succeeding when

• First 30 days. You have mapped essential internal processes, prioritised the most urgent gaps and stabilised the recruitment and operational trackers.

• By 90 days. Recruitment, onboarding, supplier and routine finance processes have clear owners, dependable records and fewer avoidable follow-ups.

• By 180 days. The team relies on documented routines, timely reporting and well-maintained systems that support hiring and growth without unnecessary administration.

Who does well here

• Around 1 to 4 years in startup operations, people operations, recruiting coordination, finance operations, consulting or a similarly hands-on generalist role.

• Excellent organisation, discretion, written communication and follow-through.

• Comfort with spreadsheets, ATS or business tools and a habit of keeping records accurate.

• Sound judgement about confidentiality, approvals and when specialist legal, finance or HR advice is needed.

• A practical ability to use AI and automation tools to reduce repetitive work without exposing sensitive information.

The role requires hands-on ownership of hiring, people, finance and administrative systems, not an advisory-only approach.

What you get

• A chance to build the operating practices of a growing enterprise AI business.

• Direct access to the founder and ownership across core internal workstreams.

• The opportunity to help build and scale an early-stage enterprise AI company.

If this resonates with you, we would love to hear from you. Any questions, please email us at careers@work-self.com