Founding Operations Lead - Fractional

📍 Melbourne | Hybrid - Carlton office. Fractional, 2-3 days per week (minimum 3 days preferred).

Own the operational backbone of a fast-moving HR tech startup, on a senior, fractional basis. Real ownership, real scope.

SeenCulture is a feedback platform that helps leaders understand how they are actually experienced by the people they work with - not through a performance review or a personality test, but through candid, de-identified perspectives that surface hidden strengths and real perception gaps. Think Moneyball for work teams.

Techstars Sydney 2023. A$1.5M raised. Customers include Atlassian and Culture Amp. The latest product release is live and a PLG motion is being activated for the first time. The team is small and moving fast. This is the hire that builds the operational layer the next phase of growth needs.

The role

SeenCulture has traction, a product release live, and a PLG motion being activated. What it does not yet have is someone who owns operations end-to-end.

That is this role. You will own the customer pipeline from handoff to onboarded account. You will own QA across the product and customer experience - nothing ships without someone checking it first. You will build the internal context layer so decisions do not disappear into Slack. You will bring the CRM and product analytics into one unified system built with AI. You will build and run the operating rhythm of a company growing faster than its current infrastructure.

This is not a support function. You are building a function and running it, with full ownership of it in the days you're in. It is a senior, fractional role - founder-level access and accountability, without the five days.

The AI-native part is not optional. You build with Claude and automation tools by default. That is how this role works at the pace it needs to.

What you'll do

• Own customer operations from pipeline handoff to onboarded account - proposals, contracts, onboarding, and ongoing account management

• Own QA across the product and customer experience - run UAT before launches and catch issues before they reach customers

• Build and maintain the internal context layer: decisions made, directions taken, reasoning captured and findable

• Bring CRM and product analytics into one unified system built with AI

• Partner with Simon (fractional Growth and Product Lead) on feedback loops, release coordination, and campaign execution

• Run the back-of-house: tooling, vendor management, finance ops, contracts admin

• Build the operating rhythm that holds pace without creating new bottlenecks

What we're looking for

• Strong, demonstrated ownership - you take a problem and run it to done without being chased

• Strong QA instincts - you check your own work and other people's, and you catch what's wrong before it ships

• Several years in an early-stage startup in an operational, generalist, or founder-adjacent role - senior enough to run the function with minimal oversight

• AI-native by default: you build with Claude and automation tools, you know what a Skill is, and you can deploy one without being shown how

• Strong written communication - you edit your own work and do not need things repeated

• Low ego. You care about the work, not about being seen to do it

• Comfortable holding context across fast-moving, messy systems

• Commercially curious - you understand customers and what makes a startup grow

What's on offer

• A senior, fractional engagement - day rate and days per week to be confirmed with the right person

• Hybrid from Carlton with Nikki and Bella (the office dog - dog people strongly preferred)

• Real scope to shape the operational function at a company at a pivotal stage

• Founder-level access - reporting directly to Nikki Tugano, Founder & CEO

👉 Apply now - Shine a light on untapped potential.

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