Head of Operations

Note for applicants:

• This is a global, remote role. Given the level of collaboration required with our Senior Leadership Team and teams across the org, we ask that candidates are able to maintain at least four hours of overlap with UK working hours, Monday–Friday.
• Candidates must have the legal right to work from their country of residence. We are unable to provide visa sponsorship or relocation support for this position.
• Due to the nature of our org and funding model, this role may be offered on a fixed-term basis, either through an Employer of Record (EOR) arrangement or as a contractor engagement. The final engagement model will depend on factors including location, org and compliance requirements.

About Intersect

Intersect MBO is the member-based organization that underpins Cardano’s decentralized governance. Formed to ensure that the Cardano ecosystem remains community-led and self-sustaining, Intersect acts as both a convenor and enabler - connecting developers, Delegated Representatives (DReps), project teams, and members to shape the blockchain’s future collectively.

Through its committees, working groups, and open membership model, Intersect develops governance frameworks, coordinates ecosystem initiatives, and supports transparency across technical, strategic, and financial domains. Intersect operates independently of IOG, EMURGO, and the Cardano Foundation, while collaborating closely with them to deliver on Cardano’s long-term vision.

Intersect is currently administering over 400 million ADA worth of initiatives on behalf of Cardano’s ecosystem and decentralized treasury, while also playing a key role in supporting tier-1 ecosystem integrations and operational coordination across a rapidly evolving governance landscape.

At its core, Intersect is about community governance in action, giving the people who build and use Cardano the power to guide its direction.

Head of Operations

The Head of Operations provides leadership and oversight across Intersect’s core operational functions, including Finance, Delivery Assurance & Administration, IT and Procurement. The role ensures that operational activity is coordinated, reliable and appropriately governed, with clear accountability across priorities, responsibilities, risks and dependencies.

A key part of the role is providing senior oversight of Finance. Working with Intersect’s experienced Finance team and fractional CFO, the Head of Operations ensures strong financial planning, reporting, controls and organisational discipline, and is able to confidently review and challenge financial information and risks.

Working closely with the Executive Director and other Heads within Intersect’s Sector Leadership Team (SLT), the Head of Operations translates organizational priorities into effective operational delivery, strengthens systems and ways of working, and ensures material operational or financial issues are surfaced and addressed appropriately.

Core Accountabilities

Operational Leadership

• Provide oversight of day-to-day functioning across Finance, Delivery Assurance & Administration, IT and Procurement.
• Ensure operational functions have clear priorities, ownership, delivery cadences and appropriate support.
• Maintain operational continuity during periods of organisational change.
• Act as the primary escalation point for material operational issues.
• Identify gaps, dependencies or inefficiencies across Operations and drive proportionate improvements.
• Ensure effective coordination between operational functions and the wider organisation.

Financial Oversight

• Provide senior oversight of Intersect’s Finance function, working closely with the Finance team and fractional CFO.
• Lead organizational budgeting, forecasting and financial planning alongside the Executive Director and Finance.
• Review and challenge financial reporting, forecasts, expenditure and underlying assumptions.
• Maintain visibility of cash position, runway, commitments, liabilities and material financial risks.
• Ensure appropriate financial controls, approval processes and segregation of duties are maintained.
• Ensure significant financial variances or risks are understood, addressed and escalated appropriately.
• Support the Executive Director and SLT with clear financial information and recommendations for organizational decision-making.
• Maintain oversight of key statutory, corporate and entity obligations, coordinating with specialist advisers where required.

Delivery, Systems & Operational Maturity

• Ensure effective coordination across operational priorities, dependencies and workstreams.
• Review and improve operational processes, systems and ways of working.
• Move activity from ad-hoc practices towards repeatable, scalable and well-understood processes.
• Maintain appropriate controls without introducing unnecessary bureaucracy.
• Ensure operational risks are identified early, clearly owned and appropriately mitigated.
• Provide clear operational insight and recommendations to the Executive Director and SLT.

Decision-Making Scope

Owns:

• Operational continuity and cross-functional alignment.
• Senior oversight of Finance and financial management processes.
• Organizational budgeting and forecasting coordination.
• Core operational processes and ways of working.
• Operational risk identification and escalation.
• Operational improvement initiatives.

Leads:

• Cross-functional operational planning and coordination.
• Financial planning and budget recommendations.
• Operational process and systems improvement.
• Coordination of statutory, entity and corporate operational obligations.

Consults:

• Executive Director on material operational, financial, resource or organizational decisions.
• Fractional CFO and specialist advisers on technical accounting, tax or statutory matters.
• Other Heads where operational decisions affect their sectors or organisational priorities.

Key Relationships

• Executive Director: Priorities, financial and operational decision support, escalation and organisational effectiveness.
• Finance & Fractional CFO: Budgeting, forecasting, reporting, controls, statutory obligations and financial risk.
• Other Heads: Cross-functional planning, dependencies, budgets and organisational alignment.
• Delivery Assurance & Administration: Delivery oversight, administration, milestone assurance and escalation.
• IT & Procurement: Systems readiness, tooling, supplier management and operational support.
• People & Organisational Dynamics: Support with workforce planning, organisational design, role clarity and capability.
• External advisers: Accounting, tax, legal, audit and corporate specialist support.

Success Measures

Success in this role looks like:

• Stable and reliable operational performance across Core Operations.
• Clear priorities, ownership and delivery cadences across operational functions.
• Accurate and timely financial reporting, forecasting and budget visibility.
• Strong visibility of cash, runway, commitments and material financial risks.
• Effective and proportionate financial and operational controls.
• Risks and dependencies are identified and addressed before they materially affect delivery.
• Statutory and organizational obligations are clearly owned and completed appropriately.
• Operational processes become increasingly repeatable, proportionate and scalable.
• The Executive Director and SLT have confidence in operational and financial information, recommendations and execution.

Skills, Experience & Behaviours

Skills & Experience

• Significant operations leadership experience within a complex, scaling or evolving organization.
• Direct experience with financial management at organizational level, including budgeting, forecasting, management reporting and financial controls.
• Strong financial literacy and the ability to confidently review and challenge financial information, assumptions and recommendations.
• Experience overseeing or working closely with experienced Finance teams, CFOs, accountants or equivalent professional advisers.
• Experience with corporate, statutory, entity-management or compliance obligations.
• Strong process design, operational improvement and systems-thinking capability.
• Experience coordinating multiple operational disciplines or workstreams.
• Strong judgement and the ability to distinguish between issues that can be resolved operationally and those requiring executive or specialist escalation.
• Able to translate organizational priorities into practical operational plans and ways of working.
• Strong stakeholder management and cross-functional communication skills.
• Comfortable leading specialist teams without needing to personally execute every technical discipline.
• Comfortable operating in an evolving environment where structures and processes continue to mature.

Desirable:

• Formal accountancy training, part-qualification or equivalent financial experience.
• Experience operating across multiple entities or jurisdictions.
• Experience working with Boards or executive leadership on financial and organisational matters.
• Experience within a not-for-profit, membership or internationally distributed organization.
• Experience working within Web3/ Blockchain industries will strengthen your candidacy.

What will the hiring process look like?

The suitable candidate will be selected through a three-stage recruitment process. All interviews will be conducted remotely via Google Meets.

Introductory Call: An initial conversation with our People Team to confirm alignment and suitability for the role.

Formal Interview: A detailed interview with our Interim Director of Operations to assess experience and fit from both technical and team perspectives. This will likely include a take-home task send in advance to complete and present in this interview.

Final Stage: A competency-based assessment with our Executive Director and additional opportunity to ask questions.

Intersect is an equal-opportunity organization. We value diversity of thought, identity, experience, and culture and are committed to building a leadership team that reflects the decentralized community we serve.

To learn more about Intersect MBO and what we do, please visit our Knowledge Base - https://docs.intersectmbo.org/