Head of Operations

Head of Operations

• Remote, Full-time, contractor. 

• Strong overlap with U.S. Eastern hours; typically aligned with 8 AM–evening ET and available for occasional escalations/weekend support.

• Tech Stack: ClickUp, WhatsApp, Periscope, Claude/AI tools, internal rental platform

At Near, we connect top talent in Latin America with exciting remote opportunities at U.S.-based companies. Our mission is to create better lives by fostering a remote work culture that transcends borders.

About the Company:

Our client operates self-serve kayak and paddleboard rental kiosks across more than 100 locations in 23 U.S. states. Customers book through their phones, access equipment through smart locks, and return it independently.

The company partners with parks, cities, counties, and state agencies, combining technology with a distributed field operations network. They are scaling quickly and building the systems needed to grow from 100 to 200–300+ locations.

About the Role:

We’re looking for a Head of Operations to own and strengthen the operating system behind a fast-growing, distributed business. You will lead a highly independent operations team, improve visibility and accountability across the function, and build scalable systems that reduce reliance on the founder for day-to-day escalations and decisions.

This role is ideal for a hands-on, systems-minded operator who can balance strategy with execution. You will manage operational priorities, customer support coverage, field technician coordination, location health, escalations, and eventually expand into supply chain and logistics.

You Will:

• Lead and coach a team of three operations professionals across customer service, automation, systems, field technician coordination, web, and related work.

• Build a durable operating system for SOPs, escalation paths, decision rules, handoffs, inventory, parts, reporting, and location health.

• Create systems that support growth to 200–300+ locations without proportional headcount growth.

• Own operational performance, including uptime, issue resolution, install readiness, field coverage, and customer service responsiveness.

• Develop and maintain reporting and scorecards so the company can clearly see the state of operations.

• Serve as the final escalation point for issues the team cannot resolve independently.

• Ensure reliable seven-day operational coverage and improve continuity across team schedules and handoffs.

• Learn the customer support queue and step in when needed during emergencies, absences, or unusually high demand.

• Coordinate day-to-day needs with U.S.-based field technicians, parks, agencies, vendors, and outsourced software partners.

• Oversee the operational workload and priorities of the team while respecting their ownership of specialty areas.

• Partner with the founder on the transition of decision-making authority as you demonstrate operational expertise.

• Contribute customer and operational insight to software improvements, bug fixes, and product updates.

• Grow into supply chain and logistics responsibilities, including equipment orders, vendor coordination, container schedules, and new-location installations.

• Identify opportunities to automate work before recommending additional hiring.

About You:

Your Background:

• Experience leading distributed, multi-site, field service, rental, logistics, transportation, or asset-heavy operations.

• Proven track record building an operating system from the ground up—not just documenting SOPs, but creating durable cadences, clear ownership, decision rules, and reporting.

• Experience managing teams and developing self-directed, high-performing people without micromanagement.

• Strong operations and customer service mindset, with comfort supporting both end customers and business/government partners.

• Experience managing escalations, operational incidents, and fast-moving priorities.

• Strong written and spoken English, with the ability to communicate clearly and professionally with U.S.-based customers, park managers, agency staff, vendors, and partners.

• Comfortable working in a startup environment with ambiguity, evolving processes, and high ownership.

• Highly organized and able to keep work, follow-ups, priorities, and accountability visible in one system.

• Willing to be hands-on and support the queue when needed; no task is considered beneath you.

• Strong judgment, follow-through, and ability to close loops without letting issues wait on unavailable teammates.

• Hungry to learn, open to feedback, and motivated to build alongside a growing company.

Nice to Have:

• Experience with ClickUp, WhatsApp-based field operations, Periscope, or similar project management and communication tools.

• Experience using AI tools, automation platforms, internal tools, or workflow automation.

• Experience with EOS, Scaling Up, 4DX, OKRs, or other operational scaling frameworks.

• Background in micromobility, equipment rental, field service, logistics, transportation, outdoor recreation, parks, franchises, or route-based operations.

• Experience managing U.S. 1099 contractor networks.

• Exposure to supply chain, vendor management, procurement, inventory, or installation programs.

• Experience with cost reduction, operational efficiency, KPI design, P&L ownership, or expense management.

• Long-term experience helping build and scale a startup or growing organization.

Compensation & Benefits:

• Contractor role with payment in USD.

• Performance bonus tied to agreed operational targets.

• Full-time remote contractor role.

• Premium AI tool access and a technology-enabled work environment.