Director of Business Operations

About the Role

Clutch got here through scrappy execution and fast adaptation, which was the right way to prove the model. As the bets get bigger, though, being wrong costs more, and finding out late costs more still.

Business Operations at Clutch is air traffic control. It does not fly the planes. Sales, Marketing, Product, Engineering, and Finance do that, and they are good at it. What is missing is the layer above them: a shared picture of where everything is, agreement on what a good landing looks like, and someone watching for conflicts early enough that we can still do something about them.

You would be the first dedicated Business Operations hire at Clutch, reporting to the VP of Finance, with two areas of ownership: the operating cadence the company runs on, and the metrics that cadence is measured against.

The work itself is installing Clutch's annual planning and quarterly OKR rhythm, the cycle where goals get set, priorities get forced, and problems get surfaced early. Then building the metrics layer underneath it, from client-level margin and cost-to-serve up through company unit economics.

What changes when this is working: leaders set aggressive goals and get trusted to own them, because there is a track record of hitting them or explaining honestly why not. Work that is drifting shows up in weeks. Investment decisions start from numbers the exec team already agrees on, so we can move faster on bigger bets with less execution risk. And the company spends less of its time re-litigating the plan.

A fair amount of this is undefined. The scope, the design of the cadence, what gets measured and how, are yours to figure out and defend. If demand grows past one person, the function is built to expand into embedded business partners across the functions, and you would build that team.

About the Team

You will sit in Finance and report to the VP of Finance. That is deliberate. A neutral G&A home keeps the role objective and agnostic to any single function's agenda, and it gives you executive sponsorship for work with teams you do not manage.

Finance at Clutch is small and sits close to the business. You will work as a peer to leaders across Sales, Marketing, Product, Engineering, and Customer Success, with regular access to the exec team.

We would rather find out we are wrong in week three than at quarter close. If you are comfortable telling a room that a forecast does not hold, and can show your work, you will do well here.

What You’ll Do

Within 3 months, you will:

• Own Clutch's annual planning cycle end to end: the operating plan, the goals that come out of it, and the trade-offs surfaced along the way.

• Run Clutch's first full OKR cycle, including coaching each functional leader on what a good goal actually looks like. Expect this to be hands-on. How well the first cycle goes decides whether the cadence sticks or becomes another form to fill in.

• Deliver the client margin and cost-to-serve analysis: what it costs Clutch to serve a credit union, how that varies by client and segment, and where the margin leverage sits. This work turns "we think this is working" into "we know this is working," and it feeds pricing and investment decisions the exec team is waiting on.

• Stand up the operating cadence: which reviews happen, who owns what, and what gets read in advance so meeting time goes to decisions.

Within 6 months, you will:

• Land an agreed, documented set of company metric definitions with named owners, so OKR progress gets measured against numbers nobody has to re-litigate. The margin work will already have exposed where functions are running different versions.

• Turn the margin and cost-to-serve work into something repeatable rather than a one-time analysis, so the picture holds as clients and segments change.

• Shorten reporting cycles enough that a goal going sideways shows up in weeks, with a mid-quarter check that catches problems while they are still correctable.

• Run the second OKR cycle with materially less hand-holding, and show which goals landed, which did not, and why.

Within 9 months, you will:

• Take on the cross-functional questions that have no natural owner: pricing, capacity, build-versus-buy, where the next headcount goes.

• Own a source of truth for business analytics, covering unit economics, cost-to-serve, and cohort performance, that the exec team works from.

• Pressure-test plans, forecasts, and business cases before they reach the exec team or the board.

• Make the case for how the function grows next, based on the demand you have generated for it.

What You’ll Bring

• 8+ years in business operations, strategy and operations, or FP&A, including time inside a fast-scaling SaaS or fintech company.

• You have installed an operating cadence at a company that did not have one, whether OKRs or something similar, plus business reviews and annual planning, and it survived after you built it.

• Hands-on analytical depth. You have built and maintained the reporting, not only consumed it. Strong Excel and Sheets, SQL, and BI tooling such as Looker, Tableau, or Sigma, and you are comfortable in the data when it breaks.

• Working command of SaaS and unit economics, including gross margin, cost-to-serve, CAC/LTV, and NRR, and the ability to build a defensible model from messy inputs.

• A track record of running annual planning and a margin or cost-efficiency analysis in parallel, under time pressure, without either one slipping.

• Credibility with senior people you do not manage. You can push back on a leader's numbers in a way that lands as useful rather than adversarial.

• Willingness to be the whole function for a while. No team on day one, so you will do the analysis, run the meeting, and write the doc.

• Strong writing. A lot of the influence in this role travels as a document read before the meeting.

• Practical fluency with AI tools to extend your own leverage as a team of one.

• Nice to have: a foundation in strategy consulting, growth equity, or investment banking; exposure to financial services, lending, or credit unions.

Please note that this role may evolve as our business needs change, so we appreciate your flexibility and adaptability.

What’s In It For You?

• Remote Flexibility: Enjoy the freedom of remote work from anywhere, balancing life and career seamlessly.

• Unforgettable Off-Sites: Twice a year, bond with colleagues in exciting destinations, fostering teamwork and fresh ideas.

• Paid Time Off: Enjoy flexible PTO days yearly for relaxation and rejuvenation.

• Stock Options: Joining us means having a stake in our success, so you'll receive stock options as part of your compensation package.

• Home Office Setup: Create your ideal workspace with a dedicated budget for home office essentials.

• Work Trip Budget: Grow personally and professionally with a budget for work-related trips and co-working.

• Health Coverage: Prioritize your well-being with comprehensive health and dental insurance plans.

About Us

Clutch is a revolutionary vertical SaaS company, proudly backed by Andreessen Horowitz (A16z), aimed at revolutionizing the way Credit Unions engage and change the lives of their members. As a champion of financial well-being, we address the urgent need for affordable lending solutions in an era where the average American grapples with over $155,000 in household debt.  Unlike traditional financial institutions, Clutch develops software to turn Credit Unions into FinTech lenders and leverage their balance sheets to responsibly lend to over 130M Americans. Our mission extends beyond mere financial transactions; we strive to fundamentally enhance the way credit unions interact with their members. By integrating cutting-edge technologies and user-centric designs, we help credit unions provide seamless digital experiences that are on par with leading tech companies. This approach not only preserves but revitalizes the longstanding tradition of community and member-focused service inherent to credit unions.

Clutch is an equal opportunity employer. All applicants will be considered for employment without attention to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran or disability status.

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A Note About AI at Clutch
We love AI. We use it often and encourage our team to creatively and effectively leverage AI tools in their work. If you join Clutch, we hope you'll bring the same enthusiasm for exploring how AI can amplify impact, productivity, and innovation.

That said, during the interview process, we want to hear your thoughts. Please approach interviews without the use of AI tools—our goal is to get to know how you think, solve problems, and communicate. Once you're in the seat, bring on the prompts!