WHAT DOES A CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER DO?
Published: May 26, 2025 - The Chief Operating Officer (COO) is responsible for building, managing, and scaling a high-performance physical platform, including regional IRCs across Turkey and a comprehensive 3P and O&O logistics network. The position leads cross-functional execution of strategic plans, tech integration, and operational excellence while ensuring cost efficiency and international scalability. This role oversees investor relations, corporate partnerships, and cultural alignment to support global growth and long-term organizational vision.
A Review of Professional Skills and Functions for Chief Operating Officer
1. Chief Operating Officer Duties
- Strategic Leadership: Provide visionary leadership to the overall Scheme’s Administration, ensuring that all the divisions reporting to this role operate efficiently, enabling achievement of the Scheme’s strategic objectives.
- Operational Oversight: Oversee the Operations and Administration Business Unit of the Scheme in an innovative and cost-effective manner.
- Executive Support: Responsible for providing direct leadership and support to the Principal Officer with particular emphasis on achieving business efficiencies and savings, while improving productivity within all aspects of operations, including financial and healthcare outcomes performance.
- Project Management: Identify and manage strategic projects related to the Administration business of the Scheme.
- Strategy Input: Provide input into the Scheme’s overall strategy.
- Plan Execution: Develop and monitor the execution of the strategy and operational plans for the Business Unit.
- Budget Management: Manage and oversee the Administration and Operations Business Unit operational budget.
- Governance Reporting: Review and ensure that quarterly strategic, operational, governance, and risk management reports are managed for the divisions within the Administration and Operations Business Unit.
- Process Improvement: Measure the overall effectiveness and efficiency of processes for the Administration and Operations Business Unit and identify and implement ways to improve processes whilst ensuring compliance with relevant regulations and mitigating risks.
- Stakeholder Coordination: Responsible for ensuring collaboration between the Fund and Administration while ensuring that reporting to all Committees of the Board of Trustees is optimal.
- CEO Delegation: Assist the CEO and deputize him/her in operational activities when needed.
- Project Coordination: Coordinate and optimize the company's operational and project activities and ensure that the goals set by the company are matched with results.
- Performance Reporting: Update all figures at the top of the company on its operations.
- Strategic Planning: Plan and implement company goals and strategies, communicating them to co-workers and employees.
- Change Management: Coordinate and supervise the structural changes in the organization, such as digital transformation processes.
2. COO Details
- Decision Support: Help to prepare decision-making by funneling crucial feedback from Head-of positions to different decision-making formats.
- Decision Transparency: Make operational decisions visible and transparent throughout the organization and beyond.
- Process Implementation: Make sure decisions have a significant impact by transforming them into processes and bringing these processes to practice, mostly through KPI development.
- OKR Management: Monitor, develop and execute measures to make sure we are setting and reaching the right OKR goals.
- Ground Engagement: Frequently speak to first-in-line colleagues and customers to make sure boots are not only on the management level but also on the ground.
- Systemic Support: Help peers by taking systemic roadblocks out of way.
- Data Monitoring: Make sure we are gathering relevant data on the operational level to discover opportunities and threats.
- Burnout Prevention: Help prevent colleagues from burning or boring out.
- Care Delivery: Focuses on safe patient-centered care, quality outcomes, financial performance, and staff development to promote a strong, collaborative culture.
- Staff Mentoring: Provides training, guidance, and mentoring to various staff.
- Branch Oversight: Oversees operational performance of all assigned branches including efficient, effective and high-quality delivery of services and patient care.
- Information Flow: Ensures and coordinates communications and information flows between corporate support and agency operations within the assigned region.
- Program Development: Works collaboratively to plan, organize, develop, implement and interpret the programs and services, goals, policies and procedures, etc., that are necessary for operating a life plan community
3. Chief Operating Officer Responsibilities
- Team Management: Responsibility for approximately 60 employees (traders and backoffice) and a turnover of about 500 million euros.
- Market Leadership: Market responsibility for EMEA region and cross-regional collaboration with Asia and the Americas through local hubs.
- Regulatory Compliance: Conducting business according to country and group regulations.
- Business Development: Developing the business according to market trends and developments.
- Process Optimization: Managing the business in Europe and optimising various processes such as risk management.
- Daily Operations: Ensure the proper operation of the day-to-day business.
- Operational Leadership: Providing complete operational leadership for the firm, both now and as it grows.
- Site Oversight: Assuring that the existing locations are functioning smoothly, efficiently and in compliance, while also helping new locations get up and running as quickly and effectively as possible.
- Performance Monitoring: Helping build, monitor and evaluate KPIs and metrics in order to drive performance.
- Executive Input: Serving as a key part of the leadership team and providing input on how to maintain and improve exceptional service and performance levels across multiple sites and multiple states.
- Site Management: Take general management as well as operational responsibility for two production sites in CZ.
- Change Management: Manage the modernization process with a focus on effective implementation.
- Expansion Planning: Full responsibility for production expansion on two sites including Pribram and Hodonin.
- Financial Strategy: Plan, develop and implement short-, mid and long-term financial strategy.
- Factory Development: Ensure continuous development of the factory and organization.
- Team Mentoring: Mentor team members, act as a leader and role model in efficient cross-functional collaboration between the company and the Group.
4. Chief Operating Officer Job Summary
- Strategy Leadership: Lead the development of business strategies and drive strategic initiatives.
- Goal Setting: Set short and long-term strategies & objectives.
- Market Expansion: Creating and executing the market entry and end-to-end growth strategies at the operational and commercial level.
- Product Expertise: Act as an expert on the products, processes, and operations.
- Market Segmentation: Responsible for product strategy by analysis & comparison to identify the segmentation of target market.
- Portfolio Growth: Ensure the product & technology capabilities to drive and grow the product portfolio.
- Production Coordination: Work closely with internal stakeholders for the production planning, scheduling, and launching in the agreed timeline.
- Technical Advisory: Provide exceptional advice on techniques related to the development.
- Risk Review: Ensuring the risk of the market and operation is reviewed.
- Campaign Liaison: Liaising with business units for promotion and campaign.
- Business Operations: Lead company operations, financial and organizational management, and overall growth strategy and milestones (e.g. product launch, customer acquisition and revenue).
- Market Insights: Providing insights into game position, current trends, market development and future direction within the industry and planning strategies proactively.
5. Chief Operating Officer Functions
- Market Planning: Develop and execute an integrated go-to-market plan for the product, including feature roll-out, product positioning and routes to market.
- Pricing Strategy: Work with finance and strategic team to develop a pricing model that ensures P&L, market share and customer satisfaction targets are achieved.
- Sales Alignment: Lead with strategy and data departments to establish agreed mix of pricing, marketing programmes, direct sales, and channel partners.
- Operations Management: Manage and direct company operations to meet budget and other financial goals.
- Policy Development: Develop, establish, and direct the execution of operating policies to support overall company objectives.
- Strategic Planning: Work in partnership with the management team and board of directors, create the strategic plan and implement new processes and approaches to achieve it.
- Administrative Oversight: Oversee all administrative functions, ensuring smooth daily operations.
- System Integration: Interface with IT engineering and IT operations to ensure appropriate systems are in place to achieve goals.
- Team Building: Fill management gaps by building and training individuals in each operating team.
- Office Leadership: Act as the lead management resource in the Denver office.
- Executive Support: Work alongside the CEO and VP of Sales on strategic initiatives and overall corporate strategy.
- Engineering Supervision: Oversee the managers in the engineering department and assist them with making key decisions concerning personnel and account management.
- Accounting Liaison: Work with the Accounting department when they have questions on invoicing, discounts, A/R, etc.
- Cross Collaboration: Collaborate across departments regarding operational planning, financial reporting, and budgeting.
- Metric Analysis: Continually analyze metrics to balance hours, client load, staff load etc.
- Regulatory Compliance: Ensure the business stays compliant with employment law, 401k, benefits, etc.
6. Chief Operating Officer (COO) Duties
- Education Support: Serves as an organizational resource for CSVPS education, mentoring and facilitation.
- Operations Analysis: Analyzes operations practices such as record keeping systems, form control, suggestion systems, personnel and budgetary requirements to create new operational systems or to revise established ones.
- Performance Improvement: Studies methods of improving work measurements or performance standards.
- Policy Development: Assists in the development and interpretation of general operating policies.
- Budget Preparation: Assists in the preparation of operational budgets and reports for the organization.
- Grant Assistance: May assist in phases of grant research, data collection, and writing activities necessary to obtain/maintain program services.
- Public Outreach: Assists with marketing/public relations and outreach activities.
- Business Launch: Play an integral role in the company's launch and long-term growth.
- Vision Alignment: Coordinate with the CEO on setting and driving organizational vision and strategy.
- Roadmap Management: Bring a deeply analytical and hyper-organized perspective to the corporate roadmap.
- KPI Management: Craft and manage KPIs that drive the business forward and maximize shareholder value.
- Operational Framework: Create and administer an organizational framework for efficient internal operations.
- Capital Strategy: Collaborate with the CEO on strategic capital investment and board management.
- Financial Oversight: Maintain a discerning eye on corporate financials relative to growth and profitability.
- Growth Acceleration: Drive clarity in ambiguous situations to accelerate growth.
7. Chief Operating Officer Overview
- Operations Oversight: Taking care of all operational aspects, this is a full-time executive-level role, requiring management of a range of departments and agreeing on vision and change across multiple stakeholders.
- Business Control: Management, reporting, and control of ongoing business servicing.
- Team Management: Staffing and team management, orchestrating very limited resources to create the best return on investments for shareholders and excellent customer experience, team personal development, managing skills levels and interoperability, motivation, and servicing quality assurance.
- Service Excellence: Creating a culture of service excellence.
- Workplace Culture: Creating a productive and energetic environment within the business.
- Mission Delivery: Delivering the organization’s strategy/mission/servicing ethos to the staff, implementing a rewards/recognition system to align the team and individual efforts to the company goals.
- Process Optimization: Reviewing, mapping, and optimizing all procedures, policies, and processes.
- Board Reporting: Regular executive and board updates, preparing board-level and executive committee materials.
- Project Support: Assisting other C-level team members with business development initiatives from an operations perspective, participating in projects, and optimizing infrastructure.
- Executive Support: Supporting ad-hoc executive requests, planning and prioritizing customer, employee, and change requirements.
- Market Tracking: Creating a system of deep market knowledge – tracking operational context changes and ensuring company compliance with current and future changes.
- Change Alignment: Agreeing on any change across key stakeholders, ensuring clarity of goals and KPIs.
8. Chief Operating Officer Tasks
- Strategy Recommendation: Present operational strategy recommendations to the CEO based on market research.
- MVP Roadmap: Development of a roadmap for the MVP formation and its implementation, building, and maintenance of business processes.
- Cost Planning: Planning the costs required for the implementation of tasks, formation of the infrastructure necessary for the implementation of EMI services, including building partnerships with banks, IPS, PSP, and other financial institutions.
- IT Implementation: Setting tasks for the implementation of IT solutions, choosing third-party providers, etc.
- Department Coordination: Formation and interaction with the AML department, financial services.
- Regulatory Interaction: Building interaction with regulators (FCA, tax authority, etc.).
- Team Building: Team building, including, besides the UK office, the formation of an office in the EU and interaction with the staff of the Russian office.
- Treasury Management: Management of the Electronic Money Institution (EMI) treasury and day-to-day operations.
- Partner Liaison: Liaising with partner financial institutions regarding payment transactions and other matters.
- Compliance Reporting: Accurate and timely reporting to supervisory bodies and management.
- Team Management: Management of the operations team, assignment of tasks and workload distribution.
- Procedure Implementation: Implementation and administration of operational procedures to meet business needs.
- System Improvement: Improvement of system functionalities to meet customer needs and solve problems.
9. Chief Operating Officer Roles
- Platform Management: Build, manage and optimise a rapidly growing physical platform.
- Strategy Execution: Design and implement business strategies, plans and procedures across the physical platform.
- Goal Setting: Set comprehensive goals for performance and growth across the physical platform.
- Center Expansion: Build regional IRCs (inspection and reconditioning centres) across Turkey.
- Logistics Management: Manage 3P and O&O logistics / last mile delivery network to ensure all consumer-facing promises are met.
- Cost Control: Manage all OPEX and CAPEX across physical platform, ensuring economies of scale and operating leverage to maintain best-in-class efficiencies.
- Tech Ownership: Define the tech and tools requirement, act as internal biz owner of OpsTech road-map working closely with PMs and the CTO.
- Process Standardization: Codify the approach and drive best practice across all geographies.
- Team Leadership: Hire and develop the best, lead employees to encourage maximum performance and dedication.
- Data Approach: Ensure a data-driven approach to everything.
- Playbook Review: Review and edit the playbook for international expansion.
- Culture Promotion: Promote culture and vision within all teams globally.
- Expansion Activities: Participate in expansion activities (investments, acquisitions, corporate alliances etc.).
- Vendor Relations: Manage relationships with partners/vendors.
- Investor Relations: Participate in investor relations and fundraising activities.
10. Chief Operating Officer (COO) Additional Details
- Operations Supervision: Supervise and manage all daily operations of the company including accounting/finance, sales, marketing, training/education, operations, manufacturers, shipping and distribution.
- Executive Collaboration: Work closely with Executive team on all business matters including vision, operational strategy & execution, and hiring.
- Business Strategy: Partner with department heads and sales managers to analyze, strategize, and further the business.
- System Optimization: Identify areas where technology and systems can be better utilized to increase efficiency.
- Regulatory Compliance: Adhere and enforce compliance in all company operations.
- Growth Planning: Assist with identifying benchmarks, goals, budget and strategy for maximizing growth.
- Performance Reporting: Prepare weekly and monthly reports on the progress/performance of the company.
- Team Leadership: Provide leadership by managing and mentoring employees in each department to develop skills and productivity, and providing reviews and plans for correction or improvement.
- Process Review: Review all processes and systems within the company to identify strategies & areas for improvement.
- Infrastructure Planning: Collaborate with the management team to develop and implement plans for the operational infrastructure of systems, processes and personnel designed to accommodate the rapid growth objectives of the organisation.
- CEO Communication: Keep the CEO fully informed in a timely manner of the conduct of the day-to-day operations of the company towards the achievement of its established goals and of all material deviations from the goals or objectives and policies established by the Board.
- Issue Monitoring: Supervising, guiding and monitoring all operational issues including IT, Finance and Operations.
- Regulation Compliance: Observe, comply and be conversant with all rules and regulations affecting the company business and all statutory modifications and re-enactments as may be introduced thereto.
- Operations Planning: Develop in collaboration with the CEO, an annual operation plan that supports the company's long term operations strategy.