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Business Operations Manager at IT & Climate NGO (Remote | English)

Location: Fully Remote; all countries in Southern Africa and Eastern Europe are welcome.
Employment Type: Full‑time employee, annual contract with renewal option.
Languages: English proficiency is mandatory.
Experience: Mid‑level, minimum 8 years in an operations‑related role.
Salary: Market‑related by region, based on experience.
Reports to: OET Board.
Works closely with: Finance Manager, Heads of Department.
Work travel: None.
Start date: 1 September 2026 (or sooner, notice‑dependent).

Open Energy Transition (OET) is a non‑profit organization advancing the global energy transition by developing innovative open‑source tools and data solutions for energy and grid planning. Our vision is to make open approaches the global standard by 2030, enabling energy planning that is more accessible, transparent, and effective. This shift is essential to better guide trillion‑dollar worth public and private investment toward affordable, sustainable, and secure energy systems. Our work is already being adopted by leading system operators, regulators, and philanthropic partners.

We’re a remote‑first, mission‑driven, registered non‑profit, comprising around 50 highly‑skilled and motivated professionals from all around the world. Our culture is built on trust, autonomy, and collaborative professionalism.

We thrive in a fast‑paced, distributed environment, where communication is clear, empathy is second nature, and each of us takes full ownership of our work. We work independently, but also collaborate easily when appropriate.

We are looking for a Business Operations Manager to take ownership of our operational management system, and help ensure that OET continues to operate effectively, efficiently, and compliantly as we grow.

In the past two years, OET has grown from 20 to over 50 team members. We are now at a crucial crossroads where our operational systems, including our newly created ISMS, need to be further professionalised such that we can maintain or improve operational efficiency as we grow further.

To do so, we need an experienced builder, who enjoys continuously looking for the weakest links in our operational systems and proactively addressing them by improving existing systems or building new ones from the ground up.

Your main purpose in this role is to take ownership of OET's operational processes across the board. This includes ISO27001 management system, business compliance activities, organisational risk mitigation strategies, operational governance, vendor management processes, and cross‑functional operational initiatives.

You will play a key role in ensuring that important operational responsibilities are managed consistently and effectively, while reducing the administrative burden currently carried by our Department Heads and senior leaders.

You will be responsible for maintaining and improving the systems, processes, documentation, and operational practices that enable our distributed team to work effectively. This includes coordinating our annual ISO audit and accreditation renewal process, managing evidence collection and audit preparation, maintaining risk registers and policies, overseeing vendor reviews, and helping drive operational improvements across the organisation.

Exciting activities include improving company‑wide operational processes, strengthening our governance systems, introducing efficiencies through automation and documentation, supporting strategic operational initiatives, and ensuring that OET's operational foundations continue to be effective and scale appropriately as we grow.

The ideal candidate is comfortable working autonomously and fully remotely as part of a dedicated, distributed team, and enjoys creating clarity, structure, and momentum across complex operational work. They are highly organised, proactive, and practical, and are equally comfortable coordinating an audit, improving a process, managing a project, providing operational recommendations to our Senior Leadership Team, or following up on operational actions across multiple teams.

This role requires a high degree of ownership, professionalism, attention to detail, self‑management, and follow‑through. Strong written communication skills are particularly important, as much of our work happens asynchronously across multiple time zones. Accurate record‑keeping and documentation are also required, as we are cloud‑based, and our operations align with ISO standards.

Please note that this role does not include ownership of People Operations, HR, Payroll, Finance, Accounting, Sales, Business Development, Marketing, or Customer Success activities.

• Maintain and improve operational processes, documentation, and governance processes.
• Manage and maintain company risk registers, ensuring risks are appropriately documented, reviewed, and tracked.
• Coordinate and drive company‑wide operational initiatives and cross‑functional projects. This includes managing the use of our OpenProject PM tool across various teams.
• Work closely with Department Heads to improve operational effectiveness and reduce their administrative overhead.
• Identify opportunities for operational efficiencies, automation (including through the use of AI), standardisation, and process improvement. This includes making recommendations to our Senior Leadership Team.
• Own and maintain OET's ISO27001 management system and support successful annual audits and accreditation renewals.
• Coordinate internal ISO audits, evidence collection, corrective actions, and external audit preparation activities to ensure we consistently meet the standard’s requirements.
• Manage vendor assessment, onboarding, review/reassessment, and relationship processes in line with ISO requirements.
• Securely maintain operational documentation and knowledge management systems.
• Support business continuity planning and operational resilience initiatives for our global company.
• Monitor compliance with internal operational requirements and external obligations.
• Autonomously track operational actions, initiatives, and follow‑up items to ensure successful execution.
• Contribute to improving operational workflows, systems, and documentation across the organisation.
• Support leadership with accurate operational reporting, tracking, and coordination activities as required.

You'll Be a Great Fit If You Have

• 8 years minimum experience in business operations, operational excellence, governance, compliance, project management, business administration, or similar operational roles.
• Experience maintaining operational processes, governance documentation, and compliance records.
• Experience coordinating complex cross‑functional initiatives involving multiple stakeholders.
• Strong project management and organisational skills.
• Experience owning or managing ISO management systems and supporting external audits.
• Strong attention to detail and ability to manage operational documentation accurately.
• Ability to work independently and take ownership of outcomes in a remote work environment.
• Experience managing vendors and external service providers.
• Strong written communication skills and experience working well remotely and asynchronously.
• Ability to balance operational rigor with pragmatism and efficiency.
• A continuous improvement mindset and enthusiasm for improving systems and processes.
• Fluency in English (our main working language) is mandatory.
• Interest in open‑source collaboration and/or the energy sector.
• Prior work at a fast‑growing young company in the IT sector.
• Prior work as part of a diverse, fully‑remote, distributed team.
• Prior work on open‑source projects.
• Familiarity with donor‑funded or non‑profit environments.
• Experience managing ISO 27001, SOC2, NIST CSF, or similar information security systems.
• Experience with operational tooling, project management tools, workflow automation, and documentation platforms.
• Experience maintaining risk registers and governance frameworks.
• Experience reporting directly to senior leadership.

Benefits & Working Conditions

• A flexible, fully remote work environment where you're trusted to work very autonomously. Zero micro‑management aligns with our culture.
• The opportunity to take ownership of a critical function within a growing mission‑driven organisation and have a meaningful impact on how we operate.
• A culture that values transparency, empathy, trust, humility, diversity, collaboration, and recognition.
• An open‑door policy and reciprocal feedback. You'll always know where you stand and can have your voice heard.
• A pretty flat hierarchical structure, where titles are not emphasised, and all contributions are valued.
• Competitive salary with growth potential.
• Supportive onboarding and training, tailored to your strengths, interests, and career ambitions.
• The ability to be part of our formation. We’re still growing, changing, and improving. Anyone on the team can contribute to culture and processes and we take suggestions seriously.

How to Apply

Submit an application via Greenhouse. If you have any questions about OET or the role, we’ll be happy to answer them should we invite you to a screening call or interview. We look forward to meeting the next person who will become an invaluable part of our team.