Founders Associate

Accountabilities:: Lead strategic initiatives: Take ownership of two to three high-priority company projects each quarter, managing them from initial planning through execution and delivery. Drive cross-functional programmes: Design, coordinate and deliver major initiatives, including supplier sourcing programmes, operational improvements and AI-enabled workflows. Structure complex challenges: Translate ambiguous questions and strategic priorities from leadership, board members and partners into clearly defined problems, actionable recommendations and execution plans. Manage business operations: Oversee the company's operating rhythm, including leadership meetings, board and investor updates, OKR reviews and all-hands meetings, ensuring decisions translate into measurable progress. Support executive relationships: Represent the CEO in meetings with procurement leaders, strategic partners, cooperative executives and investors, maintaining strong professional relationships and ensuring effective communication. Leverage AI-driven tools: Integrate AI tools, agents and automated workflows into everyday operations to improve productivity, streamline processes and support better decision-making. Coordinate distributed teams: Work closely with colleagues and external stakeholders across the UK and US, ensuring priorities remain aligned and projects progress effectively across time zones. Requirements: Professional experience: 3–5 years of experience following a career in management consulting, ideally at a top-tier consulting firm, or equivalent experience in an operational role at a Series A to C startup. Proven ownership: Demonstrated experience independently managing complex cross-functional projects, business launches or strategic initiatives from initial brief to successful completion. Strategic and analytical thinking: Strong problem-solving abilities, with the capacity to structure ambiguous challenges, develop hypotheses, evaluate options and formulate clear recommendations. Executive communication: Excellent communication and presentation skills, with the confidence to engage senior executives, investors, government stakeholders and external partners. Operational expertise: Experience managing multiple priorities, coordinating stakeholders and maintaining execution momentum within fast-paced, distributed environments. Analytical capabilities: Strong numerical and analytical skills, including practical experience with spreadsheets, dashboards and SQL-related tools. AI proficiency: Hands-on experience using AI-powered tools, agents, MCP servers or prompt-based workflows to improve personal productivity and business operations. International collaboration: Ability to work effectively across different time zones, with strong organisational skills and a structured approach to asynchronous communication. Personal attributes: A proactive, curious and low-ego mindset, combined with high standards, adaptability, sound judgement and the ability to receive and act on feedback. Industry interest: Genuine curiosity about public sector innovation, government procurement and technology-driven transformation. Previous experience in government, cooperative purchasing or regulated B2B markets is an advantage but not essential. Benefits: Competitive compensation: Attractive salary package based on experience and qualifications. Equity participation: Meaningful equity offering, providing an opportunity to share in the company's long-term growth. Direct leadership exposure: Work closely with the CEO and founders, with significant responsibility and ownership from your first week. Career development: Broad exposure to product, commercial strategy, partnerships, fundraising and board-level activities, with a clear potential progression towards a Head of Operations or General Manager position. Collaborative environment: Join a small, committed team of talented operators and engineers working across international locations. Remote flexibility: Benefit from a remote-first working environment, with regular opportunities for in-person collaboration. International exposure: Opportunities for regular travel to the United States to strengthen relationships with colleagues, partners and stakeholders. Professional growth: Take on meaningful challenges, influence strategic decisions and contribute directly to the development of a growing AI-driven business.