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

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 ISO
27001 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,…