About Ikigai
Ikigai provides extraordinary space for individuals and organizations in a sustainable, community-oriented environment, helping them feel balanced and productive. We are a beautifully curated collective of shared office spaces in Kenya. At Ikigai, we cultivate an environment where meaningful human interactions are nurtured to encourage impactful and profitable connections between ideas, individuals, and businesses. Ikigai is not just another shared office space but a place where community and the collective are at the heart of everything we do. At Ikigai, you have a beautiful and secure space to work from, social areas to connect with your peers and strangers to create fruitful relationships that help push your business forward, events and workshops in our tree-filled gardens or boardrooms, and a coffee bar to keep you productive.
About the role:
The Head of Operations at Ikigai oversees and optimizes operational processes to enhance efficiency, scalability, and growth while maintaining a strong focus on people management and company culture. This role requires a balance of process orientation and human interaction, embodying Ikigai’s core values with compassion and empathy. The ideal candidate seamlessly transitions between strategic planning, problem-solving, and hands-on support for location and facilities teams, ensuring an exceptional experience for members. They are committed to fostering a thriving community, developing their team, and collaborating across functions. As Ikigai expands, the Head of Operations will play a key role in refining systems, strengthening cross-functional relationships, and shaping the company’s future.
We are looking for:
- Passionate team player who emulates Ikigai’s core values and strives to achieve our mission.
- Dedicated leader who supports the team to achieve business performance goals and targets while also effectively and continuously developing and growing the team.
- Effective collaborator who can coordinate cross-functional operations and strategic projects, and design & implement multi-functional strategies
- Strategic thought partner who can design effective strategies, translate them into realistic & detailed plans then smoothly & collaboratively implement them into ongoing operations.
Key Roles and Responsibilities
Community & Member Management
- Oversee daily operations across all coworking locations, ensuring consistency in quality and service.
- Ensure members remain at the heart of all experiences, fostering a strong and engaged community.
- Support and manage the Community Team, providing the necessary resources to enhance member satisfaction.
- Maintain strong relationships with members, proactively addressing concerns to improve retention.
- Collaborate closely with the Hospitality Team to deliver a seamless and positive member experience.
Business Development & Sales
- Facilitate collaboration between the Community and BD & Sales Teams to achieve revenue targets.
- Work with the Head of Growth to drive revenue generation across all locations.
- Ensure effective communication between BD & Sales and Community Teams, encouraging CRM use and joint sales efforts.
- Provide market insights from member interactions to shape sales and marketing strategies.
- Build long-term relationships with members, identifying opportunities for business growth.
Facilities Management
- Oversee location operations and facilities to ensure smooth and efficient functioning of coworking spaces.
- Manage the Facilities & Projects and Groundskeeping Teams, ensuring effective coordination with Community Teams.
- Ensure critical infrastructure (power, water, internet, security) remains operational with minimal downtime.
- Optimize space utilization to maximize revenue, enhance efficiency, and improve the member experience.
- Maintain compliance with health and safety regulations while implementing cost-saving initiatives.
Leadership & Team Management
- Lead the Community and Facilities Teams, fostering a culture of growth and accountability.
- Define career paths and provide learning and development opportunities in collaboration with People & Culture.
- Oversee recruitment, onboarding, and performance management to ensure team effectiveness.
- Support conflict resolution, coaching, and leadership development for direct reports.
- Manage disciplinary processes, guiding supervisors to handle team matters appropriately.
Finance & Strategy
- Lead strategic planning and projects for Community and Facilities & Projects Teams including defining KPIs and strategic projects that align with company-wide strategic objectives and targets
- Provide strategic thought partnership to the co-founders on function-specific and company-wide matters related to Community and Facilities & Projects
- Lead development, company-wide implementation, and reporting of KPIs during annual strategic planning process and throughout the year including collaborating closely with the Head of Growth to develop annual revenue targets for the company
- Own strategic projects and support individual Community and F&P Team members to successfully complete strategic projects, including building their project management and stakeholder coordination skills
- Lead creation of Community Team and Facilities & Projects budgets and report on expenditure, with support from Finance, throughout the year
- Identify, recommend and implement process and systems improvements that better the efficiency and effectiveness of the Community and Facilities & Projects Team’s work with each other, across other departments, and to support an excellent member experience; proactively look for opportunities and make the business case to leverage tech whenever possible
Role Qualifications
Role Requirements:
- Passion for and understanding of Ikigai’s mission and values
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills, and active listening skills, especially in member and team-related interactions
- Highly detail-oriented with exceptional organizational & planning skills
- Excellent problem solving and solution-driven approach to overcoming challenges
- Strong people management skills, and the ability to support, inspire, motivate and guide a team
- Strong interpersonal skills and able to strike up a good relationship with anybody
- Strong proficiency with Microsoft Office applications (Excel, PowerPoint, Word)
- Proven ability to plan and manage resources including demonstrated P&L experience
- Experience planning and implementing strategies that align with business goals including cross-functional planning, implementing processes & systems to improve coordination across decentralized teams and departments, and designing projects to achieve strategic objectives
- Proficiency with data analysis and budgeting
- Innovative, open-minded, forward-thinking, flexible mindset
Required Skills and Competencies
- Passion for and understanding of Ikigai’s culture and vision through demonstrated past experience in similar professional environments and situations
- 8+ years of team management experience, ideally in hospitality or service industry environment
- Experience managing and leading a decentralized team including responsibility for training, coaching and performance management
- Experience with cross-departmental collaboration including development of company-wide strategies and implementation of operational initiatives across teams
At Ikigai, we are just as interested in how someone fits with our culture, as their ability to get the job done. For anyone joining the team, we are also interested in whether:
- You show up to work as your true and authentic self. Whether that is having a talent for Lingala dancing, baking, reading, or sleeping in & watching Netflix.
- You get excited about sharing with others what we do at Ikigai and how we do it with a passion for community and wellness.
- You take pride in being detail-oriented and diligent with delivering high-quality outcomes and deliverables. You are highly organized and efficient with excellent time management skills and can prioritize tasks effectively when everything is happening at once.
- You enjoy teamwork and collaboration. When you are stuck you ask for help and are a candid communicator.
- You see targets as a positive challenge and know how to breakdown big goals into manageable tasks for yourself and your team.
- You are punctual, professional, thorough, and intrapreneurial. You are a quick learning self-starter that works well in a fast-paced, start-up environment.
- You are adaptable and innovative, honest and have integrity. You trust your own intuition.
