01
Operational seniority, not just resumes
We assess operational leaders on real scope: P&L responsibility, team size, geographic span and the operational maturity they have actually built (not just inherited).
- Recruitment -
Operations recruitment across Europe and the UK
COOs, Heads of Operations, RevOps and Customer Success leaders who turn cross-border ambition into reliable, repeatable delivery.
- Why this practice exists -
A senior, cross-border practice for operations
Operations is where strategy turns into delivery. Go Ahead HiRe recruits the senior operational leaders who hold customer success, revenue operations, supply chain, business operations and program management together across multiple European markets.
A typical brief is a Series C scale-up hiring its first COO before a Series D round, a B2B SaaS company appointing a Head of Customer Success EMEA, or an established European group consolidating supply chain leadership under a single senior hire. Every search is run by a single accountable consultant with sourcing capacity in the relevant country.
Read more about our six-step approach or the six European markets we cover.
- What we do -
Inside the operations recruitment practice
A focused set of services delivered by a single accountable consultant, with senior calibration on every shortlist.
- Retained search for Chief Operating Officer, Head of Operations and Head of Customer Success roles across Europe.
- Headhunting for senior RevOps, Sales Operations, Marketing Operations and Business Operations leaders.
- Supply chain leadership searches for product, e-commerce and industrial businesses across the EU.
- Customer Success and Support leadership for B2B SaaS scale-ups expanding into multiple European markets.
- Program Management and PMO leadership searches for transformation and post-merger integration work.
- Typical mandates -
Roles we recruit, week in week out
A snapshot of the operations recruitment mandates that come across our desk most often. If your role is not listed but lives at the senior end of the function, send us a one-paragraph brief.
- Chief Operating Officer
- VP or Head of Operations
- Head of Customer Success EMEA
- Head of Revenue Operations
- Head of Sales Operations
- Head of Supply Chain or Logistics
- Director of Program Management
- Head of Business Operations
Looking for a current opening? Browse our live open positions or submit your CV confidentially.
- Who we work with -
The kind of clients on this practice
A representative cross-section of the operations recruitment clients we partner with across Europe and the UK.
Series C and D B2B SaaS scale-ups hiring their first COO or Head of Operations.
Established European product or industrial groups consolidating operational leadership across countries.
Private equity-backed portfolio companies preparing for an operational step-change after acquisition.
Founder-led businesses ready to bring in a senior operator alongside the founding team.
- Our approach -
A six-step search method, applied consistently
Every operations recruitment engagement runs on the same six-step search process: discovery, market mapping, sourcing and longlisting, calibrated shortlisting, client interviews and selection, and offer plus onboarding support. Most senior searches close within 6 to 10 weeks, with a calibrated longlist visible to you within 2 to 3 weeks of kickoff.
See the full six-step approach- Why choose us -
Why clients pick Go Ahead HiRe for operations
02
Cross-functional context
Operations sits between sales, marketing, product and finance. Our consultants regularly run sales, marketing and management searches, so we understand how an Ops leader will work with the rest of the leadership team.
03
European delivery realism
We are pragmatic about what is realistically deliverable in a 12 or 18-month operating plan across multiple European markets - and we screen candidates for that same realism.
Ready to start a operations search?
Brief us on the role and Darcie will personally come back within one business day with proposed next steps. Want to see how we run cross-border searches first? Read about our six-step approach or the six European markets we cover.
- Country specialisations -
Operations Recruitment by country
Country-specific landing pages for operations recruitment, with local salary benchmarks, market context and FAQs.
Operations recruitment in Netherlands
COO, Head of Operations, RevOps and Customer Success Director placements across the Randstad and beyond. The senior operators who make the rest of the business actually scale.
OpenOperations recruitment in United Kingdom
COO, Head of Operations, RevOps and Customer Success Director placements across London and the wider UK. The senior operators who make the rest of the business actually scale.
OpenOperations recruitment in Germany
Senior operations leaders placed across Berlin, Munich, Hamburg. Native local sourcing, written Germany compensation benchmarks and a single accountable consultant on every search.
OpenOperations recruitment in France
Senior operations leaders placed across Paris, Lyon, Toulouse. Native local sourcing, written France compensation benchmarks and a single accountable consultant on every search.
OpenOperations recruitment in Spain
Senior operations leaders placed across Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia. Native local sourcing, written Spain compensation benchmarks and a single accountable consultant on every searc...
OpenOperations recruitment in Italy
Senior operations leaders placed across Milan, Rome, Turin. Native local sourcing, written Italy compensation benchmarks and a single accountable consultant on every search.
OpenOperations recruitment in Portugal
Senior operations leaders placed across Lisbon, Porto, Braga. Native local sourcing, written Portugal compensation benchmarks and a single accountable consultant on every search.
Open- Explore further -
The other five recruitment specialisations
Most clients work with us across more than one discipline. Browse the rest of the practice or return to the recruitment services hub.
Sales Recruitment
Hunters, account managers and revenue leaders.
Open practiceMarketing Recruitment
Brand, demand and lifecycle specialists.
Open practiceEngineering Recruitment
Software, platform and engineering leaders.
Open practiceManagement & Leadership
C-suite, country leadership and board roles.
Open practiceConsultancy Recruitment
Strategy, transformation and advisory talent.
Open practice- Operations Recruitment FAQ -
Process, pricing and how we work
Five questions we are asked most often about operations recruitment at Go Ahead HiRe.
Last reviewed: · Source: goaheadhire.com
Do you recruit COOs only, or also senior individual contributors in operations?
Both. Roughly half of our operations work is COO and Head of Operations leadership search. The other half is senior specialist work: Head of RevOps, Head of Customer Success EMEA, Head of Supply Chain. The common thread is senior operational scope, not the line on the org chart.
Related: Brief us on an operations role, See who we work with
Reviewed · Source: goaheadhire.com
Can you handle a Head of Customer Success EMEA across multiple languages?
Yes. Multilingual Customer Success leadership is a regular part of our work. For an EMEA-wide role we map candidate pools across the Netherlands, UK, DACH, Iberia and the Nordics, screen for the language combinations the role actually needs and check operational scope (segment, ARR responsibility, NRR delivered) explicitly before the shortlist stage.
Related: See the six European countries we cover
Reviewed · Source: goaheadhire.com
How do you assess operational candidates beyond the CV?
For every shortlisted operations leader we run a structured operational assessment with the lead consultant: P&L scope, team size and structure, operating cadence introduced, and concrete operational improvements delivered with metrics attached. For COO and Head of Ops roles we add a short written operating-plan exercise and reference calls with two former direct reports and one former CEO.
Related: See our six-step approach
Reviewed · Source: goaheadhire.com
Do you recruit supply chain leadership for industrial and e-commerce businesses?
Yes. Supply chain and logistics leadership is a regular part of our operations work, particularly for European product businesses and e-commerce groups operating across multiple countries. We focus on Head of Supply Chain, Head of Logistics and VP Supply Chain roles where cross-border coordination is the core challenge.
Related: See our consultancy recruitment practice
Reviewed · Source: goaheadhire.com
Can you run an operations search alongside a parallel sales or management search?
Yes, and we often do. When a Series C scale-up is hiring a new COO and a new VP Sales in parallel, we coordinate the two searches under a single client lead so the candidate calibration stays consistent and the team chemistry conversation is part of the process from the start.
Related: Speak to a recruiter
Reviewed · Source: goaheadhire.com
Still have a question? Send us a message on the contact page or brief us on a new role.