Director of Operations / Chief Operating Officer

We are seeking a Director of Operations / Chief Operating Officer to join LawAI at a pivotal stage of growth. As our work expands across jurisdictions and we continue to grow, we need an experienced senior operational leader to shape how the organization is structured, scaled, and sustained over the long term. Working in close partnership with the Director and Chief of Staff, you will hold responsibility for LawAI’s operational effectiveness, compliance, and financial strategy.

The primary focus of the role is strategic operational leadership. You will design and strengthen the structures, planning processes, and decision-making frameworks that enable LawAI to execute at a high level. This includes clarifying decision rights, aligning resources with priorities, resolving cross-team trade-offs, and ensuring the organization is positioned to support both current delivery and future growth.

You will lead financial strategy and oversight, including budgeting, forecasting, long-term financial planning, financial controls, and Board reporting. You will ensure financial discipline and sustainability are embedded across the organization, and will work alongside the Director in managing funder relationships, structuring grants, and developing multi-year runway models to support funding rounds and long-term strategic planning.

This is a high-trust role with significant scope to shape the organization’s trajectory, strengthening internal capacity, improving execution, and ensuring LawAI is built to deliver sustained impact in our field. As LawAI continues to grow, this role may develop to include oversight of other organizational functions, such as Programs and Communications, to ensure that our strategy, research, and internal frameworks remain clearly aligned as we scale.

Your main responsibilities would include:

Operations Strategy, Performance & Scaling

• Set the strategic direction for LawAI’s operations function, ensuring it evolves in line with organizational growth and long-term priorities.
• Lead, develop, and performance-manage the operations team, strengthening capability, accountability, and professional growth.
• Develop and implement a clear specialization strategy within a high-calibre generalist team, deepening functional ownership as the organization scales.
• Define and continuously refine the operating model and core operational processes, clarifying decision rights, standards of execution, and areas of responsibility.
• Act as a strategic partner to senior leadership to translate organisational strategy into coherent operational frameworks and execution plans.
• Design and lead structured planning and performance review processes, ensuring organizational priorities are clearly defined and progress is consistently tracked.
• Lead organizational capacity planning across enabling functions, aligning team structure with strategic priorities and anticipated growth.
• Identify structural bottlenecks and scaling risks, proactively strengthening systems and workflows to maintain organizational effectiveness.
• Strengthen coordination between operations and research/policy teams to ensure internal systems effectively support high-quality external work.

Financial Strategy & Runway Planning

• Lead financial strategy, including multi-year runway modelling, scenario planning, and financial frameworks to support funding rounds and long-term sustainability.
• Oversee budgeting, forecasting, and financial reporting processes, ensuring accuracy and strategic alignment.
• Integrate financial planning into organizational design, capacity planning, and strategic decision-making.
• Maintain financial controls and reporting standards proportionate to organizational scale and funder expectations.

In addition to this, responsibilities of a Chief Operating Officer would include:

• Managing additional teams or Directors, depending on the interests and experience of the candidate and the relevant organizational needs, which we expect to change and develop over time.
• Managing and coordinating the executive team. 
• Operating as a thought partner and source of counsel and feedback for the Director and leadership team.
• Autonomously running the organization’s day-to-day operations, allowing the Director to focus on executive and strategy work.

Compensation 

The salary range for this role is $150,000 – $280,000, depending on experience and location. For exceptional candidates whose experience exceeds our expectations in terms of relevance and seniority, we may consider higher compensation.

Start date

We’re ideally looking for someone able to start as soon as possible, but we’re open to waiting for longer if the ideal candidate isn’t available immediately.

Time zones and location 

This is a full-time, permanent position. We encourage in-person work from our office in Cambridge, UK, or from Washington, DC but we have staff working from many different countries and support flexibility where needed.

Visas: We may be able to support visa applications in some instances for this role, though individual eligibility is not within our control.

Benefits

Our benefits include:

• Flexible working hours, with in-person work encouraged from our office in Cambridge, UK
• 5 weeks of PTO recommended per year, plus public holidays
• 12 weeks of paid parental leave that can be taken prior to birth or adoption and during the first year, with the option to take additional unpaid leave
• Employer pension or matching 401(k) contribution up to 4% of your salary
• Health insurance for employees residing in countries without nationalized healthcare
• An annual reimbursement fund of $5,000 for productivity and professional development
• An annual reimbursement fund of $5,000 for mental health support
• An annual reimbursement fund of $2,500 for equipment and office supplies
• A friendly, open work culture that encourages feedback and close collaboration, and a team that appreciates the contributions of all team members.

Diversity

We aim to employ people with many different experiences, perspectives, and backgrounds who share our mission. We are committed to creating an environment where all employees have the opportunity to succeed, regardless of their race, religion, disability, national origin, gender, or sexual orientation.

Requests for accommodation

If you need assistance or an accommodation due to a disability or incompatible assistive technology, please contact hiring@law-ai.org to request reasonable accommodations.