Director, Business Operations & Account Management
Reports to: President & Chief Operating Officer
Direct Report(s): 1 (Business Operations Manager)
Location: Remote, with occasional travel
Function: Business Operations
Employment Type: Full-time
The Opportunity
DHCG operates a fast-paced client service business in which effective resource utilization, disciplined project economics, and consistently excellent client experience are essential to our growth and reputation. We are seeking an experienced Director or Senior Director of Business Operations & Account Management to own and elevate this function firm-wide.
Reporting directly to the President & COO, you will be the accountable owner of DHCG's core Business Operations infrastructure, including resource management, client experience optimization, and account expansion. You will lead and develop one direct report, partner closely with project leads and the Executive Leadership Team (ELT) to ensure project delivery excellence, identify opportunities to optimize consultant utilization, and expand existing client relationships.
This role builds directly on the foundation of DHCG's existing Business Operations infrastructure, but is empowered to take strategic ownership of building the function to fit a rapidly growing organization with increasingly sophisticated account management and business operations needs.
Key Responsibilities
Business Operations Strategy & Resource Management
• Own the strategy, governance, and continuous improvement of DHCG's Resource Management System (RMS), ensuring accurate, timely data on consultant allocation, availability, and utilization firm-wide.
• Direct the Weekly Management Meeting, delivering executive-ready dashboards and leading team discussion to optimized resource utilization, collaborative project staffing and unmatched client experience across the practice.
• Set thresholds, governance, and escalation protocols for monitoring project resource consumption against budget, proactively flagging risks of budget overruns and opportunities to expand client support to project leads, the President/COO, and the business development team.
• Identify opportunities for business process improvements within the practice; champion and implement innovation across business operations processes, including evaluation and adoption of AI and automation tools to improve efficiency and reporting quality.
• Interface with Pipeline and Conflicts committee to provide information on consultant utilization, historical project scopes and staffing to inform staffing decisions. Maintain the master database of committee decisions.
Client Account Management & Relationship Expansion
• Direct the firm-wide Principal Portfolio Review and Client Project Review programs, ensuring consistent, high-quality tracking of project progress, resource utilization, and client experience.
• Build and operate systems to proactively surface and correct arising client- and project level issues before they impact client relationships.
• Partner with project leads and Managing Partners to identify, summarize, and help progress opportunities for expansion of client relationships.
• Own the client satisfaction survey program and report results to the ELT and the broader practice at the quarterly All Hands Meeting.
• Support the drafting of SOW amendments and follow-on scoping documents in partnership with project leads, Business Development, and Legal, as needed.
• Interface directly with Clients and support as needed as the business-side representative of client engagements.
Project Initiation & Client Engagement Operations
• Oversee the end-to-end project initiation process following SOW signature, including project team confirmation, client code name assignment, secure dataroom provisioning, and timesheet entry, ensuring service-level timelines are consistently met.
• Ensure high-quality, timely communication with clients at project kickoff and at key milestones throughout the engagement lifecycle.
• Serve as an escalation point for client service and delivery issues, working with Principals to resolve risks quickly and professionally.
Team Leadership & Cross-Functional Collaboration
• Manage, coach, and develop a direct report responsible for day-to-day execution of resource management and account coordination activities.
• Serve as the primary liaison between Business Operations and Finance, Legal, HR, and Business Development on cross-functional initiatives and project hand-offs.
• Represent Business Operations in ELT-level planning and decision-making, bringing data-driven recommendations on utilization, delivery quality, process optimization, and client health.
Business Development Support (at the discretion of the President/COO)
• Provide senior-level support to the Business Development team for conferences, trade shows, and similar business events, as needed.
• Support ad hoc sales and client engagement activities that draw on Business Operations expertise and client relationships.
• Interface with Marketing Communications to inform marketing strategy based on utilization projections and observed client trends.
About You
Qualifications & Experience
• Bachelor's degree required; MBA or life sciences advanced degree a plus.
• 7-10+ years of experience in business operations, account/client management, or client services within a professional services, consulting, or similarly fast-paced client-facing environment.
• Prior experience in life sciences, biotech, CRO/CDMO, or another complex professional services setting strongly preferred.
• Demonstrated experience building, running, or improving resource/utilization management systems and executive reporting frameworks.
• People management experience, with a track record of developing and coaching direct reports.
• Experience partnering closely with senior executives or Partners in a client service business.
Skills & Competencies
• Strong analytical and financial acumen, with fluency in utilization, billable hours, project economics, and contract language. Experience with the underlying business processes and best practices of a client service organization strongly preferred.
• Exceptional organizational and project management skills, with the ability to manage multiple concurrent workstreams and competing priorities.
• Executive presence and communication skills, with the credibility to report directly to the President/COO and engage the ELT.
• Process-oriented with a strong bias toward innovation and continuous improvement; familiarity with AI tools and a willingness to integrate them into day-to-day workflows strongly preferred, as DHCG actively embraces AI to enhance the quality and efficiency of its work.
• Strong interpersonal skills and the credibility to build trusted working relationships with DHCG's Managing Partners and Principals.
• Sound judgment and discretion in handling confidential client, financial, and personnel information.
• Entrepreneurial in nature, thrives in fast paced environment in growing organization.
Why Dark Horse Consulting Group?
• Work at the cutting edge of advanced biotherapeutics, a sector where the science is transformative and the stakes are high.
• Join a team of world-class scientific experts and consultants who are genuinely passionate about what they do.
• Take ownership of, and be empowered to build and improve, a firm-wide function with critical importance to the business's success, and direct visibility to the President/COO.
• Lead and grow a team, with a clear path to broader operational leadership as DHCG continues to expand.
• Competitive compensation, commensurate with experience.
• Flexible, remote-first working environment.
