Special Projects Manager - Operations

About the role

You'll join HOLY's Special Projects team and own a portfolio of Operations problems end-to-end — from diagnosing the real problem, to building the models, tools, and processes the solution needs, to personally running them until a permanent owner takes over. This is a builder role, not an advisor role, where you'll ship production-grade tools and processes yourself, leveraging AI-native tooling to compound your output.

What you'll do

• Own HOLY's priority Operations problems across the full lifecycle — diagnose, build, run, and hand over to a permanent owner. Carry multiple projects in parallel across Operations (supply, production, logistics, procurement, customer service) and sequence by impact and readiness.
• Pick up problems handed off with minimal context — push for a deeper briefing if needed, then take it from there. Sit with the team, handle real cases, and diagnose what's actually going on before reaching for a solution.
• Turn ambiguous problems into clear, decision-ready frameworks. Quantify business impact (P&L, unit economics, risk) independently. Drive decisions; escalate with options and a recommendation, not just a problem.
• Turn unclear, manual, or fragile Operations workflows into scalable operating processes with defined ownership, interfaces, and success metrics. Reduce operational overhead, failure points, and coordination cost measurably.
• Build the internal tools, models, and automations the team is missing. Use AI-native tooling (coding agents, workflow automation, MCPs) to compound personal leverage and ship production-grade output, not prototypes.

What you'll need

• 1+ years in a high-growth environment — as a founders' associate, startup generalist, hands-on consultant, or in venture capital / venture building. Must have actually fixed things, not just built slides.
• Fluency with AI-native tooling (coding agents like Claude Code / Cursor, orchestration tools like n8n or trigger.dev, MCPs) — or a clear track record of learning new build tooling fast.
• Strong quantitative skills — comfortable building P&L models, unit economics, and sensitivity analysis from scratch.
• Fluent in English and German, able to flex between operator-level precision and leadership-level structure.
• You roll up your sleeves and run the process yourself for as long as it takes. Brokering meetings isn't your idea of progress.
• You go find the real problem yourself, even when the stated one looks obvious.

What they offer

• Competitive salary and meaningful equity with the chance to share in current success and upside as we scale.
• Central office in Berlin Prenzlauerberg with flexible working hours and 30 work-from-abroad days.
• 28 vacation days, €1,500 learning budget, Urban Sports Club membership, and public transport subsidy.
• Biannual 360° feedback tied to your compensation.
• Huge impact to shape HOLY's internationalisation in a top market.