SyndicatedFractional COOCambridge, England, United Kingdom
Full-time COO, PRISM
FULL-TIME COO JOB · CAMBRIDGE, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM
PRISM, a UK-based AI ethics charity, is hiring a Head of Operations to scale the organisation through a growth phase. The role owns HR, finance, systems, compliance, and governance end-to-end, reporting to the CEO. Salary is $100–160k USD (approximately £79–127k GBP equivalent), full-time, though part-time options are explicitly open to negotiation.
Full-time COO — the balanced verdict
Why this role stands out
- Genuine mission-driven employer (registered charity in AI consciousness research) with clear, high-trust scope.
- Explicitly open to part-time and remote arrangements, signalling flexibility.
- Structured hiring process with paid work test; visa sponsorship offered.
- Well-defined operational remit (HR, finance, systems, governance) with scope to build and scale a team.
Worth checking before you apply
- Salary stated in USD (~$100–160k) rather than GBP; exchange-rate risk and potential UK employment tax complexity if candidate is UK-based.
- Broad, generalist operations role spanning HR, finance, compliance, and donor/partner management—requires strong execution across multiple disciplines, not deep specialisation.
- Charity sector — mission-driven appeal may attract candidates willing to accept below-market rates; verify final offer is competitive for UK market.
Our automated read of the posting text, not the employer's own assessment. Check each point with them before you apply.
How well the role as written suits a fractional or interim arrangement, scored 0–100 by our automated read of the posting text before it went on the board. It rates the posting, not you — we do not score or match candidates.
Full-time COO — the posting in full
~/original-posting · verbatimsource: fantastic-jobs
What the posting asks · quoted from the listing
- Years
Who we're looking for You may be a good fit if you have: 5+ years of experience in operations, finance, HR, or a related role (e.g.
Details
- Location: Cambridge, UK strongly preferred; open to remote (US/EU with overlap with UK hours) - (open to sponsoring work visas for the UK)
- Type: Full-time (part-time options will also be considered)
- Reports to: CEO
- Compensation: Salary commensurate with experience, typical range of $100,000 - $160,000
- Overview
PRISM is entering a period of growth, and we're looking for a Head of Operations to help us scale without losing what makes us effective. You'll take ownership of the operational backbone of the organisation (HR, finance, systems, and compliance) so that the people running our core programmes can focus on the work itself. This is a senior, high-trust role for someone who can build durable systems, exercise good judgement under uncertainty, and grow an operations function as the organisation expands.
About PRISM
PRISM (Partnership for Research Into Sentient Machines) is a UK-based registered charity helping to build the field of digital minds. We support research and educational initiatives that prepare society for the challenges posed by AI consciousness, digital minds, and AI moral status. We raise awareness among non-expert audiences, develop talent to help the field grow, and convene the researchers and experts for important conversations.
Field building sits at the heart of our direction. As a young field, digital minds needs infrastructure: ways for newcomers to orient themselves, and spaces that keep researchers and practitioners connected and collaborating. Our programmes span a podcast, the Beginner's Guide to Digital Minds, a quarterly newsletter, a community slack channel, fellowships, an online course, and expert workshops. A key part of the role is our partnership with Cambridge Digital Minds, with whom we run Fellowships and an Online course. You'll be central to making that collaboration run smoothly and scale well.
What you'll do
Help us through a period of growth. Anticipate the operational challenges that come with scaling; more people, more programmes, more complexity. Lay the foundations so that growth is an opportunity rather than a bottleneck.
Take ownership of HR and Finance. Own people operations end to end: hiring logistics, onboarding, contracts, policies, and day-to-day HR. Lead the collaboration with our accountants across budgeting, payroll, bookkeeping oversight, funder and grant reporting, Charity Commission filings, and compliance. Bring in specialists where it makes sense and manage those relationships.
Implement systems. Design and roll out the tools and processes the organisation needs, running recurring processes, and maintaining a CRM for donors, candidates, and partners. Build systems that fit how people already work.
Support the staff working on our core programmes. Make sure the teams delivering our programmes have the operational support they need to succeed, removing friction and handling the logistics so they can concentrate on the substance.
Maintain policies and support governance. Keep policies current and identify gaps, prepare materials for board or governance meetings, and keep the organisation's housekeeping in order.
Grow the operations function. Over time, bring functions in-house where appropriate and build and manage a small operations team as PRISM scales.
Who we're looking for
- You may be a good fit if you have:
- 5+ years of experience in operations, finance, HR, or a related role (e.g. chief of staff, head of operations).
Experience scaling an operations function through a period of organisational growth: building systems and processes that held up as headcount and complexity increased.
A proven track record of owning detailed and high-stakes work (budgets, filings, contracts, payroll).
Reliability across a broad, busy workload. You will keep various projects moving and rarely drop the ball.
Good judgement under uncertainty. You know when to handle something yourself, when to bring in a specialist, and when to escalate.
A bias toward clarity and simplicity, and the ability to build systems that work with people's existing workflows.
Strong people-management instincts and readiness to build and lead a team as we grow.
Genuine care for PRISM's mission.
Strong candidates may also have:
Familiarity with UK-charity finance and regulatory requirements
Experience with grant management or funder reporting
Experience running or supporting fellowships, courses, or other talent programmes
Familiarity with the AI safety or digital minds ecosystem.
Compensation and benefits
Salary: $100,000 to $160,000 per annum
8% pension / 401(k) employer contribution
25 days annual leave, plus bank holidays
Wellbeing budget of up to $3,500 a year
Support for setting up a productive work environment
Personal development budget
In-office meals, snacks and drinks (when in office)
Open to sponsoring work visas for the UK
Hiring Process
Application Review
Screening Interview
Paid Work Test
Team Interviews
Reference + Offer
To guarantee that your application receives full consideration, please apply by Wednesday, September 30th (11:59 PM UK time).
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The roleWhat it asksA certificationYears askedSkills the listing names
- Who we're looking for You may be a good fit if you have: 5+ years of experience in operations, finance, HR, or a related role (e.g.
- Operations management
- Financial management
- Human resources
- Compliance
- Systems design
- Budgeting
- Payroll
- Bookkeeping
- Grant reporting
- People management
- Strategic planning
- Policy development
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