Portfolio Operations DirectorFirebird Capital | London / Hybrid
Firebird Capital is a UK family office that buys and grows small and medium-sized businesses, mainly in business services and property maintenance sectors.
We work closely with management teams to help businesses become more organised, scaleable and profitable over the long term.
The Role
We are looking for a practical, highly organised person to help Firebird and its portfolio companies run better as we continue to grow.
The role is about helping businesses execute better, stay organised, follow through on priorities and improve how they operate day to day.
You will work directly with the CEO and management teams across the portfolio to:
- keep projects moving,
- improve reporting,
- support acquisitions,
- help build stronger leadership teams,
- and put better systems and processes in place.
Ultimately, the goal is simple: Help Firebird’s businesses become better run, more scalable and more valuable over time.
What You’ll Be Doing
- Build strong relationships with portfolio management teams
- Help portfolio companies stay organised, focused and accountable against priorities
- Coordinate KPI reporting, board packs, action tracking and operational follow-up
- Help management teams deliver strategic projects
- Support onboarding and integration of new acquisitions, including 100-day plans and operational setup
- Help improve systems, reporting, operational processes and management structure across the portfolio
- Support recruitment, onboarding, leadership development and succession planning
- Help build stronger second-tier management teams within portfolio companies
- Lead/Support AI, systems and automation projects across Firebird and the portfolio
- Reduce the amount of operational coordination, chasing and recurring management tasks required from the CEO
About You
- Aligned with our values
- Pragmatic, low ego and willing to roll your sleeves up
- Highly organised with strong attention to detail
- Commercially minded
- Self-starter with a growth mindset
- Comfortable managing and completing multiple projects at once
- Strong communicator who builds trust easily
- Comfortable working directly with founders and leadership teams
- Strong operational experience with a proven track record in SMEs, operationally intensive businesses or transformation roles
- Good at creating structure, accountability and follow-through
- Comfortable working in fast-moving, entrepreneurial environments
This role is not suited to a traditional investment professional or career consultant.
We are specifically looking for someone with genuine operational experience and a track record of helping businesses improve execution, organisation and operational performance.
What This Role Is NOT
- Not a traditional investment professional role
- Not a consultancy-style advisory position
- Not a purely strategic role removed from day-to-day execution
- Not a layer between the CEO and portfolio company leaders
- Not focused on financial engineering or complex modelling
- Not about building unnecessary corporate processes
The Firebird CEO will remain responsible for:
- strategy,
- acquisitions,
- capital allocation,
- and relationships with portfolio company CEOs.
Working Pattern
Hybrid working:
- Home: likely 1–2 days per week
- London: likely 1–2 days per week
- Portfolio companies: likely 1–2 days per week
Compensation
- £90,000–£140,000 depending on experience
- Performance-related bonus (up to 20% of salary)
- Long-term incentive plan (LTIP / carry / equity scheme)
- 6-month probation
- 6-month notice period
- 35 days holiday including bank holidays
This is an opportunity to help build a growing investment platform alongside an ambitious, hands-on investor, with exposure to acquisitions, strategy and operational improvement across multiple businesses.