Video-On-Demand Software – Chief Operating Officer

Our client is a very successful video-on-demand software company with rich experience of almost 20 years. Headquartered in Ontario, Canada with offices in the United States, Europe, and Asia, our client’s software is used by over 35 million consumers across the world. They work closely with global brands in sectors such as automotive, telecommunications and electronics.

As a result of a major new game-changing contract with a tier-1 North American cable MSO, the firm now requires a dynamic and passionate leader to be the firm’s COO.

Scope of Position

Reporting to the President and CEO, the COO will oversee all engineering and operations activities related to the development, delivery, and support of our client’s products and services. The broad objective of the role is to build a world-class global organization through effectively developing, deploying, and supporting the products that will provide value to the company’s customers and meet the business strategy and goals for profitable growth. A critical success factor of this key position is the executive’s ability to build a culture and approach that supports growth in order to take the company to a higher level.

Functional Tasks

1. Develop and execute a strategy that drives excellence across the operational organizations, leveraging best-of-class processes, technology, and team members to meet and exceed customer expectations as measured by output and efficiency.
2. Ensure that scalable processes, policies, and procedures are in place to help build future growth.
3. Participate as an open, engaged, and committed member of the Executive Team in the formulation and execution of the corporate vision, strategy, and business objectives.
4. Direct or delegate the development of operational policy, procedures, and practices, both short and long term, as they pertain to customer service, quality control, product development, project management, and sales.
5. Understand and apply efficient and cost-effective operations knowledge and practice to sustain profitable day-to-day business operations that enable service delivery which meets or exceeds customer expectations.
6. Participate in Business Case and Business Plan Definitions and reviews.
7. Attend and present at Board meetings.
8. Ensure operational milestones are met on time, with high quality, and that they meet the cost objectives that are established; reporting on a monthly as well as a quarterly basis.
9. Create and sustain a viable organizational structure to make optimum use of human resources, technology, and systems.
10. Build and facilitate the development of strong relationships and synergies with all other areas of the company and with the company’s technical partners and customers in order to achieve the corporate goals, objectives, and revenue targets.
11. Install the concept of Process Control and Planning wherever possible within Operations, while ensuring that processes are adapted to the relatively small scale of the company.
12. Foster a culture of team spirit and innovation into the longer and short-term operations of the organization.

Key Performance Deliverables

In light of the identified responsibilities, the following are specific deliverables that the position is designed to achieve.

1. Specific deliverables will be discussed and agreed upon with the successful candidate.

Competency Profile

The following competencies listed below define the role of Chief Operating Officer:

1. Planning & Objective Setting: Systematic in approach to work. Produces action plans in which objectives are defined and steps for achieving them are clearly specified. Plans by breaking down large tasks into subtasks. Develops plans that anticipate obstacles. Is realistic about time-scales and builds in appropriate checkpoints, milestones, and controls in order to ensure that desired results are realized.
2. Quality Orientation: Strives for excellence in products, processes, and/or services through continued evaluation, enhancement, and redefinition of quality standards.
3. Results Orientation: Focuses strongly on achieving agreed-upon outcomes and ensures that key objectives are met. Conveys a sense of urgency and drives issues to closure. Aims to improve upon past performance. Establishes aggressive personal targets and strives to achieve them.
4. Influence: Articulates key points persuasively. Negotiates skillfully and convinces others to own point of view. Directly and indirectly impacts the decisions/opinions of others. Mobilizes people into action.
5. Customer/Client Orientation: Strives to provide customers/clients with personalized and efficient service. Anticipates customers’/clients’ needs. Quickly follows up on customer/client contacts and complaints. Monitors and acts on measures of customer/client satisfaction.
6. Industry & Market Awareness: Seeks to anticipate and respond to industry and market changes/challenges by understanding key characteristics, issues, and the factors driving them. Aware of competitor’s products, services, and position.
7. Role Expertise: Demonstrates critical technical or professional knowledge/skills related to the role. Has thorough knowledge of relevant products, services, and methods. Expands technical knowledge/skills and keeps up-to-date in own area of expertise.
8. People Management: Establishes and communicates clear priorities and sense of direction. Clarifies roles and responsibilities. Adapts management style to achieve optimum results.

Preferred Experience / Education

The following indicates specific industry, academic, and functional experience/qualifications that are important to the successful achievement of the identified responsibilities and performance deliverables:

1. Bachelor's degree or equivalent, preferably in a technical or engineering discipline. Master's degree an asset.
2. 10-15 years work experience with a majority spent in operations and engineering with at least five years in a leadership role.
3. Significant experience in delivering software services in large complex environments.
4. Extensive experience delivering software solutions and IP networking products or telecom.
5. A track record in successfully delivering new products/services to emerging markets.
6. Experience in implementing best practices in operations, quality systems, and engineering.
7. Significant change management, business transformation experience within mid-sized companies.
8. Experience in people management roles with recruitment, selection, hiring, coaching, feedback, employee engagement, and performance management.
9. Entrepreneurial experience in scaling a company from $25M to $100M and understanding the issues around delivering standard products and customized integrated solutions to large enterprise customers and service providers.
10. Experience leading change.
11. Strong analytical and problem-solving skills; ability to plan, prioritize, and organize effectively and to make sound, logical decisions.
12. General management experience overseeing engineering, operations, and sales; Strong sales and product management background would be beneficial.
13. Possess the skill and experience in due diligence, acquisition, consolidation, and integration of business operations.
14. Understanding operational issues associated with product development and system integration where teams are geographically dispersed.
15. Highly competitive base, variable, and stock plan for the successful candidate.