VP, Services Operations (Remote)

ABOUT THE ROLE: 

The Vice President of Services Operations leads the end-to-end operational execution of the services business, from Statement of Work (SOW) creation through project delivery and closure. This role oversees Services Sales Operations, Project Operations, Resource Management, Services Solutions, Contingent Staffing/Vendor Management, and the Project Management Office (PMO), and is accountable for driving operational excellence, scalability, and financial discipline across the services organization.

The VP ensures seamless compliance with financial and contractual requirements while equipping teams with the tools, data, and financial support necessary to deliver exceptional client experiences. Oversight spans the full lifecycle of professional services engagements, including client billing, time and expense approvals, contingent staffing, vendor management, and service forecasting.

As the executive champion of Resource Management, this role optimizes resource allocation, utilization, and capacity planning to support revenue growth and accurate financial forecasting. Additionally, the VP of Services Operations leads strategic initiatives, change management, services reporting, and continuous improvement efforts, with a sustained focus on quality, efficiency, and innovation.

WHAT YOU'LL DO: 

Leadership:

• Serve as a senior leader within the Services organization, setting vision, priorities, and standards for operational excellence and client delivery.
• Build, develop, and retain high-performing teams through effective leadership, coaching, performance management, and succession planning.
• Foster a culture of accountability, collaboration, continuous improvement, and data-driven decision-making across all services functions.
• Partner cross-functionally with Finance, Sales, Engineering Services, People & Organizational Health, and Business Unit leadership to align services operations with company strategy and growth objectives.
• Lead change management initiatives to support organizational growth, system adoption, and evolving service offerings.

 Project Management Office:

• Provide strategic direction to the Director of PMO to ensure consistent, high-quality delivery of client projects across diverse technologies and service offerings.
• Build and evolve a scalable PMO operating model capable of supporting increasing project volume, complexity, and organizational growth.
• Ensure project management compliance with delivery, quality, and financial standards, including scheduling and forecasting; review performance and escalate systemic issues to leadership on a regular cadence.
• Partner with the Director of PMO to ensure appropriate workload distribution and achievement of collective project manager utilization targets.
• Responsible for service revenue recognition forecasting and backlog management for existing projects.

 Sales and Project Operations:

• Provide strategic leadership to Services Sales Operations and Project Operations Directors to ensure efficient and effective execution from SOW creation through project delivery and closure.
• Define and standardize operational objectives, processes, and system requirements to support the timely booking, administration, and financial management of services business, including SOW creation, bookings, project setup, purchase order creation, staffing, project finance, invoicing, vendor payments, and project closure.
• Partner with Finance to ensure services operational processes support strong financial governance and optimize cash flow, bookings, margin performance, and revenue recognition.
• Oversee the design, implementation, integration, ongoing maintenance, and change management of services-related systems, including but not limited to NetSuite, Skills Base, Smartsheet PPM, Smartsheet RM, Provus, and Conga.

Vendor Management/Contingent Staffing:

• Own and execute the services partner strategy, including relationship management and performance oversight.
• Collaborate with Business Unit Leaders and Regional Engineering leadership to identify resourcing gaps and design a services partner management program that delivers high-quality talent in a cost-effective manner.
• Manage primary staffing partner and sub-partner relationships, while identifying and onboarding new partners as business needs evolve.
• Monitor supplier performance across regions and drive cost efficiency through governance, metrics, and programs within the Vendor Management System.
• In partnership with People and Organizational Health, oversee and expand Staff Augmentation services to support growth and broaden the client base.

Resource Management:

• Ensure Resource Managers are equipped with the tools, training, and processes needed to align full-time and contingent resources with forecasted and booked demand, maximizing utilization, profitability, and revenue recognition.
• Enable and govern Resource Management ownership of Smartsheet PPM, ensuring high-quality system administration and premium operational support for the Project Management community.
• Provide leadership on sourcing for all demand generated by the sales team through Trace3 services, partners and contractors.

 Services Reporting, Data and Analytics:

• Deliver robust reporting and analytics to Services, Sales, and Business Unit leaders, including insights into pipeline, bookings, revenue recognition, project health, invoicing forecasts, resource and vendor utilization, and backlog.
• Ensure systems and processes are designed and continuously improved to produce accurate, timely, and actionable services data.
• Analyze services and project performance data to generate insights and recommendations that inform decision-making and operational improvements.
• Capture reporting requirements and partner with internal teams to develop scalable reporting solutions for stakeholders.

Services Solutions Management:

• Provide strategic leadership to Services Solutions team to ensure services are easy for the sales team to sell and consume
• Manage executive escalations on process or SSM issues as sales and presales teams engage with services teams
• Maintain executive relationships with sales GMs to drive teamwork, understand challenges and resolve service issues.
• Continually Refine and optimize the services operating model

Services Leadership:

• Own the review, maintenance, and approval of the company’s services rate card, ensuring accurate, competitive, and compliant pricing for client billing.
• Provide operational support for mergers and acquisitions, including pre-acquisition diligence and post-acquisition integration activities.

QUALIFICATIONS & INTERESTS:

• Bachelor’s degree in business administration, Operations Management, or a related field is required.
• Minimum of ten (10) years of experience in operations, project management, and/or finance.
• Must have a minimum of three (5) years or more of leadership experience in managing and/or directing team members.
• Prior experience working for a technology or consulting company developing strategic business plans.
• Expansive experience leading, managing and inspiring a team of business process engineers and experts.
• Deep familiarity with operational management software, data analysis tools, and enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems.
• Strong financial and business acumen with understanding of a multi-faceted business operation
• Proven experience in project management principles, including planning, execution, and monitoring of complex projects.
• Experience managing relationships with services/staffing partners and vendors.
• Ability to listen, build rapport, and credibility as a strategic partner vertically and horizontally within business units; able to build bridges across teams and job functions.
• Ability to map joint organizational vision and long-term thinking, imagination, and idea generation.
• Highly skilled and experienced at negotiating conflict and problem-solving to achieve win-win outcomes.
• Expertise in quality management, change management and continuous improvement.
• Highly organized, detail-oriented, excellent time management skills and able to effectively prioritize tasks in a fast-paced, high-volume, and evolving work environment.
• Comfortable managing multiple and changing priorities, and meeting deadlines in an entrepreneurial environment.
• Excellent oral, written communication and presentation skills with an ability to present issues to C-Level Executives and senior leadership.