Business Operations Lead – Knowledge sharing and Optimisation

Climate-KIC is seeking a Business Operations Lead for Knowledge Sharing and Optimisation. This permanent, advanced-level position allows for remote work from various European countries, including Belgium, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Spain, and the UK. The role focuses on fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace while driving climate innovation initiatives. Applicants are encouraged to apply early as interviews are conducted on a rolling basis.
Job Title: Business Operations Lead – Knowledge sharing and Optimisation
Team: Business Operations Desk

Contract: Permanent

Level: Advanced
Please refer to our Capability Framework
Location: Belgium, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Spain, UK

Apply by: We're interviewing on a rolling basis until we close the role. We advise you to apply early as we may close the role early if we have a sufficient pool of candidates.

ABOUT US

At Climate KIC, we are wholeheartedly committed to building a diverse and representative team and an inclusive workplace that values different life experiences and perspectives, and we encourage personal development, learning and growth.

When recruiting, we look to achieve diversity in the candidate pool. We actively encourage applications from underrepresented groups and are happy to consider reasonable adjustments that will foster success in potential colleagues from diverse backgrounds and life situations. And because our team has differing needs and personal circumstances, we offer a high degree of flexibility to accommodate working patterns. We’re happy to discuss your situation during the interview and see how best we can support you.
Don’t let Imposter Syndrome stop you from applying!

Climate KIC (Knowledge and Innovation Community) is Europe’s foremost climate innovation initiative. We understand that keeping global temperature rise below 1.5˚C demands unprecedented change. It requires new social dynamics, ways of doing business, capital flows, policymaking, economic models, and new ways of living. That is why our mission is to leverage the power of systems innovation to transform whole places, industries and value chains by 2030, working across sectors to develop and scale ambitious, mission-led programmes. Climate KIC’s strategy 2024-2030, Transformation, with Urgency, is available here.

Climate KIC operates as a not-for-profit platform working through public-private partnership, wielding both public and private funding. Established in 2010 and headquartered in Amsterdam, we orchestrate a community of more than 150 organisations including large corporations and SMEs, municipal and regional governments, universities and research institutes, as well as non-governmental organisations and civil society actors.

Climate KIC leads the implementation of the European Union’s Mission on Climate Neutral and Smart Cities and the launch pilot of the Mission on Climate-Adaptation both with the objective of catalysing rapid and deep transformation on a large scale, creating the precedent and economic transition conditions for demonstration, learning, capacity building, fast followership and investment. Achieving the EU Cities Mission will mean avoided scope 1 and 2 emissions alone of an estimated 0.7GT CO2e between now and 2040.

Climate KIC has a Remote-First strategy, where colleagues work remotely from home based in one of the countries where we have a branch or employing entity (and can work out of local offices or co-working seats, where they exist). We meet at our local offices to exchange and connect and use online collaboration tools to work with each other and with our community. On occasion, we meet in person as teams, and once per year as an organisation.

As a mission-driven organisation dedicated to climate transformation, we consider the climate impact of our own actions, for example travel, catering, or IT equipment.

ABOUT THE ROLE

In response to our strategic initiative to diversify funding streams and set up the business for success in a multi-funder environment, the Business Operations Desk is a one-stop shop assisting business process optimisation with focus on standardising and quality assurance of practices around project and grant management incl. facilitating an internal community of practice for knowledge sharing and learning. In relation to core organisational funding, the Business Operation Desk serves as Secretariat to the likes of The Collaborative. The Business Operations Desk also plays a key role in supporting a healthy funding pipeline through the deal desk review process.

As Business Operations Lead – Knowledge sharing and Optimisation, you will play apivotal integrating role, working closely with the Business Operations Desk Orchestrator to drive operational excellence acrossgrant management,project delivery, andknowledge-sharing practices.

You will be hands on with Grant Management. You will play aleading role in developing project management discipline,building a vibrant Community of Practice, and ensuring smooth operational alignment across the grant lifecycle. You will lead thedevelopment and standardisationof project management processes, foster rigorous adherence to grant policies, and act as akey integrator—ensuring thatsystems, processes, and policies are not onlyeffective but alsostreamlined and consistentacross thegrant lifecycle. You will bridge teams, optimise cross-functional workflows, and foster collaboration, supporting Climate KIC’s mission to delivermulti-funder, portfolio-drivenimpact.

This role is astrategic anchorfor Climate KIC’s transition towardmulti-funder excellence, improved project delivery, andcollaborative knowledge-sharing. You will play a central part inbuilding systems,empowering teams, andensuring operational coherence – driving Climate KIC’s capacity to delivertransformative climate action.

Key Responsibilities:

Grant Management Discipline & Operational Excellence
• Lead and Improve Grant Management Practices:Ensurerigorous adherenceto grant policies and compliance across theentire grant lifecycle—frompre-awardtopost-award delivery.
• Operational Oversight:Manageday-to-day grant operations, ensuringaccuracy,timeliness, andalignment with funder requirements andinternal policies.
• Streamline Grant Processes:Design, document, and implementstandardised workflowsto improveefficiency andconsistencyin grant management.
• Compliance & Reporting:Ensure all grant-relatedprocessesmeet internal and externalauditandcompliance requirements while supporting data integrity andaccurate reporting.

Project Management Leadership & Process Standardisation
• Develop Project Management Discipline: harmonise, set professional standards and share internal as well as external good practices (knowledge) around project management, ensuring these practices arerobust,repeatable, andscalable.
• Ensure Alignment & Consistency:Integrate and alignproject management methodologieswith broaderbusiness operations—ensuring processes across teams arecoherentandconnected.
• Operational Tools & Systems:Support the adoption and optimisation ofproject managementandERPsystems (e.g., GRETA, and the introduction of the PPM tool), ensuring tools arefit-for-purposeand embedded across the organisation.

Knowledge Sharing & Community of Practice Development
• Moderate the Project Management Community of Practice:Establish and maintain avibrant Community of Practiceto fosterpeer learning,knowledge exchange, andcross-functional collaboration.
• Operational Knowledge Management:Systematiselessons learned, ensuring thecontinuous capture, documentation, anddisseminationof best practices across project and grant management.
• Centralised Tools & Templates Platform: Develop and maintain project management assets incl. guidelines, templates, good practices and training material.
• Design & Deliver Learning Initiatives:Develop and delivertraining sessions,guides, andtoolkitsto ensure consistentunderstandingandapplicationof project management and grant processes.

Business Process Optimisation – Multi funder fit
• Process Reengineering: contribute to the redesign and ongoing refinement of end-to-end business processes, moving beyond grant-specific workflows, incl. by identifying and implementingprocess improvementstostreamlineoperations,reduce complexity, andenhance collaborationacross the organisation.
• Process Clarity: Contribute to defining sequential phases and key decision points essential for successful project execution, that reflects decision makers, key accountabilities, gating factors and hand-off points.
• Act as an Organisational Integrator:Ensurealignmentacrossgrant management,project delivery, andbusiness operations—eliminating silos and fostering aconnectedoperating system. In particular, collaborate closely with theDeal Desk,Finance,Legal, andPortfolioteams to ensure smoothhandoffsand alignment acrossend-to-endworkflows.
• Support Systems & Workflows:Ensure operational systems and workflows are designed to support adiverse rangeof funder types andadapt to evolvingfunding requirements.

Key Working Relationships
• Business Operations Desk Orchestrator
• Business Operations Desk including Grant Management Business Partners and Deal Desk
• COO and Operations Leads
• The Project Management Community
• The Hub, including the Transformation Lead

Requirements

ABOUT YOU

You are an experienced and systems-minded Business Operations Lead with a passion for clarity, consistency, and collaboration. You bring both strategic thinking and hands-on operational rigour, with deep knowledge of project and grant management in multi-funder, mission-driven environments.

You thrive at the intersection of people, process, and systems—able to translate complexity into practical workflows and lead cross-functional improvements that stick. You’re energised by building Communities of Practice, shaping knowledge-sharing cultures, driving accountability and embedding scalable ways of working across organisations.

You bring strong technical fluency in project delivery and process design, paired with an instinct for empowering others through training, clear guidance, and community-building. You work well independently, but naturally collaborate across disciplines—creating alignment, unlocking insights, and championing a connected operating system.

You are a confident communicator, a natural integrator, and an adaptive leader who thrives in fast-paced, evolving settings. You’re committed to learning, inclusive leadership, and systems transformation—and ready to help shape the operational foundation for Climate-KIC’s next chapter.

Qualifications, Experience & Mindset
• Project Management Excellence:Significant experience leadingproject deliveryandlifecycle management, with a track record of implementingproject management disciplinesand optimisingdelivery processes.
• Knowledge Sharing & Community Building:Experience establishingCommunities of Practiceor leadingknowledge-sharing initiatives—curating, promoting and maintaining best practices across diverse teams.
• Multi-Funder Expertise:Strong understanding ofproject management business processes in public or non-profit organisations operating in multi-funder environments, i.e. governance, compliance, regulatory frameworks.
• Systems & Process Knowledge:Proficiency inProject Portfolio Management (PPM)tools andEnterprise Resource Planning (ERP)systems as means to supportoperational excellence and knowledge capitalisation.
• Communication & Collaboration:Exceptionalcommunication skillswith the ability toengage stakeholders,translate complex processes, andfoster collaborationacrossinternalandexternalteams.

Mindset and disposition:
• Curious & Proactive: Always seekingopportunities to improveprocesses and systems.
• Collaborative Leader: Comfortableleading by influenceacross multiple teams and disciplines. Ability to communicate effectively, and inspire and motivate people.
• Resilient & Adaptive: Thrives inuncertainty, adapts quickly, and can operate in afast-paced, evolving environment.
• Growth-Oriented: Committed tolearning,experimentation, andcontinuous improvement.

Location

Candidates must have the right to work in the location they’re applying for (I.e. not require visa sponsorship) prior to applying for the position. Ideally, the successful candidate will be based close to one of the Climate KIC offices, but we support fully remote or hybrid forms of working and offer a high degree of flexibility.

To ensure that we can respond to every single applicant, we will close the role once we receive a reasonable pool of candidates to assess.