Business Operations Manager, UAE

Dubai based preferred (exceptional remote candidates considered) · Full-timeAbout Stranger SoccerStranger Soccer is the mobile app that lets people play football across the UAE. We run 200+ recreational games every month across Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and Ajman — reaching 30,000+ players. Browse, book a slot, turn up, and play.The OpportunityThis is a career-defining step up for an early-career operator. You’ll work alongside the CEO to run and grow Stranger Soccer UAE — learning what it takes to run a scaling consumer business from the inside, with real ownership from day one. The right person will grow into a full Country Manager role over 18-24 months.If you’ve been in operations, growth, or marketing at a startup / marketplace / consumer business for 2-4 years and are hungry for the next big jump — this is your shot.If you’ve ever wanted to run your own business but weren’t ready to start from zero — this is the closest you’ll get. Real P&L ownership, direct line to the CEO, strategic autonomy.What you’ll ownFull P&L — Co-own revenue growth with the CEO, with full visibility into margins and performanceGrowth — Meta Ads, SEO, social, retention, pricing strategySupply — venue acquisition and relationships, host hiring and managementTeam leadership — Partner with the existing team day-to-day — hosts, ops, field growthCustomer escalations — disputes, complaints, high-judgement situationsFinance, compliance and legal — payment approvals, insurance, T&Cs, licensingLaunch at least one new line of business in Year 1 — Lead or support the launch of new revenue initiatives — tournaments, corporate B2B, etcWho we’re looking forThis is a step-up role for a hungry mid-career operator. If you’ve been running a function or sub-function for 2-4 years and are ready to own the whole business for the first time — this is your shot. We’d rather bet on someone making their first jump into full ownership than hire a seasoned GM looking for stability.A street-smart hustler with the discipline of a real business manager. As comfortable sitting across from a venue owner closing a pitch deal as you are building a P&L in a spreadsheet. You roll your sleeves up for the unglamorous work — chasing a cancelled booking, fixing a broken SOP, walking a new host through their first game — but you also think like a business owner.You’ll make the structural calls on team and process — when to hire, when to delegate, when to automate, when to buy a piece of tech. You’ll spot when something is quietly eating too much of your time and needs a structural fix, not more effort. That business nuance — knowing when to work in the business vs. on the business — is the single most important thing we’re hiring for.Specifically:2-4+ years in operations, consumer, marketplace or startupBuilder, not just operator — you’ve launched something new before (a product line, market or channel)Hands-on hustle — you’ve personally negotiated deals, closed partnerships, solved on-ground problemsGrit and diplomatic range — manage up to a CEO, sideways to a HQ product team, down to a frontline host, all in the same dayNumbers brain — you build SOPs because you’ve seen chaos; you read a P&L and know where margin is leakingUAE-based strongly preferred. Exceptional candidates based elsewhere who can run the business remotely with the right on-ground team in place also considered.A real love for football — this isn’t a role for someone running a business they don’t care aboutIf you’re a pure strategy person who’s never dealt with a difficult venue owner at 7 pm — this isn’t the role. If you’re already running a country or market at a larger company — this isn’t a lateral move; we’re hiring the next generation of leaders, not one who’s already there. If you want a stable, predictable role with the processes already built — definitely not it. If you want to walk into chaos and make it structured — welcome.Why lead Stranger Soccer?A to Z ownership — strategy, ops, marketing, product, finance, team. A decade of experience in a year.Real, visible impact — walk into any pitch in the UAE and see your business running liveSports-tech is growing fast in the GCC — forefront of a defining categoryNo bureaucracy — decisions made fast, direct line to the CEOThe timing — biggest season ever, new revenue lines launching, next 12 months set the trajectory for the next 5