Business Operations Manager

About Strength on Stages

Strength on Stages is the company that houses The Unstoppable and Story Selling Accelerator. We help entrepreneurs turn their stories, offers and visibility into stronger businesses. That work comes to life in our cohorts and in live and virtual productions such as Print Money on Demand, Glow Up Retreat and the Industry Exposure Showcase, where clients present, get photographed and filmed, and leave with assets they use to grow.

The role

Own the operating health of Strength on Stages.

You’ll turn company priorities into a current forecast, clear offer-level margin visibility, reliable business operations, and successful production outcomes for The Unstoppable and Story Selling Accelerator.

This is a hands-on business management role. It does not replace our outside bookkeeper or accountant, attorney, HR advisor, or creative production vendors; you’ll work closely with all of them.

Reports to and team

You’ll report to Andrew Norlen, our Director of Operations and operating approval maker, and supervise the Business & Production Assistant. You’ll work closely with Robert Hartwell, department managers, finance professionals, legal counsel, our HR advisor, vendors and program teams. Andrew retains approval authority for payments and operating commitments within his established approval limits.

What you’ll own

Finance and planning

• Own the rolling 13-week cash forecast, annual operating budget, monthly close calendar and monthly forecast updates. Report booked contract revenue, cash collections, recognized revenue, refunds or defaults, and expenses as distinct measures.
• Build and maintain a margin view for The Unstoppable, Story Selling Accelerator, each campaign and major live events. Identify delivery, marketing, enrollment, contractor and event costs, and calculate contribution margin using definitions agreed with finance.
• Coordinate the finance workflow with the bookkeeper or accountant: coding questions, reconciliations, close schedules, supporting documents, variance explanations and decision-ready reporting. Andrew retains approval authority for payments and operating commitments.

Operating rhythm, people and legal coordination

• Run the business operating calendar and planning rhythm, including leadership scorecards, weekly priorities, monthly reviews, annual planning and cross-department action tracking.
• Own operational HR administration with our designated HR advisor, including hiring records, onboarding checklists, policy maintenance, the review calendar and accurate personnel documentation. Escalate employment advice and legal questions to the appropriate professional.
• Coordinate with legal counsel on deadlines, document collection, contract status and requested follow-up. You won’t provide legal advice or change contract terms.

Production

• Own the full production lifecycle and production calendar for Print Money on Demand, Glow Up Retreat, Industry Exposure Showcase and other cohort and virtual productions. Be accountable from initial brief through final asset delivery: scope, budget, milestones, crew and vendor plan, client experience, risk and contingency decisions, live execution, post-production closeout, and handoff to education and marketing.
• Set production priorities, resolve escalations and accept final deliverables. The Business & Production Assistant coordinates working details and tracks dependencies; Andrew approves commitments within his authority.

Leading the Assistant

• Supervise the Business & Production Assistant: set weekly priorities, review work, and establish cross-training and backup coverage for essential processes.

What success looks like

Your first 90 days

What you bring

Required

• Hands-on experience with business operations, budgeting, cash forecasting, financial reporting and cross-functional project ownership.
• Ability to translate financial and operational data into decisions, with sound judgment about controls, privacy, and when to involve an accountant, attorney or HR advisor.
• Experience managing live or virtual events, production vendors, budgets, timelines and final creative deliverables from brief through closeout; able to balance planning with practical execution.
• Clear written communication, strong follow-through, and experience supervising or coaching an operations support role.

Work arrangement

• Full-time employee position, starting as soon as possible.
• Remote, with New York preferred. We’re open to candidates in other states.
• Online 10 a.m.–6 p.m. Eastern. Our whole team works these hours.
• In person for every live event, which includes some evenings and weekends.
• On-site during live launches at Hartwell House in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, working alongside our CEO and Director of Operations.
• Travel with our CEO to major business conferences.

Hiring process

1. Application

   Answer a few questions in your own words. A person on our team reads every application.

2. Initial screen

   A short conversation about your experience and what you’re looking for.

   About 25 minutes

3. Structured interview

   Role-specific questions. Every candidate for the role is asked the same questions.

   About 45 minutes

4. Finalist work sample

   Three short exercises built on fictional information, so you never handle real company data.

   60–90 minutes total

5. Final conversation and references

   We speak with two references, and only with your consent.

6. Decision and offer

   Our CEO makes the final decision, and we let you know the outcome.

Your privacy

We collect only the information needed to evaluate your application and contact you about this hiring process. Access is limited to the people involved in hiring at Strength on Stages, and we never add applicants to marketing emails. We keep application records for 12 months and then delete them. To ask about your information, request its deletion, or request an accommodation during the process, email careers@bwaycollective.com. Please don’t include confidential information from a current or former employer.