Chief Operating Officer
IWG Switzerland operates one of the country’s largest flexible workspace networks, with 53 centres spanning 92,000 m² under the leadership of CEO Cyrill Shuller. The business has achieved significant scale; the next phase of growth demands equal rigour in how that scale is operated, governed and financed.
THE OPPORTUNITY
The Board is seeking an experienced Chief Operating Officer to serve as the CEO’s right hand – bringing structured execution, financial discipline and data‑driven decision‑making to a business that requires tighter cadence across its Finance, Development and Construction functions. This is not a maintenance role: the COO will be expected to build operating systems, eliminate recurring errors, and create the accountability frameworks that give both management and the Board confidence in the business.
ROLE PURPOSE
The COO will partner directly with the CEO to drive operational excellence across IWG Switzerland. The role is responsible for translating strategic priorities into disciplined execution – owning the governance cadence, process architecture and cost management frameworks that underpin performance across all 53 centres. The COO provides the structural backbone that allows the CEO to lead the business externally and commercially.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
Governance, Cadence & Execution
* Own the weekly, monthly and quarterly management cadence – defining the rhythm of priorities, reviews and decisions across Finance, Development and Construction.
* Maintain a live priority register, ensuring every workstream has a named owner, a clear milestone plan and a defined completion date.
* Chair cross‑functional operational meetings; produce concise action logs and hold stakeholders accountable to agreed timelines.
* Establish a governance framework that gives the Board regular, structured visibility of risks, decisions and progress – eliminating the conditions that allowed past errors to go undetected.
* Introduce and embed post‑incident review processes to ensure mistakes are analysed, root‑caused and formally closed out.
Finance Oversight & Cost Management
* Partner with the Finance team to restore rigour in financial reporting, controls and compliance across the Swiss portfolio.
* Lead a structured cost management programme: identifying savings, renegotiating vendor and operational contracts, and embedding cost consciousness into centre‑level management.
* Oversee the preparation and integrity of financial dashboards and Board packs; ensure numbers are accurate, timely and consistently presented.
* Monitor centre‑level P&L performance, flagging deviations early and driving corrective action where required.
* Ensure robust budget‑to‑actual tracking across Development and Construction projects, preventing cost overruns from compounding undetected.
Development & Construction Process
* Bring structured project management rigour to the pipeline of new centre openings, refurbishments and lease renewals.
* Define and enforce stage‑gate processes for Development projects, with clear approval points, risk reviews and budget controls at each stage.
* Ensure Construction timelines are tracked against plan in real time; escalate delays or cost pressures immediately with mitigation proposals.
* Maintain a single source of truth for all active Development and Construction projects – visible to both management and the Board.
Data, Reporting & Business Intelligence
* Champion a data‑first culture: define the KPIs that matter, build dashboards that surface them, and use insight to drive decisions.
* Identify and close gaps in current data infrastructure, including occupancy analytics, cost‑per‑centre reporting and operational efficiency metrics.
* Ensure management information is standardised, reliable and produced on a consistent timetable – moving the business away from ad‑hoc reporting.
* Provide the CEO and Board with a concise, accurate operating scorecard each month covering commercial, financial and operational performance.
Leadership & Cross‑Functional Alignment
* Lead, develop and hold accountable the heads of Finance, Development and Construction – setting clear performance expectations and conducting regular structured reviews.
* Build a high‑performance operating culture characterised by accountability, transparency and continuous improvement.
* Act as the internal escalation point for operational issues; resolve cross‑functional conflicts quickly and constructively.
* Represent the CEO internally when required, including at team leadership meetings and with key strategic partners.
PERSON SPECIFICATION
Essential Experience
* 10+ years in senior operational or COO‑level roles within multi‑site businesses
* Demonstrated track record of building and running governance frameworks at scale
* Deep Finance literacy – comfortable owning P&L, interpreting management accounts and challenging financial assumptions
* Hands‑on experience managing Development or Construction project pipelines
* Proven ability to implement process improvement and accountability structures
* Strong data fluency – able to define metrics, interpret dashboards and use analytics to drive decisions
* Experience managing cost reduction or efficiency programmes
* Background in real estate, corporate workplaces services, hospitality, property management or flexible workspace strongly preferred
* Experience operating in a Swiss or broader European context; German or French language skills an advantage
* Track record of providing Board‑level reporting and navigating Board governance
Leadership & Personal Attributes
* Structured and methodical – brings order without bureaucracy
* Calm under pressure; able to prioritise when everything feels urgent
* High integrity and transparency; willing to surface bad news early
* Capable to work fluidly and adapt to fast evolving circumstances, startup mindset
* Collaborative with the CEO; willing to challenge constructively
* Decisive and action‑oriented; moves from analysis to execution quickly
* Credible with Finance, Development and Construction professionals alike
* Strong communicator – concise in writing and confident in the Boardroom
* Genuinely motivated by operational excellence, not just strategy
WHAT SUCCESS LOOKS LIKE
In the first 6 months, the COO will have:
* Conducted a full diagnostic of current governance, Finance, Development and Construction processes, presenting findings and a remediation roadmap to the CEO and Board.
* Established a consistent operating cadence – weekly prioritisation, monthly performance reviews, and quarterly Board reporting – with clear accountability at each level.
* Identified and resolved the root causes of recent operational and financial errors, with controls in place to prevent recurrence.
* Delivered an initial cost management analysis with a prioritised action plan.
Within 12 months, the COO will have:
* Built a fully functioning operating system for the Swiss business that the Board can rely on as a source of truth.
* Demonstrated measurable improvement in cost management, project delivery timelines and data quality.
* Created a leadership team that operates with greater autonomy, accountability and performance consistency.
* Established themselves as a trusted partner to the CEO and a credible, reassuring presence in the Boardroom.
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