VP Revenue Operations

Overview

You're the VP Revenue Operations for a small PE-backed platform company (31 employees total). You'll build the entire rev ops function from the ground up - CRM architecture, forecasting models, sales analytics, process documentation, and go-to-market operations. You report directly to the CEO or CRO and are the only dedicated ops resource. Most of your time goes to firefighting immediate needs while trying to build sustainable systems for scale.

Role Snapshot

Company Context

Stage: Unknown (likely PE-backed platform, early growth phase)

Size: 31 employees

Growth: Actively hiring for senior revenue leadership - signals growth investment

Market Position: Platform company under PE ownership - likely post-acquisition integration or portfolio company buildout phase

GTM Reality

Current State:

• Small team means limited specialization - sales, CS, and marketing likely wearing multiple hats
• Rev ops infrastructure is probably fragmented or non-existent (why they need a VP)
• PE ownership means pressure for operational rigor, reporting discipline, and growth metrics
• At 31 people, you're in that awkward middle stage: too big for spreadsheets, too small for enterprise tools

What You're Walking Into:

• CRM is probably messy (incomplete data, inconsistent process, minimal automation)
• Forecasting is likely gut-feel or basic spreadsheets
• Reporting takes hours of manual work each week
• No single source of truth for pipeline, revenue, or customer health metrics

Competitive Landscape

Your Internal Competition:

• Immediate revenue needs vs. long-term infrastructure building
• Sales team wants you fixing their day-to-day pain points
• Leadership wants strategic insights and board-ready metrics
• You can't do both well simultaneously with no team

Common Frustrations:

• "Why can't we just get [simple report] easily?"
• "The data in Salesforce doesn't match what finance has"
• "We need this custom dashboard by next week"
• "Can you join this deal call to help with pricing?"

What You'll Actually Do

Time Breakdown

CRM/Systems Admin (30%) | Data/Reporting (25%) | Strategic Projects (20%) | Firefighting (15%) | Meetings (10%)

Key Activities

• Systems Architecture: Audit current CRM setup, design proper data architecture, configure Salesforce (or similar), integrate tools, document processes. This is foundational but never feels "done" because requirements keep changing.
• Reporting & Analytics: Build board decks, weekly pipeline reports, forecasting models, funnel analytics. You'll spend hours cleaning data before you can analyze it. Everyone wants custom dashboards.
• Process Design: Document the sales process (which probably isn't standardized), create stage definitions, build handoff protocols between SDR/AE/CS, establish data hygiene rules that people will ignore.
• Strategic Planning: Capacity modeling, territory design, compensation plan input, sales productivity analysis. The work you wish you spent more time on but usually gets pushed aside for urgent requests.
• Tool Evaluation: Research and implement new tools (outreach platforms, analytics, billing systems). Small budget means lots of demos and ROI justification.
• Cross-functional Liaison: Translate between sales, marketing, finance, and product. You're the interpreter when different teams have conflicting data or priorities.

The Honest Reality

What's Hard

• You're a team of one: No analysts, no coordinators, no specialists. Everything from executive strategy to CRM troubleshooting lands on your desk. You'll do VP-level work and admin work in the same day.
• Competing priorities: Sales wants their pain fixed now. Leadership wants strategic insights. You can't deliver both fast. Someone's always disappointed.
• Limited resources: Small company means small budget. You'll jury-rig solutions with free trials and manual workarounds instead of buying proper enterprise tools.
• Constant context switching: Deep work on a forecasting model gets interrupted by "quick" requests that derail your afternoon. You rarely have 2+ uninterrupted hours.
• Data quality battles: Reps don't log activities consistently. Deals sit in the wrong stages. You spend 30% of your time cleaning data instead of analyzing it.
• Organizational ambiguity: At 31 people, roles blur. You'll get pulled into pricing decisions, sales training, customer success issues - anything tangentially related to revenue.
• PE pressure: Board decks matter. Metrics scrutiny is high. You need to show operational improvement and growth efficiency, ideally within 6-12 months.

What Success Looks Like

• 6 months in: Clean CRM with consistent data entry, reliable weekly reporting, documented sales process, stable forecast model that's ±10% accurate
• 12 months in: Automated dashboards, integrated tool stack, hired 1-2 ops analysts, established credibility as strategic partner to leadership
• Concrete wins: Cut forecast prep time from 8 hours to 30 minutes, increased CRM adoption from 60% to 95%, identified $500K+ in pipeline at risk before it was obvious

Who You're Supporting

Primary Stakeholders:

• CEO/CRO: Wants board-ready metrics, forecast accuracy, growth levers identified
• Sales Team (likely 5-10 reps): Wants CRM that doesn't suck, territories that make sense, clear comp plans
• CFO/Finance: Wants revenue recognition clarity, bookings vs. billings reconciliation, clean data for audits
• Marketing: Wants attribution reporting, lead routing that works, campaign ROI analysis

What They Care About:

• Can you make their jobs easier? Everyone's stretched thin at 31 people
• Can you actually build things? Not just strategy decks - they need working systems
• Can you handle ambiguity? There's no playbook. You figure it out.

Requirements

• 5-8+ years in revenue operations, with at least 2-3 years in a senior/leadership role. You've built ops functions before, ideally at a similar stage company (Series A/B or PE-backed).
• Strong CRM administrator skills (Salesforce or HubSpot), not just user-level. You can build custom objects, workflows, and reports without needing a consultant.
• Analytical depth: SQL helpful, Excel/Sheets mastery required. You build financial models and debug data issues yourself.
• Scrappy execution bias: You don't wait for perfect. You ship version 1.0 and iterate. You're comfortable doing "below your level" work when needed.
• Cross-functional diplomacy: You negotiate with sales, finance, and executives without pissing anyone off. You translate business needs into technical requirements.
• Comfort with ambiguity: No clear roadmap. Changing priorities. Limited resources. You thrive (or at least survive) in this environment.
• PE-backed experience helpful: Understanding board reporting, operational metrics, and efficiency focus matters here.