Integrator / Chief Operating Officer (Second-in-Command)
Somewhere
🇿🇦 Hirezar Summary for South African Applicants
This fully remote full time position at Somewhere is open to applicants from South Africa. The estimated monthly salary is R92,500 – R92,500 ZAR. This role is suited for senior-level professionals. As a remote position, you can work from anywhere in South Africa — whether you're based in Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban, or a smaller town.
Job Description
Integrator / Chief Operating Officer (Second-in-Command)
Location:Remote (Strong preference: South Africa or Eastern Europe)Compensation:€5,000 per month base + 10% profit share (new ventures only)Industry:Venture Studio / Holding Company / B2B ServicesSchedule:Full-time, long-term operator role
Our client is hiring a high-level second-in-command to help build and operate a new venture studio from the ground up.
This role is for a truth-seeking, no-fluff operator who aligns with a freedom-oriented, entrepreneurial mission and wants real responsibility, real authority, and real economic upside.
This is not a corporate COO seat.This is a long-term partnership role for someone who wants to help build companies and a company that builds companies.
Our client is a newly formed venture studio and holding company spun out of an established, profitable B2B services business.
The studio is being built by experienced operators, not venture capitalists, with a clear philosophy:build, buy, and scale profit-first businesses in an institutional way.
Portfolio companies may never exceed $10M in revenue and that is intentional. These are durable, sustainable businesses designed to reinforce each other through shared systems, talent, and execution.
The goal is not moonshots. The goal is repeatable value creation.
* Our client is hiring an Integrator / COO to serve as the founders’ second-in-command.
* The founders focus on vision, strategy, capital allocation, and new venture creation.
* You own execution.
* You will run day-to-day operations, hold teams accountable, manage performance, and ensure the studio and its portfolio companies operate profitably and predictably.
* This is a hands-on, execution-heavy role with real authority. You are expected to operate like an internal owner, not a coordinator or advisor.
Key Responsibilities
1. Operational Leadership and Cadence
* Run the operating rhythm across the venture studio and its portfolio companies
* Translate high-level strategy into priorities, weekly execution, and outcomes
* Establish clarity, accountability, and follow-through across teams
* Ensure the trains run on time
2. P&L Ownership and Profit Discipline
* Own operational performance and profitability across ventures
* Make hard trade-offs with a cash-flow and ROI mindset
* Focus on what actually moves profit, not vanity metrics or over-analysis
3. People Leadership and Management
* Lead and coordinate cross-functional teams (operations, sales, delivery, product)
* Set expectations, resolve friction, and address underperformance directly
* Bring structure and discipline where the founders openly acknowledge weakness
4. Systems and Process Development
* Build lightweight, scalable systems for execution and reporting
* Avoid overengineering, bureaucracy, or corporate process bloat
* Optimize for speed, clarity, and repeatability across the portfolio
5. Founder Leverage
* Act as the execution counterweight to visionary founders
* Absorb operational complexity so founders can focus on strategy and new ventures
* Operate with a portfolio-wide view while being able to deep-dive into individual businesses when needed
Hard Skills Required
* Experience operating as a founder’s right-hand (Integrator, COO, Head of Ops, GM, or similar)
* Proven ownership of execution, cadence, and accountability
* Experience managing teams in startup, SMB, or portfolio environments
* Strong logical thinking with the ability to build spreadsheets and understand basic statistics
* Working understanding of financials and P&L, without over-indexing on finance
Soft Skills and Mindset Required
* Strong alignment with a freedom-focused, entrepreneurial mission
* Direct, straightforward communication style with low tolerance for drama
* Truth-seeking, systems-thinking approach to problems
* Comfortable giving and receiving blunt feedback
* Builder mindset: excited to create, improve, and scale rather than manage a role
Background Fit (Important)
Strong fits typically come from:
* Founder-led businesses where you were the execution engine
* SMB or portfolio operations roles
* Operators with real-world P&L responsibility
* Consulting or finance backgrounds are only a fit when paired with hands-on operating experience.
Tips for South African Applicants
Timezone Advantage
South Africa (SAST, UTC+2) overlaps well with European business hours and has a few hours of overlap with US East Coast. Mention your timezone flexibility in your application.
Salary in Context
At R92,500/month, this role pays well above the average South African remote salary. The USD equivalent ($5,000/mo) benefits from the favourable exchange rate.
Application Tips
Tailor your CV to international standards — use a clean format, highlight remote work experience, and include your English proficiency. Many SA applicants succeed by emphasising their strong work ethic and cultural adaptability.
Load Shedding Preparedness
If you're applying for a remote role, having a backup power solution (UPS, inverter, or generator) and mobile data as a backup internet connection shows employers you're prepared for South Africa's infrastructure challenges.
About Somewhere
Somewhere is a company in the Recruitment & Staffing industry that hires remote workers from South Africa. They currently have 614 open positions on Hirezar. View all Somewhere jobs →