Strategy & Operations Manager

About ai71

ai71 specializes in creating enterprise-grade artificial intelligence solutions targeted at organizations that drive the real economy, including governments, banks, and large companies across the Middle East and Africa. Their work focuses on thorough research and responsible, secure, and scalable AI deployment.

They have developed “Ask,” an agentic AI platform designed to automate complex tasks using organizational knowledge and workflows. This platform is infrastructure-independent and integrates within existing customer environments, currently serving sectors such as legal, finance, HR, and procurement, particularly in highly regulated markets.

Role Overview

As ai71 grows, the Ask business unit is making increasingly significant strategic decisions about product development, market targeting, budget allocation, and workforce planning. The Strategy & Operations Manager will serve as the analytical and operational backbone supporting these decisions, handling planning, performance tracking, and research, collaborating closely with the leadership team for high-level business exposure.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead annual and quarterly planning cycles, managing objective-setting and progress tracking.
• Coordinate the business unit’s budgeting process with the central finance team.
• Conduct headcount planning, including assessment of current versus needed staff, costs, and timing.
• Prepare detailed analyses for business reviews to ensure data-driven decision-making.
• Develop and analyze the cost structures and profitability of client deployments by evaluating expenses such as sales, delivery, engineering time, computing resources, and ongoing support.
• Calculate margins by client, project, and use case to integrate financial insights into business evaluations.
• Assess pricing strategies against actual delivery costs and flag discrepancies.
• Research market dynamics and competitors to inform strategic direction.
• Estimate market sizes and segments to prioritize sales efforts effectively.
• Perform build-versus-buy or partnership analyses for acquiring new capabilities.
• Integrate customer and market data into decision-making, even when countering existing assumptions.
• Simplify complex issues into clear, actionable recommendations for leadership.
• Prepare presentations and reports for group leadership and board meetings.
• Take ownership of important cross-functional projects lacking a designated owner.
• Maintain thorough documentation of decisions, rationales, and follow-up actions.

Candidate Profile

Applicants should have over four years of experience in areas such as strategy consulting, corporate strategy, business operations, or corporate development. Comfort with building analytical models from scratch and presenting findings to senior executives is essential. Experience in technology, professional services, or selling to government and large enterprise clients—especially involving understanding delivery cost and profit margins—is an advantage. While no technical background is required, a curiosity about AI and its market trends is important.

Desired qualities include:

• Ownership: Ability to transform ambiguous questions into structured work with clear answers and follow-up.
• Rigor: Ensuring data accuracy, transparency about assumptions, and clear differentiation between facts and estimates.
• Practicality: Focus on impactful issues, avoiding unnecessary depth, and delivering actionable outputs.
• Communication: Ability to articulate complex ideas clearly and concisely for executive audiences.
• Commercial curiosity: A genuine desire to understand how the business creates value, beyond just performing analyses.

Additional Notes

Candidates who do not meet every criterion but believe they can contribute value are encouraged to apply.

Why Join ai71

• Engage in mission-driven projects applying AI solutions in vital sectors with an expert team.
• Benefit from unique access to industry-leading AI models and resources to innovate and address complex challenges.
• Enjoy opportunities for career advancement and receive competitive compensation and benefits.
• Work within a flexible and modern environment equipped with state-of-the-art tools and technologies.