Business Operations Associate

About the role

Cardless is looking for a Business Operations Associate to act as a force multiplier for the President and the broader leadership team. In this capacity, you will own the production mechanics of high-stakes communication, ensuring that every conversation with partners, investors, and the board is supported by precise and compelling materials. You will translate raw inputs and fragmented ideas into cohesive, audience-specific narratives that drive clarity and action. This role is fundamentally about execution; you will not set strategy, but you will determine how effectively strategy is communicated and implemented. The ideal candidate comes from a background where rigor and polish are non-negotiable, such as management consulting or investment banking. You will be responsible for transforming rough notes and verbal briefings into board-ready deliverables that are both accurate and persuasive.

Key facts

What you'll do

• Own the end-to-end production of presentation materials for partner meetings, quarterly business reviews, board meetings, and investor updates, moving drafts from initial concept to final, polished deck.
• Translate disparate inputs such as call notes, verbal briefings, and incomplete slide decks into structured narratives with a clear logic and a defined decision purpose.
• Partner with the go-to-market team to prepare for high-visibility external conversations, deeply analyzing the audience, anticipating challenging questions, and ensuring materials are fully vetted and airtight.
• Design, maintain, and iterate on recurring operational templates, including partner-facing templates, internal scorecards, and QBR frameworks, to ensure consistency and timeliness across the organization.
• Prepare agendas, pre-reads, and follow-up documentation for recurring leadership meetings such as syncs, cross-functional reviews, and strategic partner QBRs to maximize efficiency.
• Track action items, decisions, and open questions across multiple workstreams, maintaining a rigorous follow-up system to ensure commitments are documented and completed.
• Own the logistics and preparation for critical internal planning sessions, including quarterly strategy reviews and annual planning, to ensure leadership can focus on decision-making.
• Synthesize feedback from partners, meeting notes, and cross-functional inputs into concise written summaries that enable leadership to make faster and better-informed decisions.
• Draft memos, one-pagers, and briefing documents for both internal and external audiences, writing with precision so that there is no buried lede, no unnecessary filler, and zero ambiguity.
• Distill complex business situations into the two or three critical elements, presenting them in a format that drives alignment and reduces unproductive debate.
• Act as the primary point of contact for deck-related requests, managing multiple deadlines and priorities while maintaining a high standard of quality under pressure.
• Proactively identify gaps in information or narrative weakness and seek clarification or additional data to ensure the final output is complete and credible.
• Support the preparation of materials for the leadership team and the board, ensuring that every metric, assumption, and narrative is accurate and easy to follow.
• Maintain a living inventory of key metrics and operational data points to support rapid assembly of updates and ad hoc analyses.

Requirements

• Hold 3-5 years of professional experience, with a strong background in management consulting or investment banking, though relevant experience in operations or finance is also considered.
• Demonstrate a track record of producing presentation materials that are actively used, not merely delivered, showing an understanding of what differentiates an informative slide from a persuasive one.
• Bring experience supporting senior leaders in high-stakes environments, including preparing them for critical meetings, managing follow-through on commitments, and keeping complex workstreams organized.
• Possess strong intellectual curiosity about financial services or fintech, even if direct industry exposure is not present, as a deep interest in the space is a stated requirement.
• Show an ability to manage ambiguity and operate effectively in a fast-moving, high-growth company where priorities can shift quickly.
• Exhibit ownership and accountability, following through on commitments and taking responsibility for the quality and accuracy of all deliverables.
• Communicate with clarity and precision in writing, ensuring memos and summaries require no additional editing and convey essential points without unnecessary complexity.
• Approach problem-solving in a structured manner, converting meetings that end without resolution into clear next steps and documented action items.

Nice to have

• Experience working with AI-powered fintech platforms or consumer credit products.
• Familiarity with the card issuance ecosystem, including networks such as Visa, Mastercard, and American Express.
• Exposure to growth-stage startups and venture capital-style operating cadences.

Practical notes

The role is full-time based in San Francisco. The position reports directly to the President. Travel is not expected as part of this role. The candidate must be authorized to work in the United States without sponsorship at this time.