Chief Operating Officer (COO)

Location: Rome, Italy – On-site
Compensation: €100,000–€120,000 gross annual salary + bonus

The Opportunity

We are supporting a leading independent insurance brokerage and risk management group in the search for a Chief Operating Officer (COO) to support its next phase of growth and organisational development.

The Group provides insurance brokerage, risk advisory and risk management services to corporate and institutional clients across multiple industries. Its growth strategy combines organic expansion with acquisitions, creating the need for a stronger, more integrated and scalable operating model.

The COO will play a pivotal role in translating the Group's strategic ambitions into operational performance, ensuring that processes, organisational structures and management systems evolve in line with the business.

Working closely with the CEO and the wider leadership team, the successful candidate will drive operational excellence, harmonise processes across the Group and lead the integration of newly acquired businesses, while preserving the specialist expertise and client relationships that underpin the organisation's success.

This is a senior leadership opportunity for a pragmatic, results-oriented executive who can combine strategic vision with hands-on execution in a growing, multi-entity environment.

Key Responsibilities

1. Group Operations & Operational Excellence

• Oversee the Group's operating model, ensuring effective coordination across business units, functions and geographical locations.

• Review and optimise operational processes, workflows and organisational structures to improve efficiency, service quality and scalability.

• Establish common operating standards, procedures and performance benchmarks across the Group.

• Identify opportunities to simplify processes, reduce operational complexity and improve productivity.

• Ensure that operational capabilities evolve in line with business growth, client requirements and strategic priorities.

2. Post-Acquisition Integration

• Lead the operational integration of newly acquired businesses, defining integration plans, priorities, milestones and accountability.

• Harmonise processes, systems, reporting structures and operating procedures across acquired entities.

• Work closely with local management teams to ensure effective integration while maintaining business continuity and client service standards.

• Identify synergies, operational efficiencies and opportunities for collaboration across the Group.

• Monitor integration progress, proactively address execution risks and ensure the realisation of expected benefits.

3. Process Management & Performance Monitoring

• Define and implement operational KPIs to monitor efficiency, productivity, service delivery and business performance.

• Establish consistent management reporting and performance review processes across the organisation.

• Use operational data to identify bottlenecks, address performance gaps and support evidence-based decision-making.

• Promote a culture of accountability, continuous improvement and execution discipline.

• Ensure that operational processes support sustainable growth and a consistently high standard of client service.

4. Organisational Development & Leadership

• Work with the CEO and senior management team to evolve the Group's organisational structure in line with its growth strategy.

• Clarify roles, responsibilities and decision-making processes across central functions and operating entities.

• Strengthen collaboration between business units and central teams, encouraging knowledge sharing and the adoption of best practices.

• Support the development of management capabilities and leadership effectiveness throughout the organisation.

• Drive change management initiatives, ensuring stakeholder alignment and effective implementation.

5. Technology, Systems & Operational Infrastructure

• Oversee the evolution of operational processes and supporting systems to enable greater efficiency, transparency and scalability.

• Collaborate with IT leadership to identify opportunities for automation, digitalisation and process standardisation.

• Support the integration of systems and operational platforms following acquisitions.

• Ensure that technology investments address business needs and deliver measurable operational benefits.

• Promote effective use of management information and digital tools across the organisation.

6. Strategic Planning & Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Translate Group-level strategic objectives into actionable operational plans.

• Work closely with the CEO, CFO, commercial leadership and other senior stakeholders to align operational priorities with business performance.

• Support business planning, resource allocation and capacity management across the Group.

• Contribute to the evaluation of acquisition opportunities from an operational perspective, assessing integration complexity, synergies and scalability.

• Provide regular updates to the executive team on operational performance, integration progress and improvement initiatives.

Candidate Profile

The ideal candidate will be an experienced operations executive with a proven track record of improving organisational performance, implementing scalable processes and managing complexity in a growing business.

Required Experience

• Significant experience in senior operations leadership roles, such as COO, Operations Director or Head of Operations, within a multi-site, multi-entity or decentralised organisation.

• Proven experience managing operational transformation, process improvement and organisational development initiatives.

• Demonstrated track record in post-merger integration, business consolidation or the harmonisation of processes across multiple entities.

• Strong understanding of operational performance management, KPI frameworks, process governance and management reporting.

• Experience working closely with CEOs, CFOs and commercial leaders to translate strategic objectives into operational execution.

• Strong leadership capabilities, with experience coordinating teams and stakeholders across different functions and business units.

Industry Background

Experience in insurance brokerage, insurance services, financial services or other professional services environments will be particularly valuable.

Candidates from other sectors may also be considered where they have operated in complex, service-oriented organisations with decentralised structures and a strong focus on client relationships.

Key Competencies

• Strategic and operational thinking: Ability to connect long-term business objectives with practical operational priorities.

• Execution excellence: Strong ownership, decisiveness and the ability to deliver measurable results.

• Change management: Experience leading organisational transformation and bringing teams together around common objectives.

• Integration capabilities: Ability to manage complexity and capture synergies across acquired businesses.

• Stakeholder management: Strong communication and influencing skills, with the ability to engage effectively at all organisational levels.

• Analytical mindset: Ability to use KPIs, operational data and performance reporting to drive continuous improvement.

• Leadership and collaboration: Ability to empower teams, establish accountability and build a cohesive operating culture.

• Pragmatism and adaptability: Comfortable operating in a dynamic environment where processes and structures must evolve alongside the business.

The Opportunity

The COO will join a growing organisation at a pivotal stage of its development, with the opportunity to shape the Group's operating model and contribute directly to its long-term success.

The role offers significant scope to professionalise processes, strengthen operational governance and lead the integration of acquired businesses within an ambitious growth strategy.

We are looking for a leader who combines strategic perspective with a hands-on approach, capable of building the operational foundations required to support the Group's next stage of expansion.

Working arrangement: On-site, Rome, Italy.

Compensation package: €100,000–€120,000 gross annual salary, plus bonus.