Updated October 2026
A startup head of operations interview works in four stages: a CEO screen on remit, a systems deep dive with your accountant or a finance-minded adviser, a handover exercise using the CEO's real task log, and a final round with team leads plus references. It tests whether the candidate builds systems that outlast them, or becomes the person everything routes through.
The most useful signal is what the candidate refuses. Hand them the CEO's actual task list and ask them to choose. Someone who accepts every item is showing you how the role goes wrong: within a year they become a second bottleneck between the CEO and everyone else.
As in our job description, the illustrative example is a 40-person Series A battery storage company where the CEO still approves every supplier invoice.
The head of operations interview plan
| Stage | Who | Length | What it tests |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. CEO screen | CEO | 45 min | Remit fit, areas they have owned directly |
| 2. Systems deep dive | Your accountant or fractional CFO | 60 min | Finance operations depth, tool choices, controls |
| 3. Handover exercise | CEO and one team lead | 90 min | Prioritisation, judgement, saying no |
| 4. Team leads and references | Two team leads, then calls | 45 min plus calls | Service attitude, follow-through |
Stage 2 matters most if you have never done the job yourself. A good accountant spots a candidate who talks well about month-end but has never run one.
Scope and the CEO relationship
- Here is our CEO's task log from the last two weeks. Which three would you take first, and which would you refuse?
- What did your last CEO still do that you thought should have been yours?
- Tell me about a time you handed work back to a founder.
- Where did your remit end last time, and who decided?
- What would tell you, six months in, that this role had become the wrong shape?
Strong answer: Takes the tasks that free the most CEO time, refuses ones that belong to another team, and names their own boundaries.
Red flags: Says yes to everything, or wants a COO title and a team before running the basics.
Finance and systems
- Walk me through the last month-end you ran. Which step took longest?
- How did you choose the last finance or HR tool you bought, and what did you rule out?
- Tell me about a payment or payroll error that got through. What changed afterwards?
- Which approvals would you add at our size, and which would you remove?
- On any Monday, how would you know how much cash we have and how long it lasts?
Strong answer: Specific steps, honest about errors, and controls sized to the company.
Red flags: Approval chains for everything, or no example of an error they owned.
People, contracts and vendors
- What did a new starter's first day look like at your last company, and what did you change?
- Which contracts would you sign off without a lawyer, and which never?
- Tell me about a supplier you renegotiated with. What did you give up?
- A team lead wants a contractor in another country next week. What do you do?
- How do you track renewals, insurance and compliance deadlines?
Strong answer: Clear lines on when to call a specialist, and a system for deadlines that does not live in their head.
Red flags: Treats every contract as a legal job, or none of them.
Judgement under load
- A payroll query, a contract a customer needs today and a board number the CEO wants changed all land at once. What order?
- Tell me about a process you built that people worked around.
- What have you stopped doing on purpose that nobody noticed?
- Which part of operations do you find dull, and how does it still get done?
- What would your last CEO say you got wrong in your first three months?
Strong answer: Pushes back on changing the board number, learns from workarounds, and admits early mistakes.
Red flags: Blames people for ignoring processes, or claims no early mistakes.
Work sample: the handover plan
Give the candidate a redacted copy of the CEO's two-week task log, the current list of tools, and one real broken process, such as supplier invoices approved by email. In up to 3 hours, ask for a ranked handover plan with dates, the items they would refuse or stop, a one-page redesign of the broken process, and the first three numbers for the operating report.
Look for reasoning about CEO time, explicit refusals, the simplest fix tried before new software, and the questions they would ask before acting.
Scoring rubric
| Outcome | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CEO time returned | Takes everything | Takes the easy items | Takes the right items | Takes, refuses and stops with reasons |
| Finance operations | No month-end experience | Assisted with one | Ran it reliably | Ran it and made it faster |
| People operations | Ad hoc | Followed a process | Built one system | Built it and others adopted it |
| Contracts and vendors | No experience | Filed contracts | Ran templates and renewals | Cut legal spend and risk |
| Operating reporting | Spreadsheets only | Reports nobody read | Report used monthly | The board relies on it |
Where Funded.club fits
We run operations and leadership searches on a fixed fee agreed upfront, with one dedicated recruiter and 33 days on average from kick-off to hire (see pricing).
Frequently asked questions
How do I interview a head of operations if I have never done the job?
Bring in your accountant or a fractional CFO for the systems deep dive, and score against a written scorecard.
Should a head of operations candidate have finance experience?
If finance operations is on the CEO's handover list, yes. Otherwise, an outside accountant can cover the gap.
What should I write before these interviews?
Start with the head of operations job description, built from the CEO's handover list, then read how to hire a COO or head of operations.
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