Business Operations Manager

About Captivate Technology

Captivate Technology is a New Zealand deep-tech company focused on commercialising advanced gas-separation and carbon-capture solutions. Backed by investors and currently operating with 6.5 full-time equivalent staff, the business is moving from Seed stage toward Series A. The team covers technology development, pilot testing, commercial partnerships and expansion into international markets. It is a compact, fast-paced environment where people often contribute across several functions.

Role overview

The Business Operations Manager will help keep internal operations organised, visible and moving forward. This position brings together CEO support, governance, finance administration, people processes, communications, health and safety coordination, and selected cross-functional projects.

The role is highly practical and hands-on. Functional leaders will continue to own technical, commercial and strategic decisions.

Working pattern and location

This position begins at 25–30 hours per week, with the potential to expand into a full-time role as the company grows. The workplace can be Palmerston North in an office-based arrangement, or Auckland on a work-from-home basis to start.

Business operations

You will manage day-to-day administration, meeting cadence, planning deadlines and action follow-up. The role also involves supporting the CEO and team with meeting preparation, diary coordination, travel arrangements for project, sales and investor trips, and maintaining records such as policies, contracts, insurance details and subscriptions. You will also work with external advisers, contractors and service providers, and help introduce simple systems that improve organisation without adding unnecessary complexity.

Board and governance

The role includes organising board calendars, agendas, board papers and meeting packs, preparing minutes, resolutions and action logs, maintaining governance records, following up on board decisions, and handling Companies Office filings and related company-secretarial administration.

Finance and people administration

You will coordinate with the bookkeeper, accountants and fractional CFO, and support invoicing, payments, expenses, purchase orders, payroll inputs, leave records and budget tracking. The position also covers management of funding, grant, contract and due-diligence documentation, plus recruitment administration, onboarding, offboarding and employee records.

Communications and stakeholder reporting

This position involves helping coordinate LinkedIn posts, newsletters, shareholder reporting and investor updates. You will draft and refine company communications with the CEO and technical team, maintain stakeholder lists, presentations, images, case studies and approved company content, and work with external branding, website and communications providers. Hubspot will be used for contact and communication management.

Health and safety

You will maintain health and safety systems, records and action trackers, coordinate inductions, training, risk reviews and policy updates, and support reporting to the CEO and Board.

Business project coordination

The role will also support selected company-wide initiatives, which may include Series A preparation and investor data-room development, international market-entry and travel programmes, as well as branding, marketing, conferences and events. This includes keeping plans current, coordinating contributors, tracking actions and flagging risks or delays early.

Experience and capabilities

The ideal candidate will bring at least five years of experience in business operations, executive support, governance administration or project coordination. Prior support for a CEO or senior leadership team is preferred, along with strong organisational ability, clear writing, reliable follow-through and confidence working with boards, financial information and external advisers. Experience handling complex travel and multiple priorities is important, as is the judgement and discretion needed to work closely with senior stakeholders. Experience in a startup, scale-up, investor-backed or similarly fast-changing business would be especially valuable.

Personal qualities

You should be practical, proactive, dependable and comfortable working independently within a small team. The role suits someone who can move between detailed administration and broader coordination, operate effectively with incomplete information and find straightforward solutions that fit an early-stage company.

Growth potential

As Captivate progresses through its Series A fundraising and continues to scale, this position may expand into a full-time role depending on business needs and funding.