Director of Operations & Vermietung

About the role

lively is reimagining assisted living by creating modern, vibrant senior residences where community, quality of life, and tailored support come first. The concept combines active living with a lively social atmosphere, supported by courses and events on spacious communal areas.

Following a successful proof of concept at the Gronau and Duisburg locations, the company is now scaling across eight additional secured properties in North Rhine-Westphalia. For this next phase, lively is looking for an entrepreneurial leader who can strengthen the operational foundation and take the sales side to the next level.

This position comes with a clear path for further growth, potentially extending into an expanded management role alongside the existing founder-led structure.

Role overview

As Director of Operations & Vermietung (m/w/d), you will take on a key leadership position in lively’s next growth stage. You will help shape the operational and strategic development of the business, scale the existing concept, and build the structures needed for sustainable expansion. You will also represent lively externally.

You will oversee the sites end to end, from the operational pre-opening phase through to day-to-day business. In parallel, you will spot and develop new business opportunities within the lively ecosystem.

A major focus of the role is building a professional rental and sales model that currently exists only in early form, operating in a broker-like capacity on behalf of property owners.

Responsibilities

• Ensure the existing lively locations are run professionally, economically, and to a high quality standard.
• Create scalable operational structures and processes to support the company’s expansion.
• Take ownership of HR and quality management topics and support new site openings.
• Identify and develop new business opportunities connected to the lively concept.
• Build a structured rental and sales model for the business.
• Design marketing and sales strategies, including KPI tracking and budget management.
• Work toward establishing an in-house sales team in the future.
• Lead and develop the operational teams.
• Translate strategy and targets into effective operational execution.

Requirements

• You bring an entrepreneurial mindset, a hands-on attitude, and are willing to step into day-to-day operations whenever needed.
• You are comfortable in a people-focused environment and know how to build trusting, emotionally intelligent relationships with residents and team members while keeping commercial goals in view.
• You are self-driven, dependable, collaborative, and comfortable taking responsibility in a fast-moving, growth-oriented setting.
• You communicate strongly, have a solid network, and think in a sales-oriented way.
• You are willing to travel and enjoy being visible in the market.
• You have at least 4 years of relevant professional experience in a senior-oriented service environment, a startup, a founder-led setting, or a consulting role with strong practical execution.
• You have several years of experience building and managing rental and marketing processes, ideally within senior living.
• Experience in real estate, hospitality, or a related industry is a plus.
• Ideally, you have been involved in opening new locations.
• You have extensive experience working with seniors or in comparable fields.
• Ideally, you are familiar with financing and billing structures connected to care insurance providers.
• You have experience building teams and leading in a collaborative, respectful way.
• You are highly deal- and goal-oriented, while still valuing company culture, teamwork, and shared values.
• You speak German at native level and have good business English.
• You live in North Rhine-Westphalia, ideally in Cologne or Düsseldorf, or you are willing to relocate.
• Regular on-site presence at the locations and frequent travel are essential parts of the job.
• The headquarter setup is currently mostly remote, with close and reliable coordination across the team. When you are not visiting sites, you will work from home until a shared office location is established in the long term.

Perks

• Real entrepreneurial responsibility from day one.
• Fast decision-making and a high pace of execution.
• Close collaboration with the founder, the team, and the shareholders.
• A clear development path toward general management.
• A highly motivated, high-performing team building a scalable company.
• Fixed salary plus virtual equity participation, linking your contribution directly to the company’s growth.

Values

• Hands-on approach: the team knows its goals, supports one another, and steps in beyond formal responsibilities when needed.
• Flexibility and learning: the company adapts quickly, keeps learning, and prefers pragmatic action over rigid rules.
• Innovation and entrepreneurial thinking: existing processes are questioned, new solutions are created, and fresh approaches are encouraged.
• Team spirit, trust, and reliability: relationships are built on respect, honesty, and dependability in daily work and critical moments.