Operations Manager – Cars at SOUM (Riyadh, Saudi Arabia)
SOUM· Riyadh, Saudi Arabia·
Role details
Job description
About Us
Soum is on a mission to revolutionize e-commerce in the MENA region and beyond by building the most convenient and trustworthy re-commerce marketplace in the region. We're reshaping how C2C marketplaces operate, making buying and selling second-hand products seamless and reliable. Since our launch in July 2021, Soum has become one of the fastest-growing startups in the region, achieving rapid expansion in both our team and product offerings. In recognition of our impact and growth, we were proudly named one of the Top 10 LinkedIn Startups in Saudi Arabia for 2024.
About the Role
Own and manage the end-to-end car operations, ensuring a smooth and efficient car journey from intake to final handover.
You will lead the Operations team, improve processes, and ensure operational targets and service levels are consistently achieved
Role & Responsibilities:
Operational Ownership
- Own the end-to-end operational car journey and ensure smooth execution across all stages.
- Ensure clear ownership, processes, and escalation paths across the operation.
- Manage and resolve operational escalations and critical issues.
- Ensure operational capacity is aligned with business growth and demand.
Team Leadership
- Lead and manage the Cars Operations team across different functions and locations.
- Develop the team, set clear expectations, and build capability across the operation.
Performance & Process Improvement
- Set and monitor operational KPIs, SLAs, productivity, and quality standards.
- Identify operational bottlenecks and implement process improvements.
- Continuously improve efficiency, turnaround time, quality, and customer experience.
Reporting & Cross-Functional Collaboration
- Monitor operational performance and provide regular reporting and insights.
- Coordinate closely with Sales, Supply, Data, Finance, and other relevant teams.
Requirements & Experience:
- Strong experience in operations management, preferably within automotive, marketplace, logistics, or a similar fast-paced environment.
- Proven experience managing and developing operational teams.
- Ability to build, improve, and scale operational processes.
- Strong problem-solving and decision-making skills.
- Data-driven, with a good understanding of operational KPIs and performance management.
- Strong stakeholder management and cross-functional collaboration skills.
- Fluent in Arabic and English.
Preferred
- Automotive industry experience.
Why work at SOUM
- Culture: Soum describes itself as looking for "innovators, the hungry, the go-getters" and offers autonomy to experiment, learn, fail, and grow. The team is called "Soumers" and has worked across 14+ countries from the US to South Korea.
- Remote/Hybrid Policy: Mixed. Many roles are remote (e.g., Cairo-based positions), but some roles (e.g., Senior Compliance Officer, Operations roles) are on-site in Riyadh or Jeddah. The company has offices in Riyadh and Cairo.
- Global & Diverse Team: 90 employees spread across 8 countries (Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Pakistan, UAE, South Korea, Nigeria, Uzbekistan, US). Engineering and product teams are distributed.
- Engineering Culture: AI/ML is core to the product; they deploy models for recommendations, dynamic pricing, predictive analytics, and fraud detection. The technical team makes up ~12% of headcount.
- Growth Trajectory: High-growth startup (10%+ YoY headcount growth, expanding geographies and categories) offering significant ownership and impact.
- Compensation: Senior Software Engineer roles reported at ~SAR 128,877/month. Overall employer rating is 3.7/5 (19 reviews on LinkedIn), with Culture rated 3.6 and Career growth rated 3.5.
- AI in Hiring: Soum discloses that they use AI tools to support parts of the hiring process (reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, identifying signals), but final decisions are made by humans.