Special Projects Manager - Operations (m/f/d)

• HOLY is the soft drink revolution: With our powdered drinks HOLY Energy®, HOLY Hydration®, HOLY Iced Tea®, and HOLY Milkshake® you get amazing taste across 50+ flavors while maintaining a good conscience—for your body & the environment.
• Over 2M loyal customers: Started in a shared apartment by three best friends, we have scaled to Europe's fastest growing consumer brand—and our cult-like community, the HOLY Squad, loves it: 4.6 stars on reviews.io speak for themselves.
• From D2C to Global Omnichannel: In less than four years, we've profitably scaled HOLY to more than €150M D2C revenue in DACH, FR, UK and PL. Now scaling our retail business, we're on an exciting transition to becoming a true omnichannel rocketship.
• We are still just getting started: Backed by the world's best consumer investors, we aim to revolutionize the soft drink industry and build a generational love brand: tastier, healthier & more sustainable. Our team of 150+ people aims high (Coca-Cola, we're coming for you!).

Operations isn't a backend function at HOLY — every delivery, every customer interaction, every product launch is a brand moment. As we scale from €150M D2C into a true omnichannel rocketship, complexity is exploding across supply, production, logistics, procurement, and customer service. We need someone who treats Operations problems the way builders treat code: diagnose the real bug, ship the fix, watch it run.

You'll join HOLY's Special Projects team and own a portfolio of Operations problems end-to-end — from diagnosing the real problem, to building the models, tools, and processes the solution needs, to personally running them until a permanent owner takes over. This is a builder role, not an advisor role. There's no in-house engineering team to delegate to — you'll ship the production-grade tools and processes yourself, leveraging AI-native tooling (coding agents, workflow automation, MCPs) to compound your output.

You'll report to the Director - Special Projects, and partner directly with Operations team leads across the function. The role is based in Berlin, with daily contact with the operators doing the actual work.

Responsibilities:

• End-to-End Project Ownership 
  Own HOLY's priority Operations problems across the full lifecycle — diagnose, build, run, and hand over to a permanent owner. Carry multiple projects in parallel across Operations (supply, production, logistics, procurement, customer service) and sequence by impact and readiness.
• Hands-On Problem Solving 
  Pick up problems handed off with minimal context — push for a deeper briefing if needed, then take it from there. Sit with the team, handle real cases, and diagnose what's actually going on before reaching for a solution.
• Business Analysis & Decision Support 
  Turn ambiguous problems into clear, decision-ready frameworks. Quantify business impact (P&L, unit economics, risk) independently. Drive decisions; escalate with options and a recommendation, not just a problem.
• Process & Systems Design 
  Turn unclear, manual, or fragile Operations workflows into scalable operating processes with defined ownership, interfaces, and success metrics. Reduce operational overhead, failure points, and coordination cost measurably.
• AI-Native Building 
  Build the internal tools, models, and automations the team is missing. Use AI-native tooling (coding agents, workflow automation, MCPs) to compound personal leverage and ship production-grade output, not prototypes.

• 1+ years in a high-growth environment — as a founders' associate, startup generalist, hands-on consultant, or in venture capital / venture building. Must have actually fixed things, not just built slides.
• Fluency with AI-native tooling (coding agents like Claude Code / Cursor, orchestration tools like n8n or trigger.dev, MCPs) — or a clear track record of learning new build tooling fast.
• Strong quantitative skills — comfortable building P&L models, unit economics, and sensitivity analysis from scratch.
• Excellent communication — fluent in English and German, able to flex between operator-level precision and leadership-level structure.
• Operator, not advisor: You roll up your sleeves and run the process yourself for as long as it takes. Brokering meetings isn't your idea of progress.
• Diagnose before you build: You go find the real problem yourself, even when the stated one looks obvious.
• Ship in production: Models, tools, and processes the team uses in production, not decks describing what should happen.
• Move in ambiguity: You don't wait for perfect clarity. You take full ownership of outcomes, not just contributions.
• Thrive under pressure: Tight deadlines and shifting priorities energize you, not paralyze you.
• No dogma: You pick the right mix of process, models, and tools for the problem at hand. The best solution wins.

• A successful and growing company: Join a company that has been growing profitable and quickly for the last 36+ months and have raised a series B, while many other e-commerce companies are struggling.
• Huge impact: Enjoy huge impact to shape HOLY’s internationalisation in a top market.
• Awesome team: Join an awesome team of colleagues who are ambitious, funny, down-to-earth, and authentic. Get to know us and see for yourself!
• Top product: Marketing is important, but a good product is essential. Our differentiated soft drinks have won over 2.5 million customers. Check out our reviews.io reviews or contact us for free samples.
• Startup culture: Join a startup culture that values flat hierarchies, fast pace, and personal development. With us, you can make a real impact.
• Perfect setup: Enjoy a perfect setup that includes all the requirements of a modern employer, such as a central office in Berlin Prenzlauerberg, flexible working hours, and much more.
• Competitive comp. + equity: Join us at a pivotal stage of hypergrowth. We offer a strong salary and meaningful equity—giving you the chance to share in our current success and benefit from the massive upside as we scale.
• How we support your growth: flexible hours, 28 vacation days, 30 work-from-abroad days, €1,500 learning budget, Urban Sports Club membership, public transport subsidy, and biannual 360° feedback tied to your compensation.

As we are experiencing rapid growth and have ambitious plans, the optimal start date for the position is today. Nonetheless, we are prepared to patiently await the arrival of the ideal candidate, recognizing that quality ultimately yields the best results.

1. Getting to know you: 30-minute screening interview where we'll talk about HOLY and the position and see if expectations match.
2. Hiring Manager Interview with the Director, Special Projects: Deep dive into your experience and the details of the role.
3. Case study & on-site interview: A real Operations problem from our world — diagnose, propose, defend. Second meeting at our office (the HOLY Temple) to walk through it together.
4. Reference calls: We'd like to connect with 1–2 former colleagues or managers who have worked closely with you.
5. Interview with a Founder: Final cultural-fit meeting with Fredi, one of our HOLY Founders.
6. Job offer and decision: If everything aligns, you'll receive an offer and we get started together.

Typically this process should take around 2-3 weeks.