Director of Marketplace Operations

80Twenty is a boutique operations recruitment agency that connects high-growth companies with exceptional candidates

Our client is seeking a Director of Marketplace Operations to lead and scale the operational engine behind a nationally recognized, venture-backed e-commerce marketplace. This platform empowers hundreds of independent merchants, makers, and brands across the U.S., combining logistics, technology, and experience to deliver a highly curated consumer offering at scale. This is a senior leadership opportunity to own the full merchant operational lifecycle — from onboarding and backend enablement to SLA-driven support and long-term growth strategy — while modernizing systems and introducing automation in a complex, high-volume environment.

Reporting directly to the VP of Customer \& Merchant Experience, this role sits at the intersection of operations, product, logistics, and merchant success, with direct responsibility for building scalable infrastructure that enables sustainable marketplace growth.

What You’ll Lead

• Own the end-to-end merchant operational experience across onboarding, product creation, approvals, enablement, and day-to-day support
• Lead and develop a team of 6–8 (including managers) across Merchant Support and Backend Enablement
• Drive SLA performance, escalation frameworks, and high-quality merchant communication standards
• Build scalable operating cadences (triage, queue management, prioritization, reporting) to ensure predictable performance
• Lead cross-functional coordination during merchant-impacting incidents, including root cause analysis and preventative follow-ups
• Design proactive monitoring systems and early-warning mechanisms to mitigate risk ahead of peak periods and volume spikes
• Enable merchant growth initiatives (new SKUs, expanded shipping windows, increased category scale) through operational readiness
• Serve as the voice of the merchant in cross-functional forums, translating operational insights into clear product and engineering priorities
• Modernize tooling and workflows, leveraging automation and AI to increase efficiency and scalability

What You Bring

• 8–10\+ years of operational leadership experience within marketplace, e-commerce, logistics, or high-volume vendor environments
• Proven experience managing both individual contributors and managers in SLA-driven operations
• Deep understanding of supply-side/merchant dynamics within a marketplace ecosystem
• Track record of building scalable systems, preventative frameworks, and operational models that reduce friction and risk
• Strong program management skills with experience leading complex, cross-functional initiatives
• Expertise in operational platforms (Zendesk, Salesforce, Monday, Sigma, or similar systems)
• Experience integrating automation and AI into high-volume workflows
• Analytical mindset with the ability to translate data into strategic and operational decisions
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills