Head of International Operations

Sword Health is on a mission to free two billion people from pain. With 67% of members achieving a pain-free life and a 70% reduction in surgery intent, at Sword, we are using AI Care to change lives, and save millions for our 25,000+ enterprise clients across three continents. Today, we hold the majority of industry patents, win 70% of competitive evaluations, and have raised more than $400 million from top venture firms like Founders Fund, Sapphire Ventures, General Catalyst, and Khosla Ventures. Recognized as a Forbes Best Startup Employer in 2025 , this award highlights our focus on being a destination for the best and brightest talent. Not only have we experienced unprecedented growth since our market debut in 2020, but we’ve also created a remarkable mission and value-driven environment that is loved by our growing team. With a recent valuation of $4 billion, we are in a phase of hyper growth and expansion, and we’re looking for individuals with passion, commitment, and energy to help us scale our global impact. Joining Sword means committing to a set of core values, chief amongst them to “do it for the patients” every day, and to always “deliver more than expected” on behalf of our members and clients. This is an opportunity for you to make a significant difference on a massive scale as you work alongside 1000+ (and growing!) talented colleagues, spanning three continents. Your charge? To help us build a pain-free world, powered by AI, enhanced by people — accessible to all. What you’ll do: Market-building operations: Establish the foundational structures, processes, and playbooks for operations in international markets where local complexities, regulations, and partner needs vary; Operational efficiency: Identify gaps, bottlenecks, and opportunities for simplification and automation with an AI-first mentality, and translate learnings into frameworks that can scale as markets grow; Staffing model optimization: Create and refine localized staffing models to balance high-quality member experience with efficient utilization, mindful of smaller scale and market-specific constraints; Team Development: Build, lead, and motivate a growing team in less mature international markets. Develop leaders early on, instilling a culture of excellence, resilience, and adaptability in fast-changing contexts; Member experience: Design and test scalable, research-backed strategies to improve the end-to-end member experience, balancing global Sword standards with local adaptation. Partner with Tech & Product to pilot and implement new approaches quickly; Clinical partnership: Bring insights from local operational realities into the clinical development roadmap, ensuring clinical outcomes can be delivered effectively in different international contexts; Data analysis and reporting: Define success metrics tailored to earlier-stage markets, set up reporting frameworks, and leverage data to continuously guide resourcing, prioritization, and market expansion strategy; Finance: Own the operational budgets for international markets. Monitor P&L performance closely and identify efficiency opportunities critical to sustainable growth; Strategy: Lead and support cross-functional initiatives to launch, stabilize, and scale Sword’s presence in new and growing international markets, balancing experimentation with disciplined execution. What you need to have: 6+ years of experience in Operations, Strategy, or equivalent; Previous startup experience and/or ability to thrive in a fluid environment and willingness to get hands dirty; Experience scaling teams, with a focus on investing in coaching and development of your team; Data-driven and analytical in mindset: You can look at any dataset and know the right areas to look into to source actionable insights & strategies, and you know how to explain data in a digestible way; Proven record of structuring projects and programs and working with a diverse group of stakeholders to achieve goals; Strategic mindset: When making a decision, you can think ahead with scale in mind; Exceptional communicator and influencer: Should be able to collaborate with other team members to make sure our growth efforts are well executed; Talent magnet who can attract great people and build a strong team. Manage and nurture the team members; Strong grasp of consumer insights and a customer-centric mindset. Desire to understand the members’ motivations and customer experience; Experience using looker (or equivalent) and extremely proficient in the use of spreadsheets (advanced level); Ability to handle chaos, ambiguity, and complexity in a detailed and organized way. What we would love to see: Outstanding interpersonal, coaching and strategic thinking skills with the ability to communicate within all levels of the organization; Known for building culture with a mission-driven approach; Motivated by challenges and bring a positive tone, an eye for solutions and an energy for rolling up their sleeves and doing whatever needs to be done. A problem solver who takes ownership and loves to learn more; High IQ/EQ: Leads with humility, integrity, and intellect; Proven ability to re-prioritize and work quickly and efficiently; Attention to detail, multi-tasking, and strong follow-through required. Portugal - Sword Benefits & Perks: • Health, dental and vision insurance • Meal allowance • Equity shares • Remote work allowance • Flexible working hours • Work from home • Discretionary vacation • Snacks and beverages • English class Note: Please note that this position does not offer relocation assistance. Candidates must possess a valid EU visa and be based in Portugal. Sword Health complies with applicable Federal and State civil rights laws and does not discriminate on the basis of Age, Ancestry, Color, Citizenship, Gender, Gender expression, Gender identity, Gender information, Marital status, Medical condition, National origin, Physical or mental disability, Pregnancy, Race, Religion, Caste, Sexual orientation, and Veteran status. Originally posted on Himalayas