At Catalyze, we are scaling rapidly. As our consultancy organization grows, so does the complexity behind resource planning, project allocation, forecasting, operational reporting and business systems. 

We are looking for an ambitious Business Operations Associate who gets excited by solving operational complexity, improving workflows and using AI to make organizations run smarter. In this role, you will work closely with the Chief Operations Officer and operate at the heart of our consultancy operations, connecting Business Development, Consultancy Delivery, Finance and business systems. 

You will play a key role in strengthening the operational backbone of Catalyze. From day-to-day staffing coordination and project allocation to Certinia operations, reporting and process automation, you will help build more scalable, data-driven and AI-enabled ways of working. 

If you enjoy combining operations, systems, data, stakeholder management and AI-enabled process improvement in a fast-growing entrepreneurial environment, this role is for you. 

About Catalyze

Catalyze Group helps innovators turn breakthrough ideas into real-world impact. We specialize in Life Sciences & Health, Green & Sustainable Innovations and Industrial & Digital Technologies. 

For more than 20 years, we have supported entrepreneurs, researchers and organizations in securing grants and financing, developing innovation strategies and creating societal impact. To date, we have helped raise more than €2 billion in funding and built a global network of over 6,000 innovation projects and partners. 

In addition to our consultancy activities, Catalyze Group consists of Catalyze Capital, our investment fund, and Grantific, an AI-powered platform that supports the full grant process. 

What will you do?

Resource Management & Project Allocation

You will coordinate staffing and resource allocation across consultancy teams, ensuring that project needs are matched with the right expertise, availability and priorities. 

Your responsibilities include:

• Coordinate day-to-day project staffing and resource allocation
• Aligning staffing requests with expertise, utilization and project priorities
• Improving visibility into resource availability, capacity and forecasting
• Supporting the development of more intelligent staffing and resource management approaches
• Coordinate and manage operational processes around our Freelance Consultant pool

Business Systems & Operational Intelligence

You will help turn our business systems into reliable sources of operational truth, enabling better planning, reporting and decision-making.

Your responsibilities include:

• Helping establish Certinia and Salesforce as reliable operational sources of truth
• Ensuring project, resource and operational data is accurate, complete and actionable
• Improving operational reporting, dashboards and management insights
• Building data-driven visibility into utilization, delivery capacity and sales pipeline alignment
• Supporting consultancy and finance reporting through operational intelligence and dashboarding

AI-Enabled Operational Excellence

You will identify opportunities to reduce manual work, improve efficiency and embed smarter ways of working across operations. 

Your responsibilities include:

• Identifying opportunities to automate operational workflows
• Applying AI and automation tools to improve business operations and decision-making
• Improving scalability and operational efficiency through practical AI deployment
• Helping design smarter, more future-proof operational processes

Who are we looking for

You are analytical, structured and highly proactive. You enjoy bringing clarity to complexity, improving systems and optimizing workflows. You naturally spot inefficiencies and opportunities for improvement, and you are comfortable challenging existing ways of working. 

You do not need to bring many years of experience to be successful in this role. We are looking for someone with strong analytical ability, ownership, curiosity and the drive to learn quickly. What matters most is that you enjoy solving operational challenges, improving systems and helping build smarter ways of working. 

You are hands-on enough to manage the day-to-day reality of consultancy operations, while also being able to think ahead about scalability, automation and smarter operational design.

What do you bring?

• HBO or WO working and thinking level.
• 3–5 years of experience in Business Operations, Business Analysis, Consulting Operations, ERP/Systems Operations or a similar role.
• Experience with Certinia, Salesforce or comparable ERP/business systems.
• Demonstrated ability to leverage AI and automation tools to improve business processes, workflows or operational efficiency.
• Experience implementing AI-enabled workflows or operational automations.
• Strong analytical skills with experience in reporting, dashboards and translating data into actionable business insights.
• A proactive and ownership-driven mindset, with a natural tendency to identify opportunities and challenge the status quo.
• Strong stakeholder management and communication skills, with the confidence to engage and collaborate across different levels of the organization.
• An entrepreneurial, hands-on and positive attitude, thriving in a fast-growing environment where not everything is fully defined yet.
• You are based in the Netherlands.

Nice to have

• Experience in a consultancy, scale-up or high-growth environment.
• Experience with resource planning, staffing or workforce management.

What success looks like

Success in this role means:

• Staffing becomes more proactive and data-driven
• Operational information becomes more reliable and trusted
• Project allocation becomes more scalable
• Manual operational work decreases
• Reporting becomes actionable
• AI-enabled workflows improve efficiency
• Catalyze operates with greater operational intelligence and maturity

Why Join Catalyze?

At Catalyze, you’ll find a culture that values independence, trust, growth, and impact.

• Permanent position after successful temporary appointment.
• Work along side C-level team
• Hybrid working structure with 2-3 days at the office.
• 27 vacation days, 8% holiday allowance, commuting allowance, pension plan, and lease bike plan.
• Healthy office lunches, vibrant social events, and an open, supportive culture.
• The opportunity to work with passionate colleagues in a collaborative, entrepreneurial environment.
• Direct exposure to groundbreaking innovations that truly make a difference.

Interested?

We’d love to hear from you.

Apply directly or reach out if you would like to learn more about the role, the team or the future vision behind this position.