Chief Operating Officer (Water Technology Scale-up)
Granada, Spain (hybrid)
Turning wastewater into your next career upgrade. If you like the idea of building a business where most people only see pipes, sludge and regulations, this one is worth a closer look.
The role
We are looking for a hands-on Chief Operating Officer to help a very early-stage water technology company move from “brilliant pilot” to “scalable business”. The role will act as the company lead during a critical growth phase, with responsibility across operations, business development and fundraising.
This is not a polished corporate role. It is about rolling up your sleeves, shaping the business model, closing pilots with operators and public institutions, and preparing the company for its next investment round.
What you will do
- Run the day-to-day of the company so it can start “walking on its own” beyond the founding team’s support.
- Design and structure the business model and full business plan: monetisation strategy, pricing logic, routes to market and sales projections.
- Lead business development with water operators, engineering firms and public bodies (cities, utilities, basin authorities), from first meetings to signed pilot and framework agreements.
- Define, negotiate and manage contracts for pilots and early commercial projects, including responsibilities, KPIs, timelines and payment structures.
- Prepare the investment story and materials and take the lead in closing the next equity round (around 1–2M), with strong backing from the investment firm behind the venture.
- Help build the core team together with the Technical Director, hiring technical and, later, finance profiles as the company grows.
- Turn a containerised demonstration plant into a travelling showcase, moving it between client sites so operators can test and validate the technology in real conditions.
Why this matters
From 2025, a new EU regulation is tightening nutrient removal limits (nitrogen and phosphorus) for wastewater treatment plants, and many current facilities will not meet the new thresholds. Operators urgently need smart ways to upgrade performance without rebuilding entire plants.
This company’s granular-sludge-based technology can be retrofitted into existing plants with low capex, boosting nutrient removal, energy efficiency and sludge management so operators can hit the new standards. Your impact: turning a strong technical solution into a market presence that regulators and operators cannot ignore.
What you bring
- Deep experience in the water sector or closely related utilities (wastewater treatment, water management, utilities, engineering for water infrastructure). You understand how WWTPs are owned, managed and financed in Spain, ideally across Iberia.
- Proven experience working with public administrations and tenders: you know how procurement works, who decides what, and how to navigate multi-stakeholder environments.
- A solid network (or the ability to build one fast) with major operators and engineering firms (for example Acciona, Veolia, Suez, FCC, Aqualia or similar).
- Engineering background (industrial, chemical, environmental or similar) is ideal; a commercial or business degree may work if paired with strong sector knowledge and entrepreneurial drive.
- Comfortable creating business plans, commercial projections and investment materials, even if you are not a pure finance specialist, supported by the investor’s team.
- Fluent Spanish and English, as you will work first with national stakeholders and later support international expansion.
- Entrepreneurial mindset: you enjoy building from scratch, not just managing something that already exists.
Location, set-up and package
The company is based in Granada and currently operates in close collaboration with the University of Granada, where pilots are installed. You should be ready to base yourself in Granada (hybrid set-up) and travel regularly to customer plants and stakeholders across Spain
You can expect a competitive senior salary, plus an attractive equity stake in the business, with a meaningful variable component linked to milestones. Exact numbers will be discussed individually with shortlisted candidates.
Ready to build a water-tech scale-up?
If this sounds like the kind of challenge you want to own, apply via the Apply button. If you would like to clarify any aspect of the role or package, call our Recruiting Manager and we will be happy to talk things through in confidence.