About Stranger Soccer
The #1 way adults play football in the UAE. We operate across Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and Ajman 200+ games every month, 30,000+ downloads, a real community of players who show up, play, meet people, and come back. Two years in, we're at the inflection point where disciplined execution on growth, retention and operational excellence is everything.
About the Role
You will run the business day-to-day on everything that doesn't require physical presence. On-ground Field Growth Operators (one per emirate) handle games, hosts, venues and players in person. You own strategy, data, growth, systems, and the operating rhythm. You report directly to the CEO and are the second-most senior person in the business.
This is not a role for someone who waits to be told what to do. If you need to be managed closely, this isn't the role.
What You'll Own
Strategic + Commercial
P&L visibility and margin management
Growth strategy acquisition, retention, pricing, membership economics
Weekly and monthly KPI reviews; health of the business
Competitive analysis and product positioning
Membership + Unlimited Pass performance management
Marketing + Growth
Paid acquisition and marketing spend allocation
Retention campaigns across all channels
SEO, GBP, and partnership channels
Customer journey mapping and intervention design
Operational Systems
Design, document and enforce SOPs across the team
Reporting and dashboards
Monthly review framework with the CEO
Coordination with HQ product team on roadmap and prioritization
Weekly Friday delegation handoff document weekend priorities and ensure Sat-Sun operations run smoothly without you
Team
Direct reports: three Field Growth Operators (one per emirate)
Direct management of the remote Customer Service / Ops team (2 people). Build SOPs, set and track KPIs, coach, raise the ceiling of what they can handle
Coordination with external partners SEO, legal, accounting, product
Input into all hiring and firing decisions
What You WON'T Do
Attend games physically FGOs do that
Live in Dubai this role is deliberately remote
Handle in-person customer disputes escalated to FGOs first
Do venue on-site walkthroughs FGOs scout, you review and approve
Requirements
Who You Are
5–8 years of experience, at least 3 in a growth-stage startup
Background in marketplace, consumer tech, food delivery, ride-hailing, fitness, or similar two-sided
businesses strongly preferred
You've actually grown and scaled a business not advised it, not strategized it, but moved real numbers. You
can walk me through specific growth you drove and what you learned
P&L exposure, real growth metrics, real customer behavior not just slides
Strongly analytical you can procure our data, analyze it, and act on it. Specific tools don't matter; knowing
what questions to ask and what to do with the answers does
Proactive, independent operator you spot problems, propose solutions, and execute without being chased
Experience managing distributed teams, or as a senior IC across multiple workstreams
English fluency essential; Arabic a bonus
Writes clearly and concisely this role runs on async communication
Comfort with ambiguity and startup grit
Culture fit
Honesty over politics. Tell me when I'm wrong.
Ownership over blame. Fix it before escalating.
Data over opinions. Bring the numbers.
Speed over perfection. Launch, measure, adjust.
Self-direction over supervision.
Working Hours
Set the team up for success every day but Saturday and Sunday are when you're offline. By Friday evening the team must now exactly what to do over the weekend without you.
Working days: Monday to Friday
Daily core hours: 11:00–19:00 UAE time (GST), fully online
Daily extended coverage: 19:00–21:00 UAE time, reachable within 30 minutes for time-sensitive issues on game nights (Thu-Fri especially)
Weekends off: Saturday + Sunday fully off, reachable only for genuine emergencies
Friday delegation handoff: Document weekend priorities and empower the team before you log off Friday evening
Total effort: 40-50 hours per week during working days
Timezone requirement: South Asia, Middle East, Africa, or Eastern Europe ideal
How to Apply
Send the following to :
A short note on why this role interests you (200 words). No cover letter templates write like a human
Your CV or LinkedIn profile
One growth or operations project you ran: the problem, what you did, the result, and what you learned
A 30-60 second video (filmed on your phone) answering: who you are, why this role, one career achievement that proves you can do this
Originally posted on Himalayas