Chief Registry Operations Officer

Hybrid: From home and our office at Amsterdam Central Station

Full-time: 37.5 hours per week

We are seeking a visionary Chief Registry Operations Officer to lead the strategic direction and development of our registry function.

Founded in 1992, the RIPE NCC is one of the oldest Internet institutions in Europe. We have a long history of working to support the Internet and we are proud of our legacy. As a Regional Internet Registry (RIR), one of our core functions is to maintain the RIPE Registry, which is the authoritative record of Internet number resources for Europe, Middle East and Central Asia.

This is where you come in. You will lead our Registry Division, which includes our Registration Services, Registry Monitoring and Investigations, and Member Services departments. These teams are extremely customer-orientated, providing world-class service to our diverse membership of 20,000 organisations across more than 76 countries.

Reporting directly to the Chief Executive Officer, you will be accountable for the strategic and tactical direction of the Registry Division, supervising and inspiring a team of over 40 skilled professionals. You will also take an influential role as a member of our Executive Management Team and help to steer the organisation as a whole. 

We need a leader with vision who can think strategically, with strong interpersonal and communications skills to get their ideas across and drive change, and who can engage effectively with our many different stakeholders. You should have a strong understanding of how the Internet number registry system works, together with proven experience leading large teams or organisational divisions. If this sounds like you, we hope you’ll join us in making a difference for the Internet!

Purpose of the role

The purpose of this role is to drive and implement strategy for our Registry Division and ensure that strategic plans are translated into concrete objectives and initiatives. You will oversee the Registry operations to ensure the accurate registration of Internet Number Resources within our service region. You will be responsible for guiding and coaching an organisational area with more than 40 professionals with diverse backgrounds and skill sets. Your direct reports will be three department leads, each managing their own team.

Next to that, you will direct Regional Internet Registry (RIR) initiatives and effectively collaborate with colleagues from the other four RIRs in the world. Due to the prominence of this role and its importance to our organisation, we also expect that you will be able to convincingly present the RIPE NCC’s vision and operational goals in a public setting to our members, the RIPE community, and other audiences. You will play an engaging and important stakeholder management role, especially in relation to the Internet community and RIPE NCC members regarding Registry matters and the impact our work has on their operations.

🧠 In this role you will:

• Drive the RIPE NCC’s strategy and goals in collaboration with other leaders to deliver our strategic plan within budget. Align the Registry’s goals with the organisation’s business strategy.

• Lead the Registry’s day-to-day business and be accountable for its performance. Identify areas for improvement and initiate actions for the optimisation of service levels and architecture.

• Advise and support the CEO and RIPE NCC Executive Board on matters relating to developments in the Registry. Manage different stakeholder expectations, ensuring their input is addressed appropriately.

• Act as member of the Executive Management Team regarding topics affecting the organisation.

• Ensure compliance with existing policies and procedures and relevant EU legislation.

• Ensure definition and delivery of a portfolio of programs, projects and/or ongoing services that support the RIPE NCC strategy and goals.

• Manage financial resources and ensure compliance with corresponding governance, legal and regulatory requirements.

• ​​In collaboration with other RIPE NCC departments, liaise with the other Regional Internet Registries.

• Represent the organisation externally as part of our membership engagement and outreach activities, including presenting Registry updates at external meetings.

• Govern and oversee the innovation of internal processes to support our membership and the broader Internet community.

• Be responsible for people and the performance management of direct and indirect reports and provide coaching where appropriate. Ensure the overall human resource management for the Registry and decide on hiring employees, consultants and contractors.

👀 What we expect from you:

• Ten years’ experience in a leadership role in a complex, multicultural environment.

• At least a Master’s degree in a relevant area.

• Proven industry knowledge and relevant experience.

• The ability to lead in line with our leadership philosophy:

  • Serve the Mission: align all priorities, actions and decisions with the RIPE NCC's mission and vision.

  • Lead with Integrity: embody the organisation's values, ethics policies and procedures, setting an example for others to follow.

  • Foster Collaboration: build an environment of trust, engagement, inclusivity, and collaboration across the organisation.

  • Embrace Diversity: value and respect the diverse perspectives and experiences of all individuals and can adjust their style to the different individuals.

  • Communicate with Clarity: convey information and expectations clearly, consistently, and transparently and adjust communication style to its audience and context.

  • Inspire Growth: encourage continuous learning, improvement, and innovation for oneself and others.

  • Act with Courage: make difficult decisions, address challenges head-on, and stand up for what is right.

  • Balance Interests: in decision-making, consider and balance the needs of the organisation, staff, and stakeholders.

  • Enable Change: champion and navigate change with empathy, resilience, and a forward-looking and outcome-oriented perspective.

  • Adapt and Evolve: continuously assess and adapt one's leadership approach to best serve the organisation's needs.

• You are fluent in English.

📢 What you can expect from us:

• A modern, flexible and informal work environment with an emphasis on a healthy work/life balance

• Flexible work-from-home policy, so you can arrange your weekly office and 'working from home' days in a way that works for you. Working from abroad for a number of days each year is also possible

• An annual salary up to €190.000 (before tax). This includes the standard 8% annual “holiday pay”.

• Excellent secondary benefits: 5% end-of-year allowance, annual budgets for health, transportation and technology purposes, non-contributory pension scheme, paid parental leave, top-tier health insurance coverage for you and your family and 33 vacation days (full-time 37.5 hours)

• A generous training budget each year that can be used for professional development

• An in-house free barista providing healthy varied lunches on Tuesdays and Wednesdays and nice breakfasts on Thursdays, plus regularly-held office drinks.

• Casual team events such as: Team outings, a Christmas party and a summer BBQ.

👥 The Team - Registry Area

Our international team of 41 colleagues is responsible for some of the RIPE NCC’s key services: distribution and management of Internet number resources, implementation of community policies, and providing support and knowledge to our members and the wider Internet community.

We are at the forefront of Internet developments. If you have been following the industry closely, you will know that the remaining IPv4 address pool has been exhausted. This means that you will be part of a transition towards managing the lifecycle of IPv4 space rather than the distribution of new IPv4 addresses, and supporting the IPv6 adoption. You will take a primary role in ensuring that the RIPE Registry remains as strong and accurate as ever.

🛜 About the RIPE NCC

The RIPE NCC is a not-for-profit organisation founded on the belief that the Internet should be governed openly, transparently and together with the wider Internet community. We are one of the oldest Internet organisations in Europe and are proud of our legacy.

Our strength is our staff. We bring together more than 180+ people from over 44 countries in our modern, vibrant office in the east wing of Amsterdam Central Station. Currently, we have a hybrid way of working and allow our staff to work from their homes and the office. Our official working language is English, but our colleagues speak more than 30 languages.

Our backgrounds are diverse, but our goal is the same: we work for the good of the Internet. Will you join us?

📋 How to apply

Hagoort & Partners / IRC Netherlands is supporting the RIPE NCC in the search and selection of candidates for this procedure. Patrick Westerburger is the contact person.

If you are interested in this position you can address your English resume and motivation letter to Pwesterburger@hagoort.com.

A leadership assessment will be part of the recruitment process and a pre-employment screening (done by Validata) will be conducted before the actual start date.