Expansion Strategy Operations

We power people's progress.

At Preply, we're all about creating life-changing learning experiences. We help people discover the magic of the perfect tutor, craft a personalized learning journey, and stay motivated to keep growing. Our approach is human-led, tech-enabled - and it's creating real impact. So far, 90,000 tutors have delivered over 20 million lessons to learners in more than 175 countries. Every Preply lesson sparks change, fuels ambition, and drives progress that matters.

Meet the team

This role reports directly to the Senior Director of Expansion and sits at the center of one of Preply's most strategic priorities for 2026: Expansion.

Expansion at Preply spans new verticals, new geographies, and new learner personas. It is inherently cross-functional, requiring tight coordination across Product, Supply, Marketing, Data, and Operations to turn strategy into execution. As Strategy & Operations Lead, you will act as the orchestrator and owner of the expansion agenda, ensuring clarity, focus, progress, and measurable impact.

The role

As Strategy & Operations Lead – Expansion, you will be responsible for driving cross-functional initiatives and performance management for Preply's expansion strategy. You will translate strategic priorities into clear OKRs, oversee execution across teams, track progress, surface insights, and ensure leadership has a clear, data-driven view of what's working, what's not, and where to double down.

This is a highly visible role combining strategy, execution, and operating rigor, with direct exposure to senior leadership.

What you will do

• Own expansion planning & operating cadence

• Lead OKR definition, alignment, and follow-up for expansion initiatives across verticals, geographies, and personas.

• Drive quarterly and annual planning, progress reviews, and executive reporting.

• Drive cross-functional expansion initiatives

• Lead high-impact projects spanning Product, Supply, Marketing, Data, and Operations to unlock growth in new verticals and markets.

• Ensure clear ownership, timelines, dependencies, and outcomes across teams.

• Be the single source of truth for expansion performance

• Build and maintain dashboards and reporting to track expansion health (growth, conversion, supply coverage, retention, unit economics).

• Synthesize insights into clear recommendations for leadership.

• Support strategic decision-making

• Partner with the Senior Director of Expansion & other key stakeholders to assess opportunities, prioritize bets, and shape expansion strategy.

• Conduct data-driven analyses (market sizing, funnel diagnostics, performance deep dives) to inform investment decisions.

• Enable execution at scale

• Identify execution bottlenecks, misalignments, or resourcing gaps and proactively drive resolution.

• Improve ways of working across teams to increase speed, clarity, and accountability.

What we are looking for

• 5+ years of experience in strategy & operations, in-house strategy, top-tier consulting, or a similar role.
• Strong experience leading complex, cross-functional initiatives in fast-moving environments.
• Proven ability to turn strategy into execution, with hands-on ownership of planning, OKRs, and performance tracking.
• Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills, including comfort with data analysis and basic financial modeling.
• Ability to build dashboards using BI tools (e.g., Looker) and run basic SQL queries.
• Outstanding written and verbal communication skills, with experience presenting to senior and executive stakeholders.
• Highly structured thinker who can simplify complex problems and drive pragmatic solutions.
• Strong stakeholder management skills and ability to influence without direct authority.
• Experience in EdTech, marketplaces, or Big Tech is a strong plus.
• Passion for education and curiosity about new learning use cases, markets, and personas.

Why you'll love it at Preply:

• An open, collaborative, dynamic and diverse culture;
• A generous monthly allowance for lessons on , Learning & Development budget and time off for your self-development;
• A competitive financial package with equity, leave allowance and health insurance;
• Not in Barcelona? We offer an attractive relocation package to join us in our Preply Barcelona Hub
• Access to free mental health support platforms;
• Access to Gympass-partnered wellness and gym centers throughout Spain to promote and support well-being and physical health;
• The opportunity to unlock the potential of learners and tutors through language learning and teaching in 175 countries (and counting).

Our Principles

• Care to change the world - We are passionate about our work and care deeply about its impact to be life changing.
• We do it for learners - For both Preply and tutors, learners are why we do what we do. Every day we focus on empowering tutors to deliver an exceptional learning experience.
• Keep perfecting - To create an outstanding customer experience, we focus on simplicity, smoothness, and enjoyment, continually perfecting it as every detail matters.
• Now is the time - In a fast-paced world, it matters how quickly we act. Now is the time to make great things happen.
• Disciplined execution - What makes us disciplined is the excellence in our execution. We set clear goals, focus on what matters, and utilize our resources efficiently.
• Dive deep - We leverage business acumen and curiosity to investigate disparities between numbers and stories, unlocking meaningful insights to guide our decisions.
• Growth mindset - We proactively seek growth opportunities and believe today's best performance becomes tomorrow's starting point. We humbly embrace feedback and learn from setbacks.
• Raise the bar - We raise our performance standards continuously, alongside each new hire and promotion. We build diverse and high-performing teams that can make a real difference.
• Challenge, disagree and commit - We value open and candid communication, even when we don't fully agree. We speak our minds, challenge when necessary, and fully commit to decisions once made.
• One Preply - We prioritize collaboration, inclusion, and the success of our team over personal ambitions. Together, we support and celebrate each other's progress.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

is committed to creating an inclusive environment where people of diverse backgrounds can thrive. We believe that the presence of different opinions and viewpoints is a key ingredient for our success as a multicultural Ed-Tech company. That means that Preply will consider all applications for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, age or veteran status.

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