02 — Org Design by Stage

Org design follows the scale thesis (§01). We hire to relieve the binding constraint, not to fill an org chart template.

Functions (constant across stages)

• Delivery — runs cohorts, owns quality, owns hybrid dashboard
• Coaching — owns the bench: recruitment, accreditation, supervision, CPD
• Evidence & Impact — owns the Evidence Room, SROI, public reports
• Commercial — pipeline, proposals, renewals, partnerships
• Operations — finance, people, legal, IT, DPO function
• Safeguarding — DSL function; reports independently to the board on case data

S1 — Founder-led (~10 FTE)

CEO (also commercial lead)
COO (also delivery + ops)
 ├── Head of Coaching (player-coach; carries 1–2 cohorts)
 ├── Evidence Lead (0.5 FTE, can be fractional)
 ├── 3–4 Senior Coaches (employed or long-term associate)
 └── Ops Manager (finance ops + people ops + IT)
DSL (fractional, ring-fenced)

Hiring order at S1 → S2: dedicated Commercial Lead → Head of Delivery → second Evidence FTE → People Lead.

S2 — Repeatable (~25 FTE)

CEO
COO
 ├── Head of Delivery (cohort ops, hybrid dashboard, cadence)
 │    └── 2 Delivery Leads + 1 Ops coordinator
 ├── Head of Coaching
 │    ├── Bench Manager (recruitment + accreditation)
 │    ├── Supervision Lead
 │    └── 8–12 coaches (mix of employed + accredited associates)
 ├── Evidence Lead (1.0)
 │    └── Data Analyst (1.0)
 ├── Commercial Lead
 │    └── 2 AEs + 1 SDR
 ├── Ops Lead (Finance, People, IT split into sub-functions next stage)
 └── DSL (1.0)

Hiring order at S2 → S3: Regional Delivery Lead (first city outside HQ) → Partnerships Lead → CFO (or strong Finance Lead) → second DSL.

S3 — Regionalised (~60 FTE)

CEO
 ├── COO
 │    ├── Head of Delivery (UK)
 │    │    ├── Regional Delivery Leads × 2–3
 │    │    └── Delivery Ops team (4–6)
 │    ├── Head of Coaching
 │    │    ├── Bench Manager
 │    │    ├── Supervision Lead
 │    │    └── 25–35 coaches
 │    └── Ops (Finance, People, IT now distinct sub-teams)
 ├── Chief Impact Officer
 │    ├── Evidence Lead + 2 analysts
 │    └── Research partnerships
 ├── CRO (Commercial)
 │    ├── Enterprise AEs × 3
 │    ├── Partnerships Lead
 │    └── Marketing Lead (1 + 1)
 ├── Country Lead (first international market) — small team, mirrors S1 structure locally
 └── DSL function (2 FTE, independent reporting line to board)

S4 — Multi-region (~120 FTE)

Move from "Country Lead" model to regional P&Ls: UK, North America, EU (illustrative). Each region has its own Head of Delivery and Head of Coaching reporting both to the regional MD and the global Heads via a dotted line — the dotted line owns standards, the solid line owns delivery.

Global functions (Evidence, DSL, Brand, Legal/DPO, Finance) stay centralised. Coaching standards (competency framework, accreditation rubric) stay centralised; coaching operations localise.

Hiring principles

1. Hire the role one stage early when it is the binding constraint, never two. If bench supply is the constraint, hire the Bench Manager before the org "needs" one on paper.
2. Player-coach roles only at S1. From S2, the Head of X is a leadership role, not a top-coach role.
3. No hire without a hiring scorecard. Scorecard is signed off by the A on the decision (see Sprint 9 §02 RACI).
4. First international hire is always a Country Lead, never an SDR. The market needs judgement before pipeline.
5. DSL function scales sub-linearly with headcount but super-linearly with cohort count. Plan around cohorts, not FTE.

Span of control guardrails

• Coaches per Supervision Lead: ≤ 12
• Cohorts per Delivery Lead: ≤ 8 concurrent
• Direct reports per people manager: 4–8 (outliers reviewed at QSR)