I work as an operations manager for a startup with about 60 staff. I started out reporting to the COO. My role involves improving the day to day operations and general business processes of our business as well as to support other senior leadership members with their projects.
I've been at my role 12 months in which 50% of my role has been events/office manager/it operations work because we lacked the staff. I didn't know this before taking the role. This was annoying at times but it was okay exposure and I thought I was proving myself in the business, so I copped it.
My leader, the COO and only other person in operations, left to go on maternity leave on Christmas day 2022. I spoke to the COO about some projects I wanted to work on before she left, for which she was happy I undertake.
I then went on leave until early Jan. During this time our company secured funding and the CEO/chairman started restructuring and looking at each person's role in detail.
The head of HR, whom I am close with, knows of the ops projects I wanted to work on and initially had a plan for me to report to a different senior leader (not c suite).
This has now been thrown out the window.
I come back from leave and HR tries probing me, asking me what I'm interested in career wise. I tell them not BA work. In the same conversation I get told that they low key want me to work as a BA on a certain project as it fits my previous experience and it will 'be a good experience'.
I am not happy about it and mention I prefer running product projects or other ops projects. I ask to speak to the senior leader in this area to learn more.
I then have the conversation with the head of engineering, for which they're trying to sell the role to me. I explain how I joined the company to work in ops with COO and it's my career path. I negotiated that I do a few days BA couple days ops. They seemed receptive but who knows if it'll eventuate.
I then later ask HR if they were thinking of making me redundant, hence the change in role.
I'm not being made redundant but my role more or less is because this BA project is more urgent and there is no operations leader for me to work with, so I sit in this grey area.
HR knew I was not happy and said 'you don't seem too excited by this opportunity. You don't have to take it'. I remained positive.
The thing is, if I don't take this BA role, I'll probably end up being made redundant as they have no real need for me without the COO and they don't think what I plan on working on is that important.
Safe to say, I've already started looking for new roles.
Tldr: came to this company specifically to work with the COO. I end up doing shit work for 50% of my time here and as soon as COO goes on maternity leaves I get demoted into another role I never applied for.