Head of Operations in Chelmsford

Head of Operations, Digital Construction and Information Management

Chelmsford · Hybrid (3 days in the office) · £70,000 + 20% discretionary bonus · Permanent

This is a fantastic opportunity for an experienced delivery leader to take on a brand-new Head of Operations role at a fast-growing technology company in the digital architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) space. Our client brings together some of the industry's most talented consultants, project managers, developers and thought leaders, and they are shaping the future of the digital built environment.

You'll lead the day-to-day running of the Delivery team, the largest team in the business. You'll report to the Operations Director, who also leads Product and Development. Taking business-as-usual delivery off their plate is a key part of the role. You'll have real influence over how the business grows, how its people progress and how projects reach clients.

The team

The Delivery team brings together Senior Project Managers, Project Managers, Senior Information Controllers, Information Controllers and Digital Delivery Managers. Across the built environment, they deliver:

• handover information
• O&M manuals
• Health and Safety Files
• deployments of the company's own common data environment (CDE) platform

What you'll be doing:

Leading delivery and performance

• Own the delivery portfolio across all live projects, with clear visibility of status, risk, resourcing and financial performance
• Run weekly portfolio reviews with Senior PMs and PMs, covering prioritisation and escalation
• Set and report delivery KPIs to the Operations Director and senior leadership. These include on-time handover, first-time acceptance, utilisation, margin and client satisfaction
• Make sure projects follow ISO 19650 principles, EIR/AIR and the MIDP/TIDP
• Step in to recover at-risk projects, and control scope creep so that variations are captured, agreed and charged

Resourcing and planning

• Own capacity planning across the team and anticipate peaks from the sales pipeline
• Review new work at quote stage for deliverability and margin, and make sure handover from sale to delivery goes smoothly
• Build the business case for new hires and lead recruitment and onboarding for delivery roles

Leading people

• Line manage the Senior Project Managers and senior team leads, and lead the wider team through them
• Own performance management, including objectives, probation and development reviews
• Build clear career paths, such as Information Controller to Senior Information Controller to Project Manager, with training plans to support them
• Create a positive, accountable culture across a hybrid team, with real attention to wellbeing and retention

Commercial

• Be accountable for delivery's financial performance: budgets, forecasting, margin and invoicing milestones, working closely with Finance
• Find and deliver efficiency improvements that protect and grow margin

Process and innovation

• Own and continually improve delivery processes, templates, quality checks and standards
• Feed delivery insight into the product roadmap, and lead the responsible adoption of AI, automation and new tools
• Make sure the team complies with policies on quality, information security, GDPR, and health and safety

Clients and stakeholders

• Act as the senior delivery contact for key clients and support account growth
• Represent Delivery at leadership level alongside Sales, Product, Development, Finance and Asset Intelligence

What you'll bring:

• Experience leading a multi-disciplinary delivery, operations or project team, including managing managers
• A strong background in construction or the built environment, ideally in information management, handover, O&M, BIM or digital construction
• A track record of delivering a portfolio of concurrent projects on time, to quality and on budget
• Commercial acumen, including budgets, forecasting and margin management
• Experience designing and embedding processes, KPIs and management reporting
• Strong people leadership, including coaching, performance management and recruitment
• Confidence and credibility with senior clients, plus excellent written and verbal communication
• Working knowledge of ISO 19650 and information requirements (EIR, AIR, MIDP/TIDP)
• Strong systems skills, and comfort with CDEs and reporting tools such as Excel and Power BI
• Experience in a SaaS or technology-enabled services business, working alongside Product and Development teams
• Experience scaling a team through a period of growth
• Knowledge of COBie, the Golden Thread, the Building Safety Act or ISO 55001
• Experience delivering for public sector or defence clients
• A forward-thinking approach to AI-enabled tools and emerging technology
• A relevant degree or professional membership (CIOB, APM, RICS or CIBSE)

What success looks like in your first 12 months

• A single, trusted view of delivery performance, with agreed KPIs reported monthly
• Forward resource planning that looks at least three months ahead
• The Operations Director freed from day-to-day delivery management
• A defined career framework, with a development plan for every team member
• Measurable improvement in on-time delivery and project margin

The package

• Salary: £70,000 plus eligibility for a 20% discretionary company bonus
• Hours: Full time, 37.5 hours per week, Monday to Friday
• Location: Hybrid, with 3 days a week in the Chelmsford office
• Start date: Ideally 27 January 2027

Security clearance: Some clients or projects may need Security Clearance (SC). To be eligible, you must have lived in the UK for at least 3 years. If clearance is needed, our client will support you through the vetting process.

Our client celebrates diversity and is committed to an inclusive workplace. They welcome applications from all backgrounds. If you need any reasonable adjustments during the process, just let us know.