Head of Operations - high end furniture in Mitcham

Head of Operations Build the operational backbone of a fast-scaling, profitable furniture rental company 📍 South London (Mitcham base), with regular travel to sites across London and the South-East 💼 Full-time, permanent 💰 £65,000-£80,000 (DOE) + meaningful share options | Leads a team of 6, scaling to 12-15 in the next 12 months The Company Our client is a design-led furniture rental business - think "Furniture as a Service." Rather than working from a catalogue, every project is styled by an in-house design team and stock is sourced to order, keeping the model lean and margins strong. Customers span private renters and relocators, estate agents staging properties, housebuilders and build-to-rent operators fitting out showhomes, and developers buying complete furniture packages outright. The business is growing fast and staying profitable - double-digit EBITDA margins, revenue up significantly year-on-year, and a full-year target that roughly doubles the prior year's numbers. A bigger warehouse is coming online, a stock-tracking platform is already live, new AI tools for design and quoting are in development, and a funding round is planned for later this year. Why This Role Exists Right now, the operation runs on people's individual effort - deliveries go out, installs happen, customers are happy - but too much of it relies on someone remembering, chasing, or firefighting. That doesn't scale. This role exists to turn that into a proper system: a well-led team, a documented standard, and a P&L that's actively managed rather than just tracked. Operational strategy, supplier negotiation and expansion planning stay with the COO - but day-to-day ownership of the team, the standard and the numbers is yours. Expect to be hands-on. This isn't a desk job - you'll be in the warehouse and out on site regularly, while also holding a genuine leadership seat with budget and headcount to grow. What You'll Be Responsible For Leading the team Manage and grow the operations team from 6 to 12-15 people across warehouse, driving, logistics and supervisory roles. Own hiring end-to-end. Set and review objectives, deal with underperformance directly, and build a supervisory layer so the operation doesn't grind to a halt when you're not there. Run a consistent weekly rhythm - team check-in, forward look, shared KPIs. Running delivery & installation Full ownership of the delivery, install and collection schedule, including routing and crew planning. You'll be accountable for on-time-in-full rates and cost per delivery. Manage external partners and install crews on larger developer/BTR projects to keep them at company standard. Surface problems to leadership before customers do. Owning the warehouse Oversee goods-in, storage, picking, QC, dispatch, returns and refurbishment day to day. Lead the transition into the new facility without disrupting live orders. Keep the stock-tracking system accurate and use it to push up asset utilisation. Turn tribal knowledge into written process. Setting the quality bar Make sure item condition is tracked and prioritised properly. Define what "good" looks like in writing and audit against it. When something goes wrong, find the root cause, fix the process, and confirm it stays fixed. Health & safety Act as the senior responsible person for H&S across sites and vehicles. Keep risk assessments, method statements and training records audit-ready. Keep the fleet compliant - maintenance, licensing, insurance, driver checks. Owning the numbers Full ownership of the operations P&L - warehouse, fleet, logistics, agency labour, overhead. Build and manage the budget. Track and improve cost per delivery, cost per install, and labour cost as a % of revenue. Forecast labour and capacity needs ahead of demand. Bring costed proposals to cut waste, not just observations. Deliver a clean monthly KPI pack on schedule, and flag risks early rather than late. What Success Looks Like By month 1: You understand the people, the operation and the numbers - and you've given an honest read on where it's weak. By month 3: Everyone has clear, documented objectives. Core processes are written down. The weekly rhythm is embedded. By month 6: On-time-in-full performance has visibly improved, the new warehouse is live and stable, at least one supervisor is stepping up under you, the KPI pack runs itself, and you've delivered at least one costed improvement to a cost line.What You'll Bring Must have: 7+ years in operations, with 3+ years directly managing a team of 6 or more A track record of hiring, developing and managing hourly-paid or field-based staff A process you built that outlived your time in the role - you should be able to talk through it in depth Hands-on experience with warehousing and multi-drop delivery, including scheduling and routing Real health & safety ownership in a warehouse, logistics or install setting Genuine P&L ownership - not just sign-off authority - with a clear example of a cost line you improved Experience building a supervisory layer so operations ran without you being present Comfort working through systems and data rather than spreadsheets and memory Full UK driving licenceNice to have: Background in furniture, interiors, fit-out, removals, home staging or premium delivery Experience managing subcontractors or partner crews on multi-unit residential schemes Experience in rental, leasing or another asset-based business model IOSH or NEBOSH qualification Experience scaling a team through a period of rapid growthHow you operate: You flag issues early, and you show up with a proposed fix You hold the line on standards, even when it's awkward - including with your own people You stay level-headed under pressure and precise when it counts You care about presentation as well as delivery - customers here are paying for design, not just furnitureWorth Knowing Before You Apply This is a field role, not a desk role - expect regular time in the warehouse and on site There's no existing playbook. A lot of what you'll be running doesn't exist yet - building it is the job The scope will grow with the business, potentially into multi-site and international operations, but that's earned through delivery, not promised upfrontWhat's On Offer £65,000-£80,000 depending on experience, plus meaningful share options ahead of an upcoming funding round A business that's growing and profitable - not burning cash to get there Real budget ownership, a team to build, and direct access to the founders A design-first culture where quality is treated as core to the product A new warehouse, new tooling and a funding round all landing within your first year Visa sponsorship available for the right person