Head of Operations | Culture and Music Scale-Up | London/Hybrid in Slough

Our client is an independently founded agency operating at the intersection of culture, music, and brand activation. They work with some of the world’s most recognised names across entertainment, sport, and consumer goods, producing campaigns that go beyond traditional advertising and centre around building genuine cultural moments that speak to audiences.

The business has grown rapidly on the back of strong creative output, passion, platform knowledge, and an instinct for where culture is heading. Having established a strong reputation for delivery, the focus is now on building the infrastructure to match the founders’ ambition. They are looking for someone to support with formalising operations, developing owned products and IP, and scaling without losing the edge that got them here.

This is a hands-on, founder-adjacent role at the centre of that shift. It’s ideal for someone who thrives building inside live, fast-moving businesses rather than polished corporate environments.

The Role

As Head of Operations, you will sit at the core connection point between core-business, production, and client teams to align priorities, drive accountability, and ensure quality travels at scale. You will own the day-to-day running of the business: from overseeing project delivery and margin control to team management, freelance networks, and operational infrastructure.

This is a role for someone who thrives in the detail without losing sight of the bigger picture, and who can make things work today while building the systems that will support tomorrow. Working closely with the founders, you will take ownership of BAU so they can focus on growth and new business, acting as the primary operational decision-maker and a trusted partner in making new initiatives deliverable at scale.

There is a clear and defined path to COO as the business grows, based on scope, impact, and commercial performance.

Responsibilities

• Own the operational execution of campaigns, ensuring delivery is on time, on budget, and to a high standard.
• Act as the core link between creative, production, and client teams — aligning priorities and driving accountability across projects.
• Lead campaign costing, protect margins on client work, and analyse project profitability to identify inefficiencies.
• Streamline workflows and reduce bottlenecks to enable the business to scale without compromising creative quality.
• Lead adoption of new tools, technology, and processes to improve operational efficiency across the team.
• Manage and develop the core team day-to-day, currently 6+ people plus a wider freelance network.
• Lead hiring across junior and mid-level roles as the team grows.
• Take ownership of BAU operations so founders can focus on growth, new business, and product development.
• Act as the primary operational decision-maker for the team, escalating to founders where needed.
• Work closely with founders to make new initiatives and products operationally deliverable at scale.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with freelancers, suppliers, and external partners to ensure a reliable and high-quality production network.
• Identify and implement scalable systems and processes that support the business as it grows across new clients, formats, and markets.
• Ad hoc tasks to support the wider business.

What We Need to See (Essential)

• Operational leadership experience in a growing, founder-led business with a track record of building systems and processes that enable scale.
• Experience working with founders, acting independently and making confident decisions.
• Strong financial literacy across project costing, margin control, and profitability, alongside experience managing small teams.

Package:

• Salary: £60,000-£70,000 + bonus.
• Working Pattern: Hybrid (4 days per week in office, 1 work from home).
• Progression: Clear track to COO depending on performance.

If this is of interest, please get in touch with your CV. Due to the high volume of applications we receive, if you have not heard back from us, please assume your application has unfortunately been unsuccessful on this occasion.

At Harmonic, we are dedicated to fostering an inclusive and equitable workplace. We actively welcome applications from individuals of all backgrounds and assure you that every candidate will be thoughtfully considered for the roles we represent, without regard to race, religion, gender expression, disability, or sexual orientation.