Operations Manager

Full time (37.5 hours) Cheltenham based - Hybrid (3 days a week in office) £65,000 circa, open to discussion 10% Bonus, 10% Pension (5% company + 5% individual), Medical Insurance, Death In service, £3k Annual Training budget.

About Us: Specialist IT Management Consultancy supporting transformation across the UK Public Sector.

The Role: The Operations Manager is responsible for ensuring the smooth, efficient and effective day-to-day running of the business. Working closely with the Exec Team (2 Partners and Director). The Operations Manager oversees internal operations, improves business processes, supports commercial performance, and ensures the company has the systems, people and governance required to deliver exceptional service to clients. This is a broad, hands-on role suited to someone who enjoys working across multiple business functions in a growing SME. With a team of 5 people (including HR, Finance, IT, Recruiting, Office Management) the successful candidate will be equally comfortable managing operational detail, implementing improvements, and contributing to strategic planning.

Primary Roles and Responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

• Business Operations: Oversee the day-to-day operational management of the consultancy. Develop, implement and continually improve operational processes and procedures. Monitor operational performance using agreed KPIs and management reporting. Identify opportunities to improve efficiency, productivity and profitability. Support business planning and organisational growth initiatives. Ensure operational risks are identified and appropriately managed.
• Management of Recruitment & Resource Planning: Work with and manage Resourcing Lead to optimise consultant utilisation. Maintain resource planning processes and forecasting. Support recruitment planning based on business demand. Oversee and be accountable for all Recruitment activities. Monitor project capacity and workload balancing.
• Financial Operations: Work with and manage the company Finance Manager to support financial planning and internal billing rates. Monitor operational expenditure against budget. Oversee client invoicing processes alongside Finance. Track utilisation, revenue forecasting and operational metrics. Monitor contact finance packs and P&L across the business.
• People Operations: Work with and manage HR Administrator to oversee and manage HR administration and operational people processes. Support recruitment, onboarding and employee lifecycle activities. Help foster a positive, collaborative and high-performing culture. Ensure company policies and benefits remain current and are consistently applied.
• Governance, Compliance & Quality: Ensure compliance with employment legislation and company policies. With HR help maintain operational documentation, policies and procedures. Support compliance with our standards; ISO 9001, ISO 27001 and Cyber Essentials Plus. Coordinate audits and certification activities. Oversee health & safety and business continuity arrangements.
• Systems & Internal Services: Manage business systems and operational tooling, such as Xero, Amy and HR tool. Identify opportunities for automation and process improvement. Work with IT and external suppliers to ensure effective internal systems. Manage relationships with operational vendors and service providers.
• Leadership: Lead and develop operational support functions. Build effective relationships across all teams. Provide operational advice to the leadership team. Champion continuous improvement throughout the organisation. Promote accountability, collaboration and excellent customer service.

Essential: British national, Microsoft Office experience (including SharePoint), entrepreneurial spirit, strong communication and engagement skills.

Beneficial: Presentation experience, information management experience, HR knowledge, data/GDPR knowledge, project management experience or qualification (provided by employer if not).