Junior Operations Manager (First Ops Hire)

Location: London, UK. On the road with our pups (in-person, mobile role).

About Lola’s Pet Salon

We love dogs and dog people. But dogs more! We’re on a mission to build the world’s finest wellness service for dogs, bringing joy to pups, their humans, and groomers alike. We are dog and customer-obsessed, and care deeply about the details. We pour our heart and energy into delivering a delightful, fabulous, and convenient experience for every dog and owner. We do this by providing premium, one-on-one mobile dog grooming, right at our customers’ doorsteps. We’re powered by operational excellence, rolling up in colourful, brand-new vans designed for the comfort of both pups and groomers. We believe grooming is an art, and we want to offer every groomer an exciting, long-term career where they can do their best work, be themselves, and have fun. We launched five months ago in North West London and currently operate three vans, with more on the way. Our ambitions are big: we want to reach every dog and dog owner in the UK, and beyond. Pet services remain a fragmented, low-quality industry. Pups, their humans, and groomers deserve better, and we’re here to raise the bar.

About the Role

As Junior Operations Manager, you’ll have end-to-end ownership of Lola’s day-to-day operations while helping design the systems that allow us to scale while keeping our magic. This is a hands‑on, sleeves‑rolled‑up role. You’ll design and execute playbooks, speak to customers, support groomers in the field, drive vans, and yes, occasionally jump into a bathtub with a dog if needed. Often, more than one of these at the same time. If you enjoy bringing order to joyful chaos, this role is for you.

Day‑to‑Day Operations

• Coordinate and optimise daily grooming appointments, routes, and van schedules.
• Be the main point of contact for groomers in the field, resolving issues quickly and calmly.
• Make real‑time decisions to keep the day running smoothly when plans change.
• Anticipate and prevent issues before they escalate (weather, traffic, dogs having a day).

Customer Experience

• Own booking‑related customer communication end‑to‑end.
• Handle reschedules, questions, complaints, and edge cases with warmth and clarity.
• Represent Lola’s tone at all times: joyful, caring, and professional.

Groomer Experience

• Support hiring, onboarding, and ramp‑up of new groomers.
• Help create a world‑class groomer experience (training, schedules, tools, feedback loops).
• Be a cultural carrier of Lola’s standards, values, and ways of working.

Fleet, Suppliers & Readiness

• Support ordering, onboarding, and operational setup of new vans.
• Coordinate suppliers (equipment, products, maintenance).
• Ensure vans are stocked, clean, compliant, and always client‑ready.

Processes, Playbooks & Tools

• Design, document, and continuously improve operational processes.
• Build simple, practical playbooks for groomers, vans, and customer flows.
• Identify bottlenecks and propose smarter ways of working.

Expansion & Growth

• Support geographic expansion by analysing new neighbourhoods and routes.
• Assess demand, pricing, competition, and operational feasibility in new areas.
• Support the operational rollout of new vans in existing and new markets.

Quality, Safety & Learning

• Help maintain consistently high grooming and customer experience standards.
• Support handling of incidents or complaints with care, speed, and professionalism.
• Capture learnings and feed them back into playbooks, training, and processes.

Insights & Feedback Loops

• Track and learn from core operational metrics (utilisation, cancellations, repeat bookings).
• Gather feedback from groomers and customers to continuously improve operations.

About You

• You love dogs, and dog people.
• You want to build something beautiful, operationally excellent, and genuinely loved.
• You have a founder mindset: you enjoy building from scratch and taking real ownership.
• You’re high‑slope, fast‑learning, and naturally accountable — you don’t wait to be told what to do.
• You thrive in early‑stage environments where things aren’t fully defined yet, and no task is beneath you.
• You stay calm under pressure and enjoy solving real‑world problems as they arise.
• You’re comfortable operating in chaos — and take pride in turning messy reality into simple, scalable systems.
• You’re deeply obsessed with quality and customer experience, and you never lower the bar.
• You have a sharp eye for detail and care about doing things properly, even when no one is watching.

Requirements

• 2–3 years of relevant experience in an operational, customer‑facing role, ideally within a startup or fast‑moving environment (e.g. operations, hospitality, logistics, service business).
• Demonstrated ability to manage operational complexity (scheduling, coordination, fast‑moving environments).
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, especially with customers.
• Solid problem‑solving and analytical skills applied to real‑world situations.
• Comfortable juggling multiple priorities and making decisions in real time.
• Patient, calm, and effective when working with people under pressure.
• Full UK driving licence (non‑negotiable).
• Based in London and happy to work in‑person / on the ground.

Nice to Have (but not required)

• Experience working with scheduling, booking, or CRM tools.
• Exposure to fleet‑based, mobile, or multi‑location operations.
• Bonus points if you’re AI‑native and enjoy building lightweight tools or automations.

What We Offer

• A chance to be the first full‑time hire of a fast-growing company and grow alongside it, working directly with the founder.
• Meaningful ownership and the freedom to build: your work will shape how Lola’s operates for years to come.
• Being part of a company built on love for animals, customer obsession, and operational excellence.
• Competitive compensation, aligned with responsibility and impact.
• Working with dogs every day.

We optimise for energy, attitude, and judgment over perfect credentials. If you think you belong at Lola’s and are curious and excited about the role, we’d love to hear from you.