Director of Operations – North in Manchester

A new opportunity has arisen for a senior operational professional within Invoice Finance to join the expanding team of an established yet growing Receivables Finance business in Greater Manchester.

JOB PURPOSE

Reporting to The Managing Director, The Director of Operations (North) is a key member of the Senior Leadership Team (SLT), responsible for leading, shaping and delivering the operational strategy of the business. This role has overall accountability for operational excellence across the company, ensuring high-quality service delivery, robust risk management, and scalable processes that support growth. They will build and lead a high-performing team, creating a culture of accountability, development, and continuous improvement. The Operations Director will play a critical role in driving business performance, shaping strategic direction, and delivering sustainable growth.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Operational Leadership & Excellence
  • Own and lead the end-to-end operations function, ensuring efficiency, accuracy, and scalability.
  • Ensure all operational processes (including transaction processing) are robust, efficient, and consistently delivered to a high standard.
  • Drive continuous improvement across systems, processes, and ways of working.
  • Ensure operational infrastructure supports business growth and evolving client needs.
  • Oversee delivery against operational KPIs, ensuring performance is tracked, reported, and improved.
  • Own the operational risk framework, ensuring appropriate controls, governance, and compliance.
  • Ensure all debt purchased is underpinned by strong verification and risk processes.
  • Balance service excellence with disciplined risk management across the business.
  • Use data, insight, and tools to proactively identify and mitigate risks.
  • Work closely with the SLT to continuously evolve risk strategy in line with business growth.
• Client Experience & Service Delivery
  • Own the overall client experience strategy and delivery across the business.
  • Ensure high standards of service are embedded and consistently delivered.
  • Drive client retention through operational excellence and strong service culture.
  • Oversee the effective handling of escalations and complaints at a senior level.
  • Partner with Relationship Management teams to ensure alignment between service, risk, and commercial outcomes.
• People Leadership & High-Performance Culture
  • Lead, inspire, and develop a high-performing operations team, directly managing the Relationship Managers.
  • Build strong leadership capability within Team Leaders and Managers.
  • Create a culture aligned with company values: accountability, growth, collaboration, and high performance.
  • Take full ownership of recruitment, succession planning, and talent development.
  • Drive performance through clear KPIs, regular feedback, and structured development.
  • Effectively manage underperformance and champion continuous improvement.
• Strategy & Business Growth
  • Play a key role within the SLT in shaping the company’s strategic direction.
  • Translate business strategy into clear operational plans and deliverables.
  • Lead the execution of strategic initiatives across operations.
  • Identify opportunities for growth, efficiency, and competitive advantage.
  • Ensure operations is a key enabler of scaling the business.
  • Contribute to board-level discussions, using data and insight to influence decisions.
  • Drive innovation, change, and transformation across the business.
• Performance & Commercial Awareness
  • Own and drive operational KPIs aligned to company objectives.
  • Ensure strong commercial awareness across the operations function.
  • Use data to inform decisions, improve performance, and forecast future needs.
  • Hold leaders accountable for delivering results.
  • Contribute to overall business performance and profitability.
• Leadership & Culture
  • Be a visible and influential leader across the business.
  • Foster a positive, high-energy, and high-performance culture.
  • Lead by example in behaviours, standards, and work ethic.
  • Actively contribute to building an ambitious, growth-focused organisation.
• Other
  • Oversee and evolve operational policies, procedures, and controls.
  • Ensure effective cross-functional collaboration.
  • Lead operational input into projects and business initiatives.
  • Undertake additional responsibilities aligned with the seniority of the role.

LEADERSHIP & BEHAVIOURAL REQUIREMENTS

This role requires a senior leader who embodies and exceeds the company’s leadership framework expectations.

• Lead by Example
  • Sets the standard for the entire business in work ethic, attitude, and values.
  • Inspires and motivates not just their team, but the wider organisation.
  • Demonstrates resilience, energy, and positivity at all times.
• Driving Performance
  • Builds and leads high-performing teams that consistently exceed expectations.
  • Highly decisive, commercially minded, and outcome-focused.
  • Proactively identifies opportunities and solves problems before they arise.
  • Drives change, innovation, and continuous improvement across the business.
  • Exceptional communicator across all levels of the business.
  • Builds strong, trusted relationships internally and externally.
  • Creates clarity, alignment, and engagement through communication.
  • Actively listens and adapts style to influence effectively.
• Growth Mindset & Strategic Thinking
  • Big-picture thinker with strong strategic capability.
  • Ambitious, forward-thinking, and excited by growth opportunities.
  • Drives and shapes strategy, not just contributes.
  • Continuously develops themselves and others.
  • Embraces and leads change in a fast-paced environment.