Operations Manager / Asana Systems Operator in Manchester

We are looking for an advanced Asana operator and high-level operations thinker to run the execution infrastructure of a fast-growing professional services business. This is not a generic project coordinator role, and it is not an admin role. We need someone who can take a process, an SOP, or a rough instruction and run with it — turning it into a clean, scalable execution system inside Asana, keeping that system running smoothly, and using AI and automation to make the whole operation move faster.

The defining trait we are hiring for: you take a task with minimal instruction, figure out the path yourself, and either come back with it done or come back with a clear recommendation and the one or two decisions you actually need. If your instinct is to ask “what should I do?” before you’ve tried to solve it, this is not the role.

About The Business: We are a fast-growing marketing agency serving high-touch clients in a performance-driven environment. Our work focuses on improving, protecting, and controlling search visibility by systematically replacing or outperforming negative, misleading, or misaligned search results with high-authority digital assets aligned to the client’s intended narrative. Fulfillment is accountable for measurable search performance outcomes and is built around predictable, scalable execution systems. We currently manage 50+ active clients, and fulfillment is recurring, deadline-driven, and operationally complex.

How this role fits into our operating model:

• Strategic Doctrine — what tactics are used, in what sequence, and how they evolve.
• Execution Standards — the SOPs, proof-of-execution requirements, escalation rules, and operational standards that govern how tactics are executed.
• Execution System — Asana. The workflow engine that governs task assignments, due dates, dependencies, status tracking, and reporting.

You will work closely with the Head of Fulfillment, who owns performance quality, tactical sequencing, client issues, and SOP doctrine. This role owns the execution system and whether fulfillment is running cleanly and predictably.

What this role will do:

• Translate SOPs into live Asana workflows — Take written SOPs and convert them into executable workflows: tasks, subtasks, dependencies, owners, deadlines, proof-of-execution steps, escalation paths.
• Build repeatable structures for recurring fulfillment work across dozens of active clients.
• Keep templates and process logic current as SOPs evolve.
• Keep execution running smoothly inside Asana — Make sure tasks are tracked correctly and completed on time.
• Identify overdue work, blocked items, missed handoffs, and broken dependencies before they become problems.
• Maintain workflow hygiene across all active client programs.
• Build and maintain real automations — Not @-tagging. Real automation: subtask completion fires the next assignee; a “done” status pings the next owner with handoff context; deadlines auto-cascade; the system enforces the handoff.
• Run the weekly operations meeting (Friday) — Own and prep the Friday fulfillment meeting: operational health, team coordination, blockers, missed handoffs, and system-level issues.
• Drive the monthly reporting cycle to completion — Own the monthly reporting cycle as the operational driver.
• Enforce handoff SLAs — Define and enforce clear SLAs at every handoff.
• Use AI and automation to multiply output.
• Surface capacity and bottlenecks proactively.
• Help structure non-fulfillment projects.

First 90 days:

• Weeks 1–2: Learn the system end to end. Document what already exists — templates, Asana Rules, n8n flows, recurring tasks — and complete knowledge transfer from the current system owner.
• Weeks 3–6: Clean up template ownership, embed the SOPs not yet reflected in Asana, and stand up the first real automations to replace manual @-tagging handoffs.
• Weeks 7–12: Native reporting in place for the Friday meeting, handoff SLAs defined and tracked, and your first monthly capacity report delivered.

What we are looking for:

• Takes a task and runs with it — researches, decides, and comes back with options and a recommendation.
• Is truly advanced in Asana — has used it as a real operational system.
• Has experience supporting recurring, high-volume, multi-stakeholder workflows.
• Can take SOPs and turn them into working execution flows.
• Can monitor live execution and keep the system clean and on track.
• Communicates clearly in English (written especially).
• Is excited by systems, AI, automation, and operational excellence.

Working style: independent problem-solving is non-negotiable.

Compensation: Starting at $5,000/month USD, paid via Wise. There is room above that for exceptional, demonstrated systems capability.

Time zone expectations: This role coordinates daily with the team and runs the weekly operations meeting with leadership. US-based candidates are preferred.