Head of Operations, Quality & People in Newport

Build the operations quality, people and special project management backbone of a fast-growing, ISO-certified learning business serving UK financial services.

Our client is an established and fast-growing Bristol-based corporate learning company serving the UK insurance and financial advice sectors. They deliver e-learning, live online and in-person training, covering technical skills, compliance knowledge, soft skills, business skills and leadership development. All done through their own innovative online learning platform, to hundreds of large corporate clients. Their mission is to provide best-in-class learning solutions for ambitious organisations. Over the next 18 months, our client is launching a new learning platform and achieving ISO 27001 certification, implementing a broad range of quality-assurance procedures along the way. Today their focus is financial services and insurance, with plans to expand into wider regulated professional services and beyond.

The Role: Our client is looking for a Head of Operations, Quality & People to join their growing team. This is a newly created, solo horizontal role (no direct reports to start) reporting directly to the Group Managing Director. Think of yourself as the central nervous system of the company, or the “scaffolding” holding it all together, supporting the Managing Director. Your role will combine operational and quality oversight (across all functions), people operations and hands-on project management — leading initiatives such as platform migrations, client contract novations and supplier transitions. This is a rare opportunity to take true ownership of the operational, quality and people backbone of a scaling business — with potential to join the senior leadership team in the short to medium term and for equity long-term, as you grow with the company.

Salary: £70,000–£80,000 (potential for a little more for an exceptional candidate) plus bonus and benefits

Location: Bristol (with occasional travel across the UK to meet with colleagues, clients and suppliers)

Reporting to: Group Managing Director

Key Responsibilities

• Quality: Owning quality across the business — from live SOPs and policies (HR, data, H&S, information security, client service) to document and file management standards. Responsible for ensuring adherence to processes through audits, spot checks and meeting governance, maintaining the risk register and business continuity plan, and acting as internal owner of ISO 9001 and ISO 27001 certification, including audit and inspection readiness.
• Compliance: Working alongside external advisors to oversee GDPR, ICO and data protection compliance, as well as health & safety. A key point of contact for regulatory matters as the business scales toward broader regulated-sector coverage.
• Operations: Running the operational engine of the business — keeping CRM, supplier and contract data clean and current, chairing and documenting cross-functional meetings, and leading on supplier sourcing, onboarding and due diligence. Also responsible for resource capacity planning, the relationship with the external MSP, ensuring tools and systems reflect SOPs, office management across Bristol and Linlithgow, and leading special projects (e.g. CRM migration, contract novation, HR reorganisation).
• Finance: Light-touch financial oversight including supplier payments, invoice reconciliation in Xero, expense approvals and credit control. Acting as the main liaison with the company's external accountants.
• People: Owning the core people processes of the business — recruitment coordination, onboarding/offboarding, appraisals and performance management, plus maintaining the org chart, skills matrix, job descriptions and employee handbook. Also responsible for benefits and payroll administration, internal comms, and team culture, training and development initiatives.

What Our Client Is Looking For:

• Meaningful experience introducing and standardising processes cross-functionally
• A passion for enabling high-quality, resilient operations
• Excellent documentation, organisation and standardisation skills
• Data hygiene and intermediate data analysis skills (Excel)
• Strong attention to detail and an eye for quality in products, people and processes
• Generalist knowledge of HR, compliance and SOPs, with the ability to learn quickly
• Proficiency in Microsoft 365 (Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Outlook, SharePoint)
• High agency, good judgement and a strong sense of urgency
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Strong prioritisation skills and a personable, professional manner

Backgrounds our client would consider: Operations Manager, Operations Executive, Business Operations Manager, Head of Operations, Quality Manager, Quality & Compliance Manager, Chief of Staff.