Operations Manager (Fixed-Term Maternity Cover) in London

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Overview

• Contract: Fixed-term maternity cover.
• Term: Until the return of the post-holder from maternity leave (anticipated around August 2026). There is potential to extend or transition to a permanent role, subject to business needs.

Are you looking for a project role where you can genuinely influence suppliers, systems, and commercial outcomes? Do you like bringing structure and pace to procurement and operational processes? Can you confidently lead teams and suppliers?

The Company

This is a unique opportunity to join a rapidly growing physical gold and silver brokerage that has been up and running for 10 years with total revenues more than £100 million. Frequently featured in editorials such as the FT, Reuters, WSJ, Daily Mail, Metro and CNBC. Our strong brand profile has quickly enhanced our credibility resulting in impressive conversion ratios from enquiries to sales.

A non-corporate environment with a focus on the bigger picture and the bottom line. Our company thrives on a culture where the Pursuit of Brilliance, Passionate Curiosity, Thoughtful Respect, Virtuous Choices, and Positive Energy are the foundational values guiding our actions and interactions. We believe great people make a great company and so we are dedicated to fostering an environment where ambition flourishes, ideas are valued, and work-life balance is paramount.

We strive to inspire an ambitious approach to career progression where anything is possible, ideas are listened to, and flexible working and employee wellbeing is prioritised. We invest in our people by providing coaching and mentoring whilst supporting and encouraging paths towards other career aspirations within the business, whether that be management or contributing to other departments; the choice is yours. We nurture the resilient and driven into well-rounded and well-rewarded individuals who become part of our dynamic, loyal team.

Join our supportive & professional team, who take pride in both their work and each other.

The Role

We are looking to hire a senior, hands-on Operations Manager with proven procurement experience, to strengthen our operations team working in a globally regulated environment during a period of maternity leave cover. This is a delivery-focused role: you will own day-to-day operations activity, tighten supplier and contract controls, and support operational planning, reporting, and process improvement across the business. You will bring structure, pace, and commercial rigor - ensuring suppliers, spend, and operational processes are controlled, efficient, and audit-ready.

Role responsibilities

• Own end-to-end procurement across multiple workstreams (sourcing through to onboarding and delivery).
• Lead on supplier tendering, cost analysis, commercial comparisons, contract negotiation, and supplier performance reviews.
• Provide day-to-day oversight of operational workflows that support client orders and fulfilment, ensuring clear handovers, accurate tracking, and timely issue resolution.
• Coordinate with internal teams and external partners to support logistics and delivery planning, monitoring lead times and service levels and escalating risks early.
• Own supplier governance end-to-end (due diligence, onboarding, contracts, performance, renewals) and maintain audit-ready documentation.
• Manage procurement budgets, cost tracking, forecasting, and value-for-money reporting.
• Build and maintain reporting dashboards for spend, suppliers, contracts, renewals, and pipeline.
• Maintain accurate tracking, reporting, and audit-ready documentation.
• Provide leadership and oversight of sales operations, ensuring alignment with procurement, pricing, and delivery processes.
• Support programme planning, scheduling, and issue resolution with internal stakeholders.
• Lead stakeholder engagement and change management for new systems and process improvements.
• Manage and develop team members as the function grows.
• Set clear priorities, standards, and follow-through across work streams.

Requirements

• Minimum of 5 years' relevant experience in a senior operational role.
• Strong experience in procurement/buying/supply chain in a commercially driven environment (commodity, financial services, fintech, regulated-adjacent, or control-heavy sectors).
• Experience owning operational workflows/KPIs in a transactional, deadline-driven environment (orders, fulfilment, service delivery, logistics, back-office).
• Strong commercial acumen with deep experience in tendering, negotiation, and cost management.
• Demonstrated experience owning procurement systems (P2P, contract lifecycle management).
• Comfortable operating in environments requiring strong governance, controls, documentation discipline, and audit readiness.
• Experience working with global suppliers and international supply chains.
• Strong leadership capability with experience overseeing operational or sales-adjacent teams.
• Advanced Excel skills and confidence working with inventory, procurement, reporting, and CRM systems.
• Clear communicator with strong stakeholder management and the confidence to challenge constructively.
• Highly organised, independent, and detail focused.

Benefits

• Package & Hours: Monday to Friday, 9 am - 5.30 pm (1-hour lunch break)
• £50,000 - £60,000 (dependent on experience)
• Generous pension scheme
• Hybrid - 2 days working remotely, 3 days in central London office.
• 25 days annual leave, plus