Operations Manager in London

We are hiring an Operations Manager to be the backbone of a small, growing brand consultancy in Spitalfields, London – making our studio run smoothly so we can focus on great work.

About Simple Truth

Simple Truth is a brand consultancy in our seventh year, based in Spitalfields, London. We create brands and digital experiences across multiple sectors, including property, social housing, travel, leisure and the not-for-profit sector, as well as established and emerging consumer organisations.

We started with a clear purpose: do great work that makes an impact, help businesses properly, and build an agency that isn’t about ego. We’re at a point where our existing tools (Monday, Harvest, Xero, Slack) need to actually work instead of just existing.

The Role

You’ll be the operational backbone of a 6-person team. You’ll ensure our existing systems work properly, get the team to use them consistently, and give the founder breathing room to focus on strategy and client relationships. This isn’t about introducing new systems or corporate processes. It’s about making our existing tools (Monday for project management, Harvest for time tracking and invoicing) actually deliver the discipline and insights they should.

What You’ll Actually Do

• Get Our Systems Working (40%)
  • Assess if Monday, Harvest, Xero, and Slack are fit for purpose and get the team using them consistently.
  • Audit what we have: do Monday, Harvest and Xero work well together, or do we need tweaks?
  • Fix time tracking: ensure everyone logs time in Harvest accurately to know project profitability.
  • Make Monday work: it should show our timelines, tasks and resource planning.
  • Extract profitability: identify which projects made money and which didn’t, using Harvest and Xero.
  • Create briefing discipline: projects start with a proper written brief so everyone is aligned.
  • Help the team use these systems consistently and positively.
• Project & Client Operations (40%)
  • Own day-to-day project delivery and client relationships on most projects.
  • Run projects in Monday: ensure timelines, deliverables, team assignments and status are clear and current.
  • Take a detailed brief from Mark at the start of a project and turn it into a clear written brief for the team.
  • Co-write scopes of work with Mark so everyone is aligned on deliverables, effort and fees.
  • Schedule team capacity effectively across projects and flag clashes early.
  • Lead weekly project reviews: track what’s on track, what’s at risk, and what needs a decision.
  • Track scope and time so projects stay within budget and are profitable.
  • Run weekly team check-ins and hold people accountable for agreed actions.
  • Ensure everyone tracks time accurately in Harvest.
  • Log project expenses and supplier costs for a true view of margins.
  • Run simple monthly profitability reviews: identify which projects made money, which didn’t, and why.
  • Flag capacity issues before they become problems.
  • Support hiring and onboarding, and handle day-to-day performance conversations where needed.

What We Need From You

• A minimum of 5 years in agency or consultancy operations (or project management stepping into broader operations).
• Small business experience (under 20 people) where you’ve worn multiple hats.
• Experience in getting teams to use project management and time tracking tools.
• Ability to assess existing systems and optimise them.
• Exposure to diverse services: strategy, design, development, content.
• Systems thinking: see how Monday, Harvest and Xero connect and work together.
• Change management: get people to change how they work without destroying morale.
• Process design: create simple workflows that people actually follow.
• Financial literacy: understand margins, project profitability and cash flow basics.
• Comfortable with constructive challenge: hold people accountable for using systems.
• Detail-oriented but pragmatic: things don’t need to be perfect; they need to work.
• Self-directed: can work independently without constant direction.
• Assertive but collaborative: can enforce standards without being autocratic.
• Founder-compatible: can work with a hands-on founder without needing them in every decision.
• Patient but persistent: system adoption takes time and repetition.
• Problem-solver: when something isn’t working, you figure out why and fix it.

Bonus Points

• Experience with Monday, Harvest, Asana or similar tools.
• Property, B2B or consultancy sector experience.
• Built operations in a business transitioning from startup to scale-up.
• Worked in a full-service creative or brand agency.

What You Won’t Be Doing

• Complex financial forecasting or bookkeeping (we have an accountant).
• HR/benefits/legal matters (outsourced).
• Creative work or client strategy (that’s our team, led by Mark).
• Making big business decisions (that’s the founder).
• Ripping out existing systems and starting over (we like Monday and Harvest, they just need proper use).

This is the person who makes our existing tools work and holds the team accountable for operational discipline.

What We Offer

• Report directly to the founder.
• Authority to implement operational improvements.
• Real autonomy to make decisions (you won’t be micromanaged).
• Partnership mentality.
• Small team (6 people) where you’ll actually know everyone.
• Interesting, values-driven clients across various sectors.
• Creative, mission-oriented culture.
• Office in Spitalfields with some flexibility after probation.
• Genuine impact – you’ll build operational discipline from a strong but under-structured base.
• Help shape how the business scales.
• Build your own operations playbook.
• Potential to grow as the business grows. Equity will be considered for the right candidate.

How to Apply

Send us your CV focusing on operations/systems experience and getting teams to adopt tools, not just job titles. Include a cover note (max 300 words) answering the following:

• Give an example of a time you got a team to actually use a project management or time tracking tool they were ignoring. What was the resistance? How did you overcome it?
• What’s your approach to operational discipline – how do you balance being firm about systems without burning people out?
• Why does this role interest you at this stage of your career?

If you progress to the second round, we’ll ask you to review our current Monday/Harvest setup and outline how you’d approach the first 90 days.

Questions before applying? Email with "Operations Manager Question" in the subject line.

Timeline

Second interviews with case study: Week commencing 22nd Feb. Start date: ASAP / early March 2026, flexible for the right candidate.

The Reality

You’ll be creating discipline in a business that’s run on founder energy and relationships for seven years. Some people will resist updating systems. Some workflows will be messier than you expect. You’ll need patience and persistence.

If you get satisfaction from turning chaos into order, are comfortable being the person who says "we need to use the system consistently", want genuine impact and autonomy, and can handle resistance, this could be the right role.

We’re not looking for perfection. We’re looking for someone who can meet us where we are and build the operational discipline we need to grow.