Operations and Projects Manager in London

About the Role & Team

We are looking for an Operations & Projects Manager to join our Contract Management team on a 12-month Fixed-Term contract! Join us in shaping the magic behind the scenes! The Operations and Projects Manager will lead departmental projects, manage day to day systems and drive the operational metrics for the contract licensing process across EMEA. This role will offer visibility and influence at the senior leadership level, with responsibility for escalating operational issues and recommending strategic improvements around contract issuance processes. Additionally, the Manager will develop and deliver training programs for third-party supplier staff, ensuring comprehensive knowledge, consistency and accuracy in the contract issuance process.

Please note: This role will be based in our London Hammersmith office, 4 days a week, with either a Monday or Friday working from home.

Values

You’ll join a team grounded in our Disney values — acting with Integrity, welcoming everyone through Inclusion, embracing boundless Creativity, working together through Collaboration and caring deeply for our Community. These values shape how we work and how we support one another every day.

What You Will Do

• Contract operations: Oversee and drive the development of comprehensive training programs for third party supplier staff, ensuring consistency and accuracy in contract management activities, including data entry of commercial and financial deal points, reviewing contract requests for policy compliance and data accuracy, validating required approvals, drafting and issuing legal documentation and partnering with our DCP Legal team on specialised contract language.
• Act as the primary point of contact for resolving complex licensing queries or issues, ensuring timely solutions and seamless communication across internal and external stakeholders.
• Lead internal audits of contracts and amendments to ensure compliance with company policies and quality assurance standards. Identify opportunities for process improvements and drive corrective actions where necessary.
• Metrics: Run and analyse weekly metrics reports, supporting the business to reduce the numbers around contract issuance. Identifying bottlenecks, delays in process, escalating to business heads when required. Own the development of KPI performance dashboards that deliver key insights to drive data informed decision making and optimising resource allocation.
• Stakeholders: Build relationships with key business stakeholders across all DCP departments. Partner with Senior Manager on monthly meetings with Senior stakeholders across DCP. Collaborate with key stakeholders to support new licensing models and re-engineer current processes. Partner with stakeholders to measure business performance and influence change across DCP. Lead the design and delivery of training programmes to drive consistency and raise licensing knowledge across DCP.
• Systems: Identify and implement effective system changes across all our licensing systems (CLM, Fusion, MDM and MicroStrategy) to support business operations. Oversee and prioritise User Accepting Testing activities, ensuring system enhancements for EMEA are delivered to the scope and requirements. Act as the business lead for system issue resolution, ensuring alignment between operational needs and IT response priorities. Partner with other regions to share best practices on the systems we use. Oversee system management of all our EMEA contract templates, dynamic inclusions.
• Projects and Process Management: Lead and drive contractual and licensing projects to enhance and improve processes and systems across the business. Define project performance standards, track progress and generate reports for Senior Management. Develop and implement a ‘best in class’ project management training program, including tracking tools, to standardise best practices across teams and ensure consistent project success. Evaluate and optimise current business processes, identifying areas for continuous improvement to drive operational efficiency across the following areas: Contract Issuance, Reporting and business metrics, Systems suite optimisation, Technology integration, Document management, Internal processes.

Required Qualifications & Skills

• Extensive experience working in a finance/contract/business administration role.
• Experience of delivering large and wide scale projects.
• Strong project management skills, with the ability to effectively plan, execute and monitor projects.
• Experience navigating in a complex matrix environment, collaborating across teams and functions.
• Proven ability to influence and align stakeholders at all levels.
• Leading successful change initiatives.
• Credibility and confidence in dealing with senior stakeholders.
• Excellent presentation skills, with the ability to share complex data into clear and compelling narratives for diverse audiences.
• Proactive in challenging the status quo and identifying opportunities for improvement.

Qualifications and Training:

• Strong academic background, preferably in a Business, Operations or Project field, with a focus on problem solving and analytical thinking.
• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint for creating reports and presentations.
• Project Management training.

Personal Skills:

• Planning and prioritisation skills.
• Strategic vision and execution.
• Results driven and performance focused.
• Process improvement and optimisation.
• Solutions-oriented.
• Adaptive to change.
• Time Management.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills.
• Proficiency in decision-making and analytical thinking.

The Perks

• 25 days annual leave.
• Private medical insurance & dental care.
• Free Park Entry: You will have the opportunity to enter any of our parks with your family and friends for free.
• Disney Discounts: you are entitled to discounts on designated Disney products, resort F&B and ticketing.
• Excellent parental and guardian leave.
• Employee Resource Groups – WOMEN @ Disney, Disney Mosaic, Disney PRIDE, our disability & neurodiversity focused group - ENABLED, and our Mental Health & Wellbeing Group, TRUST.

The Walt Disney Company is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We strive to be a diverse workforce that is representative of our audiences, and where all can thrive and belong. Disney is committed to forming a team that includes and respects a variety of voices, identities, backgrounds, experiences and perspectives. We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact us to request accommodation.