Head of Operations

Head of Operations

Job Description and Person Specification

Salary: Up to £47,432 FTE (Up to £28,844 pro rata)

Hours: 22.5 hours per week

Reporting to: CEO

Direct reports: Operations Lead, Volunteer Coordinator

Location: Sevenoaks, although we operate flexible working in which staff can work from home for part of the week.

Application Process:

Please find on our website the job description and person specification for the role you are applying for. If you would like an informal discussion about the role in advance of applying, please contact us at jobs@westkentmind.org.uk. Please send a current CV of your recent experience and a statement evidencing how you meet each of the requirements within the person specification (no more than 2 sides of A4). Send this to jobs@westkentmind.org.uk no later than Tuesday 4 February 2025 5pm, including the job title in the email subject. We aim to hold interviews on 12 and 13 February 2025 and we will let shortlisted candidates know no later than 7 February 2025 if they are invited to interview.

About West Kent Mind

West Kent Mind enriches lives through better mental health by offering support to get well, stay well and thrive. We are an ambitious, award-winning organisation and an enthusiastic member of the Mind federation. We value collaboration, partnership, creativity and growth.

This role is an excellent opportunity to join the senior management team of a thriving organisation and help shape its future by developing a robust infrastructure and supporting team of passionate staff.

Job Description

About the role

We are seeking a seasoned operations leader with a proven track record in organisational development, resource management, policy and compliance, and risk management, with a strong appreciation for the pivotal role of people in achieving success.

You will provide strategic leadership across operational and people-focused areas, fostering an organisational culture aligned with our values and ambitions. Your remit will include human resources, Health & Safety, and building management, ensuring effective processes are embedded into daily operations to support long-term organisational effectiveness.

You will be a natural in implementing effective systems to enable West Kent Mind to run like a well-oiled machine. Similarly, you will be someone that cares about our staff, their happiness, wellbeing and successes.

Key Objectives include:

• Develop and implement operational plans aligned with the charity’s strategic objectives, ensuring resource efficiency and compliance with legal and regulatory requirements.
• Lead on people and culture initiatives, including talent acquisition, retention, and performance enhancement, while fostering a thriving, inclusive workplace and overseeing HR operations and volunteer management.
• Provide strategic leadership as part of the senior leadership team, managing effective relationships across staff and senior colleagues, and collaborating with the Head of Finance to ensure organisational and financial effectiveness.
• Oversee resource management, including facilities, IT systems, and procurement, while ensuring value for money, safety, and operational efficiency through robust policies and procedures.
• Support commercial development by identifying income opportunities through training, social enterprise, room hire, and business grants, while managing risks and maintaining compliance with GDPR, health & safety, and other regulatory requirements.

Person specification

Who You Are

All previous experience may be paid or voluntary, full, or part-time, in the UK or overseas.

• You have previous experience in operations management, human resources management and budget management within those areas.
• You have demonstrated a strong ability to motivate and manage teams, fostering a positive work environment.
• You have experience in managing and implementing effective risk management systems.
• You possess some knowledge of Health and Safety regulations in the workplace.
• You have an understanding of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in the workplace, including the management of sensitive data.
• You are passionate about better mental health and are committed to West Kent Mind’s mission and values.
• You show a strong commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion and can prioritise these in a professional setting.
• You exercise discretion and judgment when dealing with sensitive and/or confidential information.
• You remain flexible and adaptable in a changing environment.

What you will offer

• You can demonstrate that you have effectively managed multiple projects and priorities.
• Your ability to address challenges using strong analytical skills and implement practical solutions.
• Your expertise in charity operations, including data protection, health and safety regulations, contract compliance, and volunteer management will be a vital to us.
• You have exceptional communication skills with the ability to translate complex operational information to a variety of audiences such as trustees, key stakeholders and funders.
• Your understanding of managing budgets and the financial implications of human resource management, utilising working knowledge of Excel spreadsheets are crucial.
• You are familiar with having to adapt and thrive in a fast-paced, resource-limited environment.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop and implement operational plans that align with the charity’s strategic objectives.
• Lead on talent attraction and retention, ensuring equality of opportunity, diversity, and representation, while fostering a culture that supports talent retention and enhances performance.
• Establish an effective learning programme for West Kent Mind, reviewing and organising relevant training, mentoring, coaching and skills development for our staff, trustees and volunteers.
• Help to grow a culture that supports a happy, healthy, creative and collaborative workplace.
• Work with the CEO (and with our HR telephone support – Rradar) and managers to provide HR support within West Kent Mind, ensuring best practice and keep up to date with relevant changes in legislation.
• Oversee our online HR portal, Breathe HR, ensuring accurate management of staff records including annual leave and sickness logs for all staff, in collaboration with managers.
• Oversee an effective volunteer recruitment, retention and management programme.
• Provide effective management to your team and create effective relationships with staff and senior management colleagues.
• Contribute strategically to the senior leadership team, attending meetings and undertaking leadership roles where necessary.
• Work closely with the Head of Finance to ensure the operational and financial effectiveness of the organisation, and provide cover as required for one another.
• Oversee the management of resources, including facilities, IT systems, and procurement, ensuring compliance and value for money.
• Responsibility for the management of West Kent’s Mind’s premises with support from the Operations Lead.
• Develop and enforce policies and procedures to ensure operational efficiency, safety, and compliance.
• Implement a system for the collation and updating of company policies, procedures and systems, supported by managers.
• Support our training team to drive commercial income through our dedicated training and development programme, improving our existing offer and identifying gaps in the market and other business opportunities.
• Identify other potential commercial income streams through social enterprise, room hire, sales, consultancies, or business grants/loans.
• Ensure the charity meets all legal, regulatory, and health & safety requirements. Manage operational risks and develop contingency plans.
• Ensure a safe working environment for all staff, visitors and users of services: to meet legal and organisational expectations in relation to health and safety in conjunction with the Operations Lead
• Work with the nominated Data Controller to ensure GDPR regulations and other marketing legislation is complied with.
• Maintain the Risk Register and co-ordinate updates to ensure mitigation strategies are in place, effective and limit the organisation’s exposure to risk.

Adopting our fundraising culture.

West Kent Mind operates and encourages a fundraising culture, this means that our staff, volunteers, and trustees are all fundraising advocates and contribute to an organisational fundraising ethos. We expect all colleagues to play their part in generating income, this could be anything from being pro-active working with colleagues to secure funding for your area of work, to writing a heartfelt thank you note to a donor or putting together a testimonial from a beneficiary to demonstrate funding impact for a grant application. Securing income is vital to our survival and we expect everyone to embrace our ethos. We don’t expect you to be a fundraising expert, but we do expect you to fully adopt our fundraising culture with energy and passion.

Benefits

We’re a charity and we’re here to make a positive difference to lives and communities. You’ll work with a passionate, knowledgeable and dedicated team with a big heart.

Holidays

It’s important to take time off. We give you 23 days a year, increasing by one day per year of service up to 30 days, plus bank holidays.

To refresh and recuperate before the start of a new year, we also give you an extra three days holiday between Christmas and New Year.

For part-timers this is all calculated pro-rata.

Learning

We’re committed to supporting our staff with learning and professional development, so we offer opportunities for coaching, training and mentoring. Everyone, regardless of role, is offered free Mental Health First Aid training.

Pension

If eligible you’ll be auto enrolled into our pension scheme, and our contribution is based on 3% of your salary.

Employee Assistance Programme

Everyone can access our Employee Assistance Programme. It’s confidential and includes 24/7 telephone advice, counselling and a suite of online tools to help you stay happy and healthy.