Senior Manager, Operations Infrastructure Location: Nine Elms, London | Full-time
About Zapp
Zapp is London's leading premium convenience retail platform. Founded in 2020, our vision is to disrupt the multi-trillion-dollar convenience retail market, currently dominated by major players, by developing best-in-class customer-centric technology and fulfilment solutions. Zapp partners with some of the world's leading brands to deliver an exclusive range of hand-picked products 24/7.
The Role
We are looking for a Senior Manager, Operations Infrastructure to build and run the physical and compliance infrastructure behind our London Fulfilment Centres (FCs). Our range includes chilled and frozen food, alcohol, tobacco, vapes, nicotine products and over-the-counter medicines, delivered in minutes, so every site has to be safe, working and compliant on every order, not just at inspection time.
You will structure how facilities works at Zapp, manage our third-party vendors to clear SLAs, own the facilities budget, hold the quality and compliance framework, and lead the site launches, relocations and improvement projects that let our network grow. You will line-manage a small hands-on facilities team; this is a leadership and project role.
You will report to the Director, Operations and work daily with FC Managers, landlords, contractors, regulators.
Build and run the facilities function
Design and run the facilities operating model: ticketing and prioritisation, a planned preventive maintenance schedule, response SLAs by fault type, and weekly reporting on open items, compliance actions, spend and vendor performance
Set the standard for how an FC should look, feel and operate, and hold sites and vendors to it through regular inspections and closed-out punch lists
Line-manage the facilities team: set priorities, develop their capability, and delegate hands-on repairs and general maintenance to the team and to contractors
Manage vendors, SLAs and budget
Manage third-party vendors (refrigeration, waste, pest control, utilities, security, cleaning, food safety and construction) to contracted scope, quality, timelines and cost
Review, consolidate and renegotiate service contracts to improve service and cost, and run procurement of equipment for FC use
Own the facilities budget: forecast, track and control expenditure, verify invoices against contracts and quotes, and drive down unplanned repair and call-out spend
Own quality and compliance
Build and maintain the quality and compliance framework across all sites: food safety and HACCP, age-restricted sales and alcohol licensing, health and safety, and fire
Keep every FC compliant and audit-ready, with certification, risk assessments, training records and documentation current, and act as the point of contact for regulators and local authorities
Use complaint, defect and audit data to find root causes and show improvement in the numbers
Lead site launch and improvement projects
Lead new FC openings and relocations from lease signature to trading: fit-out coordination, commissioning, snagging, equipment, and compliance sign-off (food business registration, alcohol licence, health and safety and fire) before handover to the FC Manager, on time and to budget
Lead improvement projects across the network (cold-room expansion, equipment refresh and modernisation, FC standards programme) from business case through to completion, bringing in IT, Supply Chain, Data and external partners as needed
Build and maintain the site-launch playbook so that each opening is faster and more predictable than the last
Requirements
Background in project management, engineering, construction management or operations consulting, with a track record of delivering physical or multi-site projects from conception to completion
Strong strategic and organisational skills: you design a process, set an SLA, build a budget and hold people to it, rather than fixing the problem yourself
Demonstrable experience managing third-party vendors and budgets environment, with clear evidence of improving service and maintaning cost
Experience leading a small team and working through others, including trade or technical staff, contractors and third-party partners
Confident with data: you define KPIs, use them to find root causes and show improvement in the numbers
Clear communicator who can brief contractors, work directly with regulators, align cross-functional stakeholders and give concise updates to senior leadership
Comfortable in a fast-paced scale-up where processes are still being built and priorities change
- 25 days of holiday per year (plus all bank holidays)
- Zapp credit for testing the Zapp service and experience
- Private health insurance
- Extended sick pay and maternity and paternity leave pay
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Senior Manager, Operations Infrastructure employer: Zapp
Zapp is an exceptional employer, offering a dynamic work environment in the heart of Nine Elms, London, where innovation and growth are at the forefront. With a strong focus on employee development, competitive benefits including private health insurance and generous leave policies, Zapp fosters a culture of collaboration and high performance, making it an ideal place for those looking to make a significant impact in the convenience retail sector.
