Commercial Business & Receptions Operations Manager

University of Bath; Bath; On-site; GBP 42,000 - 61,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Generous annual leave

Pension schemes

Cycle to work scheme

Relocation assistance

Visa reimbursement

Job summary

University of Bath is seeking an experienced Commercial Business & Receptions Operations Manager to lead year-round reception services and summer commercial operations. You will manage Residence Experience and Campus Services receptions, ensuring excellent service and maximising commercial opportunities across campus.

You will plan the summer business, including conferences, events, group bookings and summer schools, while working with internal teams and external clients to deliver events to the

Qualifications

• Significant experience managing sales, events, hospitality, accommodation or conference operations.
• Proven track record of leading, motivating and developing successful teams.
• Strong commercial acumen, including forecasting, budgeting and performance management.
• Experience building effective relationships with clients, customers and stakeholders.
• Excellent organisational skills and the ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.
• A proactive, solutions-focused approach with the confidence to drive positive change.
• Outstanding communication skills and a commitment to delivering excellent customer experiences.
• Experience within higher education would be advantageous, but applications from hospitality/conference sectors are welcome.

Responsibilities

• Lead year-round reception services and summer commercial operations.
• Oversee operational management of Residence Experience and Campus Services receptions.
• Plan and deliver summer business, including conferences, events, group bookings and summer schools.
• Collaborate with colleagues and external clients to ensure events are delivered to the highest standard while meeting commercial objectives.
• Ensure high-quality customer experiences across campus and city locations.

Skills

Sales

Events

Hospitality

Accommodation

Conference operations

Job description

At the University of Bath, we're proud of the experiences we create for our students, visitors, conference delegates and summer school guests. From welcoming new students to delivering major events and commercial programmes, our teams play a vital role in ensuring every interaction with the University is positive, professional and memorable.

We're looking for an experienced Commercial Business & Receptions Operations Manager to lead our year-round reception services and summer commercial operations, helping us deliver outstanding customer experiences while maximising commercial opportunities across our campus. You will be responsible for the operational management of our Residence Experience and Campus Services receptions, ensuring students receive a consistently excellent service throughout their time living with us.

You will oversee key customer touchpoints including arrivals, departures, accommodation access, enquiries and reception operations across campus and city locations. Alongside this, you'll lead the planning and delivery of our successful summer business, including conferences, events, group bookings and summer schools. Working closely with colleagues across the University and external clients, you'll ensure every event is delivered to the highest standard while achieving ambitious commercial and financial objectives.

To find out more about the department - Join the Campus Services team

About you

You will bring:

• Significant experience managing sales, events, hospitality, accommodation or conference operations.
• A proven track record of leading, motivating and developing successful teams.
• Strong commercial acumen, including forecasting, budgeting and performance management.
• Experience building effective relationships with clients, customers and a wide range of stakeholders.
• Excellent organisational skills and the ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.
• A proactive, solutions-focused approach with the confidence to drive positive change.
• Outstanding communication skills and a commitment to delivering excellent customer experiences.

Experience within higher education would be advantageous, but we also welcome applications from professionals working in hospitality, hotels, conferences, events, visitor attractions or similar customer-focused environments.

Further information

This role is offered on a full-time, permanent basis, working 36.5 hours per week.

We consider ourselves to be a university where difference is celebrated, respected and encouraged. We have an excellent international reputation with staff from over 60 different nations and have made a positive commitment towards gender equity and intersectionality receiving a Silver Athena SWAN award. We truly believe that diversity of experience, perspectives, and backgrounds will lead to a better environment for our employees and students and encourage applications from all genders, backgrounds, and communities, particularly from under‑represented groups, and value the positive impact that will have on the university. We are committed to maintaining a safe and secure environment for our students, staff, and community by reinforcing our Safer Recruitment commitment.

We're very proud to be a signatory of the Armed Forces Covenant . an accredited Disability Confident Leader ; autism friendly university , committed to building disability confidence and supporting disabled staff .

What we can offer you

We're continually expanding our benefits package to better support you and enhance your experience with us and the below is just an example of some of the many great benefits we offer:

• Generous annual leave allowance with an additional 5 discretionary days so that you can enjoy a positive work life balance
• Generous employer contributory pension schemes
• Cycle to work scheme
• Electric vehicle salary sacrifice scheme
• Staff discount at Team Bath gym
• Staff benefits include discounted postgraduate tuition and language courses, alongside a wide range of personal and professional development opportunities such as apprenticeships, LinkedIn Learning, and more
• Local discounts, including free entry to the Holburne Museum in Bath
• A family-friendly workplace
• An excellent reward package that recognises the talents of our diverse workforce
• Relocation allowance
• Visa reimbursement and Interest-Free Loan to help with the cost of some immigration expenses
• Employee assistance services through Health Assured, including access to the Wisdom app

Find out more about our benefits and watch the video to hear from our staff about what makes the University of Bath a great place to work as well as following us X and LinkedIn .

Be Well at Bath

We're committed to creating a health-supporting working environment where everyone can thrive and be at their best. We offer a range of resources to enable you to do that from your first day here, including:

• Staff support groups and networks
• A network of Staff Wellbeing Champions
• A suite of tools, resources and frameworks that enable you to be at your best and thrive

Find out more about being at your best at Bath .

Further details:

• Job Description & Person Specification

Terms and Conditions of Employment

Right to Work in the UK: We do not assess immigration or right to work status until offer stage. Being invited to interview does not guarantee you are eligible for visa sponsorship and all offers are conditional on meeting right to work requirements. Further information is available on our application support webpage.

Anonymous shortlisting: We are constantly seeking to reduce the unconscious bias that enters any assessment process, with the goal of creating an inclusive and equal assessment process. To support this, personal details such as your name, may be removed from application forms at the initial shortlisting stage.