Head of Site Operations

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We are seeking an experienced Head of Operations to lead multiple sites with overall accountability for P&L and KPI performance and Health & Safety.

As the Head of Operations, you will demonstrate effective leadership of teams to ensure delivery of a safe and regulatory compliant operation, whilst seeking continual improvement of profitability and enhanced customer and colleague experience.

Main responsibilities

1. Health and Safety – Overall responsibility for ensuring adequate organisation and arrangements exist for the effective implementation of the Company Health and Safety Policy, and ensuring compliance with all statutory obligations. Detailed H&S Responsibilities are published in the Arriva HS&E Management System
2. Customer – ensure site teams deliver excellent service in accordance with Company Policies and Procedures. Establish and maintain business relationships critical to local performance. Understand customer needs and embrace partnerships with Local Authorities to generate local strategies for growth based on a solid understanding of customer needs.
3. People – Develop and support an organisational culture that embodies the values of Arriva and promotes Equality, Diversity & Inclusion (ED&I). Ensure each site has the required resources, capability, and competence. Lead, manage, and motivate colleagues to maximise contribution and ensure effective collaboration. Responsible for succession planning and the continual development of teams. Engage and motivate site teams through effective leadership and communication forums to become high-performing teams. Be visible, credible, knowledgeable, and approachable, role-modeling high standards of business and personal performance. Forge strong relationships with key stakeholders including Trade Unions.
4. Quality – Lead the delivery of outstanding service and operational compliance. Support site teams to deliver excellent performance and improved operating profit. Review networks and customer feedback regularly. Use effective business performance management tools to engage site teams in taking personal responsibility for business success.
5. Work with recruitment and training teams to optimise operational delivery and efficiency, ensuring site KPIs improve through these work streams.
6. Financial and decision-making – Manage the preparation and implementation of annual budgets, ensuring targets are challenging yet achievable. Focus on value-adding activities to maximise revenue and control costs. Monitor financial performance against budgets and develop action plans for any shortfalls. Include relevant parties in decision-making and encourage empowerment whenever possible. Explore, develop, and implement wider business plans for growth, service improvement, and innovation/diversification.
7. Continual Improvement & Innovation – Review operations regularly to identify areas for substantial improvement through innovation. Champion creative thinking and support change programs to meet business objectives. Accept calculated risks for new ideas. Collaborate with the leadership team to share best practices across UK Bus.
8. Corporate social responsibility – Uphold, safeguard, and promote the organisation's reputation and values in all internal and external relationships and activities.

Essential Postholder Requirements

• To become a Transport Manager on the Operators Licence
• To be the Site Accountable Manager

Person Specification

• Demonstrate the Arriva Values and Leadership Mindset
• Proven management experience of an operational facility with full P&L ownership, driving revenue, controlling costs, and maximising EBIT%/Profit
• Experience leading, managing, motivating, and developing large high-performing teams across multiple sites
• Background in a customer-facing environment, capable of understanding and developing customer satisfaction and managing disputes
• Experience creating a safe and continuously improving working environment
• Ability to translate site strategies into effective plans, driving execution through strong governance and a proactive approach for sustainable change
• Experience working with Trade Union representatives

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