Operations & Business Insights Manager

MediaLab Group; Camden Town; Hybrid; GBP 40,000 - 60,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading independent media agency is seeking an Operations and Business Insight Manager to maximize commercial performance through efficient resource management and insightful data analysis. You will lead the implementation of new processes and tools, ensuring the team is effectively resourced. The ideal candidate will have strong analytical skills, a proven track record in operations, and the ability to communicate effectively across all levels. This position offers opportunities for personal growth and hybrid working arrangements.

Benefits

Competitive salary package

Private medical insurance

22 days holiday plus extra benefits

Flexibility with working hours and location

Career growth opportunities

Qualifications

• Experience in operations, resource management, or delivery roles within an agency.
• Track record of embedding new processes and tools.
• Excellent analytical skills interpreting data for insights.
• Strong communication and trust-building capabilities.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.

Responsibilities

• Maximise commercial performance by ensuring efficient resourcing.
• Embed new ways of working and oversee resource management.
• Provide insights on commercial KPIs and improvement recommendations.

Skills

Operations management

Resource management

Analytical skills

Change management

Commercial acumen

Communication

Multi-tasking

Using AI tools

Tools

Resource management platforms

Timesheet platforms

Job description

JOIN OUR JOURNEY

Medialab is the UK’s leading independent media agency, and one of the fastest growing in the industry. We’re a media agency that’s made differently: purpose-led, data-driven, founder-run and proudly independent.

Our entrepreneurial spirit means success is rewarded and there are no limits to what you can achieve, which our employees agree with, evidenced by being a Campaign ‘Best Place to work’ for the last 5 years in a row, Campaign's Independent Agency of the Year 2024 and The Sunday Times Best Places to Work 2025. We are IPA Effectiveness accredited, an IPA People-First agency and widely awarded including a double-gold at the 2024 IPA Effectiveness Awards for our work with Laithwaites.

Our independence means we can focus 100% on doing the right thing to secure success for our clients and our brilliant people. We work with a wide variety of clients including Hovis, Sharps Bedrooms, SunLife, Standard Life, Laithwaites Wine, EMMA Mattresses, Save the Children, Mind, Guide Dogs, Alzheimer's Society, RNLI and Clearscore.

OUR VALUES

• Commit to Doing the Right Thing (Act with integrity and accountability)
• Help People Flourish (Invest in people)
• Dig Deeper to Understand Better (Data driven curiosity)

OUR COMMITMENT TO YOU

Working at Medialab comes with lots of perks such as a competitive salary package, pension, season ticket loans, cycle to work scheme, weekly social events and big summer / end of year parties.

On top of that we offer extra benefits, which make life at Medialab even more rewarding:

• Time to Unwind – 22 days holiday (+ Christmas holiday closure), birthday & mental health day off, holiday buying scheme, flexi-hours and work abroad scheme.
• Hybrid Working – Balance between home and office. We welcome requests for flexible working arrangements from the commencement of employment.
• Career Growth – A meritocratic approach to progression with quarterly reviews, CPD Platinum accredited training, mentoring and leadership support.
• Health & Wellbeing – Private medical insurance, health cash plan, gym discounts, wellbeing apps Mental Health First Aiders and unlimited free professional counselling.
• Supporting Families – Enhanced parental leave, flexible working and life assurance.
• Giving Back – Paid charity days and sustainability initiatives.
• Perks & Rewards – Retail discounts, long-service trips and an unforgettable team culture.

THE OPPORTUNITY

The Operations and Business Insight Manager will help maximise Medialab’s commercial performance by ensuring our teams are resourced efficiently, our data is accurate, and our ways of working scale with growth.

Working with the Director of Operations, you will embed new ways of working, processes and tools, oversee resource demand versus capacity, and track performance against commercial KPIs including utilisation & comp ratio etc. You will ensure high-quality time data and provide clear recommendations to leadership that improve margin, efficiency, and future resource planning.

This role focuses on Process & Platforms (50%), Resource Forecasting (20%) and Business Insight (30%) to deliver better outcomes for our clients and people.

WHAT YOU'LL BE DOING

Process & Platforms

• Identify delivery challenges and opportunities to streamline operations and improve team efficiency.
• Set up and successfully integrate new tools and platforms, ensuring they are fully embedded into daily workflows with clear success metrics.
• Coordinate training sessions to embed new processes and ways of working across the team, ensuring adoption, consistency and feedback cycles are in place.
• Drive cross-pollination of best practice and lessons learned across the team and wider agency.
• Capture and share best practice process and knowledge in our Medialab Knowledge Base.
• Lead change management within the team covering both process and cultural adoption.

Resource Forecasting

• Map every client’s scope of work into accurate resource plans, that are updated monthly and align with the phasing of client activity.
• Understand potential resourcing impact of new business & organic growth opportunities being converted, forward plan and make recommendations in terms of resource required.

Business Insight

• Own timesheet data reporting and analysis, ensuring systems are fit for purpose, timesheet completion is accurate, and compliance is upheld across the business.
• Produce regular (weekly/monthly/quarterly) management information and insights on utilisation, under/over-servicing trends, resourcing gaps and client profitability for senior leadership and the board.
• Provide actionable recommendations from data (e.g. comp ratio drivers, efficiency improvements, internal movement).
• Measure and report on efficiency improvements resulting from process or resource changes against agreed KPIs.

WHAT YOU'LL NEED

Essential Skills

• Proven experience in operations, resource management, or delivery roles within an agency environment.
• Strong track record of embedding new processes, tools, and platforms, with demonstrable change management skills.
• Excellent analytical skills, able to interpret data to identify resourcing gaps, efficiency opportunities, and delivery issues and translate insights into clear action plans.
• Commercial acumen in relation to client profitability and resource optimisation.
• Strong communicator and influencer, able to build trust across disciplines and at all levels and challenge constructively where needed.
• Comfortable juggling multiple priorities and deadlines, whilst working in a fast-paced, people-led environment with a strong culture of change and innovation.
• Proven track record or strong interest in leveraging new technologies (e.g. AI tools, collaborative platforms) to improve ways of working.
• Experience using industry standard resource & timesheet platforms.
• Skilled in creating and maintaining knowledge bases or process documentation.