Operations Director

CM recruitment; South Yorkshire; On-site; GBP 100,000 - 140,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Six-figure base salary

Bonus potential

30 days holiday + bank holidays

Private healthcare

Job summary

CM recruitment seeks an inspirational Operations Director for a well-established UK travel group. This executive role sits on the Group Board and owns coach operations, logistics, the partner network, fleet strategy, and technology modernisation.

Based at the Group's Yorkshire head office, the post involves shaping network strategy, managing costs, and building a capable leadership team to run the operation without day-to-day involvement.

Qualifications

• Senior leadership experience within coach, passenger transport, touring, logistics or related operational sector.
• Strong understanding of fleets, drivers, networks and operational realities of transporting people.
• Proven track record of leading operational transformation and technology-enabled change.
• Strong commercial experience, including supplier management, contracting and negotiation.

Responsibilities

• Operate at strategic and Board level, setting direction for the operation and leading through an Operations Manager and wider team.
• Own the strategy for the operator partner network, expanding partnerships and managing capacity and performance.
• Shape fleet strategy including specification, renewal and future propulsion.
• Maintain robust safety, compliance and assurance frameworks for vehicles, drivers, and licensing.
• Take commercial accountability for direct supplier costs and overall operations budget.
• Drive improvements in utilisation, partner costs, and on-tour delivery efficiency.
• Provide disruption and crisis management capability and lead technology modernisation of operations.

Job description

A well-established, profitable UK travel group is appointing an Operations Director to a newly created Board-level role. The operation moves tens of thousands of passengers a year, delivered through a national network of coach operator partners and their drivers.

Whoever takes this role will shape how the Group operates for the next decade, from the partner network it grows with and the vehicles it runs, through to the modern operation behind every holiday it delivers.

This newly created executive role will sit on the Group Board and take ownership of coach operations, logistics, the partner network, fleet strategy, operational performance and technology modernisation.

The Role

• Reporting directly to the CEO, you'll operate at a strategic and Board level, setting the direction for the operation while leading through an experienced Operations Manager and wider management team.
• Owning the strategy for the operator partner network, including selection, contracting, capacity planning, performance standards and long‑term relationships. Expanding that network and building genuinely reciprocal partnerships is a key part of this role.
• Shaping fleet strategy through those partners, covering specification, standard, renewal and future propulsion.
• Maintaining robust safety, compliance and assurance frameworks covering vehicles, drivers, licensing and operating standards.
• Taking commercial accountability for direct supplier costs running into tens of millions, alongside the wider operations budget.
• Driving improvements in utilisation, partner costs, interchange, feeder networks and on‑tour delivery efficiency.
• Ensuring the operation has strong disruption and crisis management capability.
• Leading the technology and systems modernisation of operations, covering planning, scheduling, telematics, partner/driver communications and management information.
• Developing the management team beneath you, so the operation runs well without you in the detail.
• This is not a hands‑on operations job. The day‑to‑day is delivered by the team, and our partners run their own vehicles and drivers.

We're looking for:

• Senior leadership experience within coach, passenger transport, touring, logistics or a closely related operational sector.
• A strong understanding of fleets, drivers, networks and the operational realities of transporting people.
• A proven track record of leading operational transformation and technology‑enabled change.
• Strong commercial experience, including supplier management, contracting and negotiation.
• Experience managing significant operational costs and budgets.
• Experience creating robust governance, safety and compliance frameworks, set and assured across a partner network we do not own. No O‑licence or CPC required, those obligations sit with our contracted operators.
• A genuine track record of developing managers and creating sustainable operational capability.
• A direct, resilient and low‑ego leadership style, with the ability to challenge constructively and take accountability for outcomes delivered through others.

Package

• Six‑figure base salary, discussed on application.
• Bonus potential
• Generous 30 days holiday plus bank holidays
• Private healthcare for self and family
• Salary sacrifice EV Scheme.
• Based at the Group's Yorkshire head office, with regular travel to operator partners.