Operations Manager

80 Reed in Partnership Ltd; Cambridge; On-site; GBP 37,000 - 62,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

25 days annual leave

Reed Pension Scheme

Award Winning Management & Leadership

Professional & Personal Development

Bi-annual pay reviews

Job summary

Reed in Partnership is seeking an Operations Manager to lead and develop multiple offices and contracts within the public services domain. The role involves ensuring contracts are delivered on time, within budget, and to quality standards, with focus on participant journeys and stakeholder collaboration.

You will manage diverse teams, drive performance, and contribute to continuous improvement while benefiting from a generous salary and flexible working options.

Qualifications

• Extensive experience of team management across multiple offices and multiple contracts within the Employment support sector.
• Experience and understanding of the design and implementation of complex operational processes across multiple teams.
• Degree or relevant qualification.
• A minimum of 2 A-Levels or an equivalent Level 3 Diploma.
• GCSE English Language at a minimum of a Grade B (or equivalent Level 2 qualification).
• OR achievement of a Level 2 in Literacy Assessment at interview stage OR International Equivalents.

Responsibilities

• People Motivation, Coaching and Development to drive team performance.
• Performance Management and delivery of targets across contracts.
• Relationships and Stakeholder Management with internal and external partners.
• Finance and Facilities management within remit.
• Quality and Continuous Improvement across teams and contracts.

Skills

Administration skills

Computer/technology skills

Numeracy/Spreadsheet skills

Written communication/record keeping

Education

Degree or relevant qualification

A-Levels or Level 3 Diploma

GCSE English (B)

Job description

Reed in Partnership has been delivering public services since 1998. We are a British, family-owned company, whose mission has always been to positively transform people and their communities. This is reflected in our services, which we deliver to help people from all backgrounds and circumstances to change their lives for the better.

Pay Range £38,000 - £62,000

Working Hours/Pattern: Full-time, although we would be happy to consider applicants who are looking to work on a part time basis.

Are you an experienced manager, adept at leading and developing teams? Would you like to work in a role that makes a positive impact on people and their communities? Consider the role of an Operations Manager at Reed in Partnership! We are on a mission to be the partner of choice for developing people and their communities. Reed in Partnership is a public service provider specialising in skills training for the long-term unemployed, increasing employment opportunities by working with employers and providing youth services.

Internal applications for this role close on 8th October 2026.

Who we are:

Reed in Partnership's Employability Division aims to positively transform lives by helping individuals who are unemployed, economically inactive, or facing challenges such as health conditions, disabilities, or caring responsibilities to find sustainable employment. Through a wide range of tailored support services including one-to-one careers guidance, CV writing, interview preparation, and skills training, we have supported over 250,000 people on their journey into work. Our Restart Scheme, funded by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), focuses specifically on supporting the long-term unemployed who are referred and mandated to the scheme by their local Job Centre Plus. We provide them with up to 12 months of personalised support to enter or re-enter the workforce.

What is the role about?

The Operations Manager is directly responsible for the effective performance of a number of offices and/or contracts. This includes ensuring that all actions are taken to ensure these contracts are delivered within budget and to agreed quality standards. Through remote, direct and indirect management, the Operations Manager should ensure adequate workflow issues are addressed and milestones necessary for the participants journey (s) are achieved.

Just some of your day-to-day responsibilities will include:

• People Motivation, Coaching and Development Operations Managers ensure the smooth running and productive dynamics of their teams by acting as a lynchpin between all key individuals and teams behind/within the participant1s journey to Employment.
• Performance Management and delivery Operations Managers manage their teams by monitoring all elements of the sales management process, motivating, ensuring and supporting co-members to perform effectively their roles in supporting participants into and sustaining in employment.
• Relationships and Stakeholder Management Operations Managers develop and maintain professional relationship with internal stakeholders as well as with employers and wider Employer organisations.
• Finance and Facilities Operations Managers are responsible for the management of financial resources and facilities within their remit.
• Quality and Continuous Improvement Operations Managers are responsible for the continuous improvement at the team level and contribution of continuous improvement at the organisational level.

What’s in it for you?

Alongside a generous base salary (pro-rata for part time), and great flexibility with your working schedule, we offer training, development and progression opportunities. You will have access to the range of Reed in Partnership benefits, which include:

• 25 days annual leave (pro-rata for part time) plus statutory bank holidays
• Reed Pension Scheme
• Award Winning Management & Leadership training
• Professional & Personal Development Funds
• Bi-annual pay reviews
• Plus much more

To be successful in this role, we are looking for someone with:

Essential Attainments

• Extensive experience of team management across multiple offices and multiple contracts within the Employment support sector
• Experience and understanding of the design and implementation of complex operational processes across multiple teams.
• Degree or relevant qualification.
• A minimum of 2 A-Levels or an equivalent Level 3 Diploma.
• GCSE English Language at a minimum of a Grade B (or equivalent Level 2 qualification).
• OR achievement of a Level 2 in Literacy Assessment at interview stage OR International Equivalents.

Essential Criteria

• Satisfactory demonstration of the Operations Managers’ attributes as detailed below.
• Understanding of Publically funded contracts & OSTED standards (where applicable)
• Technical skills include strong administration skills, good computer/technology skills, basic numeracy/spreadsheet skills and good written communication/record keeping skills.
• Personal interests include interest in people and willingness to learn.
• Personal circumstances include willingness to travel.

Desirable Criteria

• Experience of working on programmes targeting relevant disadvantaged groups in society.
• Experience of delivering foundation/ vocational learning programs.
• Technical skills include the ability to use technology to deliver results and knowledge of welfare/benefits system.
• Personal interests include interest in career and self-development.
• Personal circumstances allow for extensive UK travel which is a requirement of this role.
• Fluency in more than one language

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

We aim to ensure that no candidate or employee receives less favourable treatment on the grounds of gender, race, disability, sexual orientation, religion or belief, age, gender reassignment, marital or civil partnership status, pregnancy or maternity.

We offer a guaranteed interview scheme for disabled applicants who meet the minimum criteria.

Whilst some roles are advertised as Full-Time, we may be able to consider applicants who are looking to work on a Part-Time basis. If you would like to explore this further please discuss this with the talent partner for the role. Please note our ability to accommodate flexible working arrangements will vary from role to role, dependent on business requirements.

About Reed in Partnership

We are a family-owned company. We think this makes us unique compared to a lot of other companies. It is fundamental to the way our workplaces operate, the decisions we make and how we treat each other. Our workplaces have been recognised for multiple awards. Most recently we were really proud to be presented with three UK Employee Experience Awards in 2022: Gold for Best Talent Management Programme, Silver for Diversity and Inclusion and Bronze for Best Large Company to Work For. Our Work Experience is the combination of everything that's unique about us: our culture, our core values, our company meetings, our commitment to sustainability, our recognition programs, but most importantly, it's our people. Our employees are self-disciplined, hard working, curious, trustworthy, humble, and truthful. They make choices according to what is best for the team, they live for opportunities to collaborate and make a difference, and they make us the #1 Top Workplace in the area.

Contact

Phone: [phone] Email: [e-mail]