Operations Manager

The Methodist Church in Britain; Coalville; Hybrid; GBP 45,000 - 65,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Defined benefit pension scheme

30 days' annual leave + 10.5 days (pro

Employee discounts and offers

Employee assistance programme

Flexible working options

Hybrid working

Support for learning and development

Wellbeing initiatives

Job summary

The Methodist Church in Britain is seeking an Operations Manager to lead the day-to-day delivery of RICHeS, a UK-wide heritage science research infrastructure programme guided by UKRI. The role supports funded investments, tracks milestones and finances, and prepares governance and reporting.

It includes line management of one Operations Officer and is a fixed-term role for 23 months with hybrid working and occasional travel.

Qualifications

• Experience managing and coordinating programmes and operational activities.
• Experience supervising colleagues and allocating work to meet objectives and timescales.
• Ability to build and maintain relationships with diverse internal and external stakeholders.
• Monitoring progress against plans and delivering clear reports.
• Maintaining rigorous records with attention to detail.

Responsibilities

• Support the Senior Operations Manager in operational delivery of RICHeS and contribute to planning future phases.
• Maintain programme systems, processes, records and documentation, and improve operational efficiency.
• Track milestones, deliverables, issues and actions, escalating matters requiring senior consideration.
• Coordinate inputs from colleagues and external partners to agreed timescales.
• Act as key operational contact for funded investments, monitoring progress against plans and outputs.
• Support funded projects to meet obligations to provide access to facilities, collections and expertise.
• Work with project leads to resolve operational issues and elevate significant risks.
• Support management and monitoring of programme budgets and liaise with grant holders' finance teams.
• Maintain accurate financial and programme records with audit trails.
• Prepare governance papers, maintain the programme risk register and coordinate milestone reporting to UKRI's Infrastructure Team.
• Develop and monitor access arrangements, including the Access Fund, and engage with national and international partners.
• Line manage the RICHeS Operations Officer, setting objectives, development and work priorities.

Skills

Programme management

Line management

Stakeholder engagement

Reporting & governance

Data analytics

Job description

Operations Manager post running the day-to-day delivery of RICHeS, the UK-wide heritage science research infrastructure programme led by the Arts and Humanities Research Council within UKRI. The role supports funded investments and partners, tracks milestones and finances, and prepares governance and reporting for the programme. It carries line management of one Operations Officer, is fixed-term for 23 months, and allows hybrid working. Candidates should expect occasional travel and out-of-hours work.

What the job involves

• Support the Senior Operations Manager in operational delivery of RICHeS and contribute to planning future phases
• Maintain programme systems, processes, records and documentation, and improve operational efficiency
• Track milestones, deliverables, issues and actions, escalating matters requiring senior consideration
• Coordinate inputs from colleagues and external partners to agreed timescales
• Act as key operational contact for funded investments, monitoring progress against plans and outputs
• Support funded projects to meet their obligations to provide access to facilities, collections and expertise
• Work with project leads to resolve operational issues and elevate significant risks
• Support management and monitoring of programme budgets and liaise with grant holders' finance teams
• Maintain accurate financial and programme records with appropriate audit trails
• Prepare governance papers, maintain the programme risk register and coordinate milestone reporting to UKRI's Infrastructure Team
• Develop and monitor access arrangements, including the Access Fund, and engage with national and international partners
• Line manage the RICHeS Operations Officer, setting objectives, development and work priorities

What’s required

Experience

• Managing and coordinating programmes, projects or operational activities
• Managing, supervising or developing colleagues and allocating work to meet objectives and timescales
• Building and maintaining effective relationships with diverse internal and external stakeholders
• Monitoring progress against plans, milestones and deliverables, and producing clear reports
• Maintaining programme or operational processes and records with strong attention to detail

Skills & knowledge

• Strong IT skills, including working with complex datasets and digital reporting and monitoring tools
• Strong organisational and analytical skills, identifying issues and developing practical solutions
• Excellent written and verbal communication, explaining complex information to diverse audiences

Other

• Willingness to travel, work away from the office and sometimes outside normal working hours

What’s offered

• Defined benefit pension scheme
• 30 days' annual leave plus 10.5 public and privilege days (full-time equivalent)
• Employee discounts and offers on retail and leisure
• Employee assistance programme with confidential help and advice
• Flexible working options
• Hybrid working with a mix of home, office and other UK locations
• Support for learning, development and continuous learning
• Wellbeing initiatives