Operations Manager

Smile Digital; Greater Manchester; Hybrid; GBP 38,000 - 45,000; Full time

Job summary

Smile Digital is seeking an Operations Manager for Manchester, hybrid role (3 days in the office). The position focuses on keeping day-to-day operations organized and commercially on track, with hands-on work across operations, delivery and finance.

You will manage workflows, reporting and data accuracy, while helping teams to be more efficient and making sure processes are followed. This is a 12-month fixed-term contract with a salary of £38,000 to £45,000.

Qualifications

• Experience in operations, resource, workflow, studio or PMO roles within a busy service-led environment.
• Agency or project-based background is useful but not essential.
• Strong data and reporting mindset with ability to derive insights.
• Advanced Excel skills (formulas, lookups, pivot tables).
• Practical, solutions-focused approach to improving processes.

Responsibilities

• Keep day-to-day operational activity moving across multiple teams.
• Coordinate priorities, actions and deadlines with clear follow-through.
• Support resource and capacity planning so workloads are visible and manageable.
• Maintain and improve operational processes, workflows and reporting.
• Work with finance and delivery teams to ensure accurate information.
• Produce reports on performance, workload, delivery and commercial activity.
• Review processes and suggest practical improvements to increase efficiency.
• Support onboarding and getting new starters set up across systems and processes.
• Mentor a junior member of the operations team.
• Ensure data entry accuracy and system integrity across operations.

Skills

Organised

Commercial awareness

Excel

Data reporting

Cross-functional collaboration

Systems thinking

Job description

Operations Manager, Operations Lead Manchester Hybrid, 3 days per week in the office - £38,000 to £45,000 - 12 month fixed-term contract

We are working with an established business that is looking for an Operations Manager to help keep the day-to-day running of the business organised, efficient and commercially on track.

This is a hands on role for someone who enjoys being close to the detail, making sure things happen, improving how teams work and using data and systems to spot where things could be running better.

You will work across operations, delivery and finance, helping to make sure processes are followed, information is accurate and teams have the visibility they need to make good decisions.

What you will be doing

• Keeping day-to-day operational activity moving across multiple teams
• Coordinating priorities, actions and deadlines and making sure there is clear follow-through
• Supporting resource and capacity planning so workloads are visible and manageable
• Maintaining and improving operational processes, workflows and reporting
• Working closely with finance and delivery teams to make sure commercial and operational information is accurate
• Producing useful reports around performance, workload, delivery and commercial activity
• Looking beyond the numbers to understand where things are working well, where there are gaps and what needs attention
• Helping teams stay on top of job management, system updates and accurate data entry
• Taking ownership of day-to-day operational systems and supporting colleagues with queries
• Reviewing existing ways of working and suggesting practical improvements where processes or systems could be more efficient
• Supporting onboarding and helping new starters get set up across systems and processes
• Supporting and mentoring a junior member of the operations team

What we are looking for

You are likely to have experience within operations, resource, workflow, studio, project delivery, PMO or a similar role within a busy service-led environment.

Experience within an agency or another project-based business would be useful, but it is not essential.

We are particularly interested in someone who:

• Is highly organised and comfortable managing lots of moving parts
• Has good commercial awareness and understands how delivery, resource and financial performance link together
• Is confident working with data and reporting and can pick out useful insight rather than simply produce numbers
• Has strong Excel skills and is comfortable with formulas, lookups, pivot tables and manipulating data
• Is comfortable with different systems and has experience improving workflows, reporting structures or operational processes
• Understands resource planning, workload and capacity
• Is confident working across different teams and following up where actions are slipping
• Has a practical, solutions-focused approach and naturally looks for ways to improve how things are done
• Is approachable, calm and able to build good relationships across the business

Experience with project, workflow or job management systems would be useful, but we are open to candidates from a range of systems backgrounds.

This is a good opportunity for someone who enjoys being at the centre of how a business runs, likes combining systems, data and people, and wants a role where they can make a visible difference to how smoothly things operate.