Operations Manager

Optime Group; Manchester; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 45,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Car allowance

Monthly bonus up to £1,000

Based from Manchester office

Job summary

Optime Group in the UK is seeking an Operations Manager to lead our North Region from the Manchester office. You'll own delivery across the North, oversee Recruitment and Vetting teams, and travel to client sites and airports across the North.

The role demands strong leadership, commercial acumen, and a commitment to high standards as we grow our aviation operations with major UK clients. This is a genuine leadership position with significant autonomy and direct exposure to the Operations

Qualifications

• Experience leading operational teams in a fast-paced environment.
• Aviation experience is advantageous.
• Strong client and stakeholder management skills.
• Proven track record of improving operational performance.

Responsibilities

• Own operational delivery across the North Region.
• Lead Recruitment and Vetting teams.
• Build and maintain relationships with aviation clients.
• Ensure recruitment requirements are understood and delivered.
• Drive candidate quality through Right Person, Right Role.
• Oversee vetting, onboarding standards and compliance.
• Monitor fulfilment, attrition and client satisfaction.
• Identify and implement regional improvements.

Job description

Are you an experienced aviation or operational leader looking for your next challenge?

Do you have experience leading high-performing teams in a fast-paced, customer-focused environment?

Are you commercially minded, passionate about developing people and relentless when it comes to standards?

If so, we'd love to hear from you.

At Optime Group, we're continuing to grow our aviation operations across the UK and are looking for an Operations Manager to lead our North Region.

Based from our Manchester office, you'll take ownership of a growing portfolio covering Manchester, Liverpool, Birmingham, Scotland and Northern Ireland, working with some of the biggest names in UK aviation.

This is a genuine leadership position with significant autonomy and direct exposure to the Operations Director.

You'll lead an established team across Recruitment and Vetting and take responsibility for the complete journey from client requirement through to candidate selection, vetting, deployment, retention and successful workforce delivery.

Key Details

• Salary £40,000–£45,000 per annum.
• Monthly performance bonus of up to £1,000.
• Car Allowance £250 per month
• Based from our Manchester regional office.
• Travel to airports and client sites across the North Region. Which Included
  • Manchester
  • Liverpool
  • Birmingham
  • Belfast
  • Edinburgh
  • Scotland
  • Newcastle
• Direct responsibility for Recruitment and Vetting leadership.
• Genuine autonomy to lead and develop your region.
• Significant opportunity for career development within a growing aviation business.

What You'll Be Doing

• Taking complete ownership of operational delivery across the North Region.
• Leading, coaching and developing your Recruitment and Vetting teams.
• Building strong relationships with aviation clients and becoming a trusted operational partner.
• Ensuring client recruitment requirements are understood and successfully delivered.
• Driving candidate quality with a Right Person, Right Role, Every Time approach.
• Ensuring exceptional vetting, compliance and onboarding standards.
• Monitoring fulfilment, attrition, vetting turnaround, candidate experience and client satisfaction.
• Identifying operational failures, understanding why they happened and implementing improvements.
• Creating a highly engaged team with clear objectives and accountability.
• Maintaining exceptional operational, compliance and professional standards.
• Developing capability through coaching, training and Success Passports.
• Understanding your region commercially and identifying opportunities for growth.
• Protecting existing client relationships while proactively identifying new opportunities.
• Managing resources and costs with a Think Like an Owner mentality.
• Working directly with the Operations Director to support Optime's wider growth strategy.

What We’re Looking For

We're looking for somebody with strong leadership experience who is comfortable operating in a demanding, fast-moving environment.

Aviation experience would be a major advantage, particularly within airport operations, ground handling, recruitment, workforce solutions or outsourced services.

You’ll ideally demonstrate:

• Experience leading operational teams.
• Strong people-management and coaching capability.
• Excellent client and stakeholder management.
• Evidence of improving operational performance.
• High personal standards and attention to detail.
• Confidence challenging poor performance and driving accountability.
• Strong problem-solving skills.
• Commercial awareness and an appetite for growth.
• Experience working with KPIs and performance data.
• The ability to manage multiple clients, locations and competing priorities.

Most importantly, we're looking for someone who wants to take genuine ownership.

How We Lead

Our leaders are expected to demonstrate four core principles:

Candidate Selection — Right Person. Right Role. Every Time.

Relentless Standards — Excellence Sets Us Apart.

Curious Leadership — Ask. Understand. Improve.

Commercial Ownership — Think Like an Owner.

You’ll be measured not only on operational results but on how you engage your team, implement improvements, coach and develop people, maintain standards and contribute commercially.