Operations Manager

Newcastle University; Newcastle upon Tyne; Hybrid; GBP 37,000 - 40,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Excellent benefits

Generous holiday package

Pension schemes

Health and wellbeing initiatives

Job summary

Newcastle University seeks an Operations Manager to operationalise strategy across a school within the Faculty of Science, Agriculture & Engineering. You will oversee front-of-house management, digital and physical infrastructure, procurement, purchasing and delivery management, leading a small team to deliver high-quality services to students and colleagues.

The role is full-time for 12 months, reporting to senior management, with a focus on continuous improvement and cross-unit collaboration

Qualifications

• Proven leadership and staff management skills.
• Experience in a similar role within a complex organizational setting.
• Experience in project management.
• Experience in process improvement and the use of digital technology to increase efficiency and service levels.
• Experience of working collaboratively across a number of units/departments in a matrix setting.
• Familiarity with financial processes and procurement.
• Strong numeracy and IT skills, with confidence in data handling.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills.
• Evidence of proactive, creative and flexible problem-solving.

Responsibilities

• Lead daily transactional and operational activities across a specific school, including purchasing, travel, deliveries, expense processing and finance approvals.
• Provide line management and leadership to the School Operations team.
• Deliver key activities such as Academic Workload Allocation modelling.
• Coordinate with University IT Service (NUIT) for a fit-for-purpose digital experience for students and staff.
• Support infrastructure planning and implementation, including capital projects and space management.
• Lead and deliver School and Faculty projects with resource monitoring for successful completion.
• Support Deputy Head of School Operations and School Executive in strategic plans.
• Act as a change agent to identify service improvements and innovations.
• Deputise for the Deputy Head of School Operations when appropriate.

Skills

Leadership

Staff management

Project management

Process improvement

Digital technology

Cross-team collaboration

Financial understanding

Analytical skills

Education

Degree or equivalent qualification

Tools

Procurement software

Finance systems

Job description

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Salary: £ 37,369 to £39,560 with progression to £46,970 per annum

Newcastle University is a great place to work, with excellent benefits . We have a generous holiday package; plus the opportunity to buy more, great pension schemes and a number of health and wellbeing initiatives to support you.

Closing Date: 12 November 2026

The Role

To be responsible for operationalising strategy and policy across a specific school in the Faculty of Science, Agriculture & Engineering in core areas including, but not limited to: front of house management, support for a high quality digital and physical infrastructure, procurement, purchasing and delivery management. The Operations Manager will lead on all day-to-day operational activities, providing advice, recommendations and guidance to senior management and colleagues, developing and improving administrative processes to enable a high performing culture of continuous improvement in the operations team.

You will form part of a team of 3 operations managers across our schools and this team works collectively together to ensure the delivery of a high-quality service to students and colleagues, consistently delivered where appropriate and aligned with the school and faculty’s strategic goals.

This post is full time for a duration of 12 months.

Key Accountabilities

• To lead daily transactional and operational activities across a specific school, including: purchasing, travel arrangements, deliveries, expense processing, and finance approvals. This includes working with operations managers in other schools to iterate and update processes to ensure they are consistent and fit for purpose, using digital technology where possible
• To provide line management and leadership to the school Operations team, fostering a collaborative, agile and high-performing team culture. To hold overall responsibility for the delivery and coordination of school hubs
• To manage and deliver key activities as relevant to a particular school e.g. Academic Workload Allocation modelling
• To be the key liaison with the University IT Service (NUIT) to ensure a fit for purpose digital experience is available for students and colleagues in the school
• To support infrastructure planning and implementation, including capital projects, space management, office allocation and relocation and space optimisation
• To lead and deliver school and faculty projects. To design and develop new and innovative projects and ideas, to request and closely monitor resource to ensure successful project completion
• To provide support to the Deputy Head of School Operations and School Executive in the delivery of the School’s strategic plan. To assist with the preparation and implementation of short, medium, and long term plans
• To be a positive change agent, identifying additional service requirements or shortfall in service and recommending improvements or innovative solutions to maximise service quality
• To deputise for the Deputy Head of School Operations were appropriate
• To act as the first point of contact for resolving day-to-day operational issues, particularly those that fall outside standard processes

The Person

Knowledge, Skills and Experience

• Proven leadership and staff management skills, with the ability to motivate and develop teams
• Proven experience in a similar role within a complex organizational setting
• Experience in project management
• Experience in process improvement and the use of digital technology to increase efficiency and service levels
• Experience of working collaboratively across a number of units/departments in a matrix setting
• Familiarity with financial processes and procurement
• Strong numeracy and IT skills, with confidence in handling and interpreting data
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, with the ability to influence and build relationships
• Evidence of a proactive, creative and flexible approach to problem-solving. A ‘can-do’ approach
• Evidence of the ability to contribute effectively and creatively to the development, communication and implementation of policy
• Understanding of the wider HE environment
• Knowledge of Equality, Diversity & Inclusion practice and policies

Attributes and Behaviour

• Identifies the need for change and provides innovative solutions
• Collaborative and inclusive, acting with integrity and building trust
• Clear and concise communicator, encouraging open dialogue and information sharing
• Organised and proactive, able to prioritise effectively and manage competing demands
• Committed to continuous improvement and innovation in service delivery

Qualifications

• Degree or equivalent qualification, or significant vocational experience in a similar role, demonstrating progression through increasingly demanding responsibilities

Newcastle University is a global University where everyone is treated with dignity and respect. As a University of Sanctuary, we aim to provide a welcoming place of safety for all, offering opportunities to people fleeing violence and persecution.

We are committed to being a fully inclusive university which actively recruits, supports and retains colleagues from all sectors of society. We value diversity as well as celebrate, support and thrive on the contributions of all of our employees and the communities they represent. We are proud to be an equal opportunities employer and encourage applications from individuals who can complement our existing teams, we believe that success is built on having teams whose backgrounds and experiences reflect the diversity of our university and student population.

At Newcastle University we hold a Gold Athena Swan award in recognition of our good employment practices for the advancement of gender equality. We also hold a Race Equality Charter Bronze award in recognition of our work towards tackling race inequality in higher education REC. We are a Disability Confident employer and will offer an interview to disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the role as part of the offer and interview scheme.

In addition, we are a member of the Euraxess initiative supporting researchers in Europe.