Operations Support Supervisor - South Region

The Guide Dogs for the Blind Association; Reading; On-site; GBP 25,000 - 30,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading charity organization in Reading is looking for an Operations Support Supervisor to manage and support the team in delivering exceptional customer service and administrative coordination. The role involves overseeing operational activities, ensuring compliance with standards, and providing training to team members. This is a full-time position with a 12-month fixed-term contract, working Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm.

Qualifications

• Experience in customer service and administrative roles.
• Proven ability to manage and support teams effectively.
• Strong organizational and problem-solving skills.

Responsibilities

• Manage daily operations of the team for efficient service.
• Provide line management, coaching, and training to staff.
• Ensure compliance with health and safety standards.
• Coordinate internal communications and support materials.

Skills

Customer service

Administrative coordination

Team management

Communication

Time management

Job description

The Operations Support Supervisor helps people with sight loss to live the life they choose by enabling staff and volunteers to fulfil their operational delivery roles. This is achieved through the provision of people‑centred customer service and professional and efficient administrative coordination and support. The role helps manage a team of Coordinator to maintain a safe and pleasant working environment through oversight of local workplace activities, working in partnership with the Property & Workplace Services team.

• Working closely with Operations Support Manager to update and maintain office policies and procedures as necessary.
• Ensuring all incoming customer queries are proficiently handled and associated procedures are followed in line with quality standards and customer expectations.
• Provide line management, coaching and training of onsite Operations Support Coordinators and volunteers. This may include remote line management support to staff at other locations as directed by the Operations Support Manager.
• Key Accountabilities of the Operations Support Coordinator role:
• Deals with routine correspondence and calls ensuring all enquiries are proficiently handled and appropriately referred to the relevant internal specialists in line with quality standards.
• Maintains paper and computer‑based inputting and customer or volunteer records in line with process standards and General Data Protection Regulations.
• Provide administrative support for Guide Dogs services (GDS) including GDS Operations, Puppy Raising, Dog Health & Wellbeing and Rehoming. This could include, but not exclusive to, preparing/sending out equipment; coordinating and booking hotels for class; collating and sending qualification packs in preferred formats; inputting health histories; and mailings as generated by GDI and requested by the CAS team.
• Provides administrative support for the SISS team. This could include, but not exclusive to ensuring any equipment is ordered and mailings sent out in preferred formats, in a timely manner.
• Provides administrative support for volunteers such as puppy raisers, fosterers and drivers. This could include, but not exclusive to, sending puppy information packs and agreed communications within the agreed timescales as set out in the volunteer engagement process, dealing with queries and supporting the coordination of volunteer activities required for operational delivery as requested.
• Provide reception services, including greeting visitors, managing incoming and outgoing post/deliveries, car parking, hot desks, and meeting room bookings/equipment.
• Coordinates local health & safety activities to ensure the site remains safe and compliant. These include fire alarm testing, monthly safety checks and emergency evacuation support as required.
• Liaise with Workplace Services to coordinate activities including reporting reactive issues, liaising with contractors, and conducting housekeeping checks.
• Overseeing the site pool vehicles including weekly safety checks, monthly mileage submissions, booking services and organising periodic valeting.
• Consistently maintain good housekeeping standards and professional office environment including desk conditions and set up to DSE guidelines, visual display boards up‑to‑date, storage monitored and managed, and space management (i.e. fair and appropriate use of communal meeting spaces).
• Ensure any donations received are counted, balanced, prepared for banking and recorded on the system correctly in a timely manner.
• Maintains diligence and compliance around numerous administrative duties and requirements including (but not exclusive to):
• Incoming and outgoing post.
• Raising purchase orders & expense requisitions.
• General communications, and production and distribution of support materials to stakeholder groups as requested.
• Stock maintenance for office materials / site provisions / dog provisions.
• Trains and provides ongoing support to local staff and new starters in the use of information and office systems as required.
• Support internal local team level activities such as seasonal social events, Senior Leader / stakeholder visits.
• Any other administrative or support duties as needed to enable the smooth running of the office and the team it supports.

Every day is different at Guide Dogs. And no person with sight loss is the same. We work side by side, on our sites and in the community, in schools and on our streets, supporting people to live the life they choose. Our staff therefore also work in different ways to support the delivery of our life changing work.

Safeguarding

Safeguarding Guide Dogs is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of all children, young people and adults at risk of harm with whom we work. We expect all our employees and volunteers to fully share this commitment. At Guide Dogs, we believe in fair and equitable hiring practices. A criminal record will not automatically disqualify an applicant from consideration for a position. Each case will be evaluated individually, taking into account the nature of the offense, its relevance to the role, and the time that has passed since the incident. We encourage all candidates to disclose relevant information, and we assure you that it will be handled confidentially and fairly. Guide Dogs follow Safer Recruitment practices to ensure we are safeguarding the vulnerable people we work with. As part of this, we require a full work history with any gaps accounted for & a minimum of 2 professional referee details fully covering the past 5 years. If you are applying for a disclosure role, please note that you will be required to undergo an enhanced DBS check and sign up to the DBS update service. For high volumes of applications, we reserve the right to close adverts earlier than advertised.

Role details

This is a full‑time, office‑based role working Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm. It is a 12‑month fixed‑term position based in the South, with flexibility to consider any of our South Region offices.