Programme Manager - Operations SARI Institute

London Business School; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 42,000 - 62,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Annual leave 27 days

Pension (USS)

Onsite gym & pool

Professional development

Cycle to work

Wellbeing support

Job summary

London Business School is seeking a highly organised Programme Manager – Operations to help run the SARI Institute for Work, Careers & Longevity. You will blend programme and event management with end-to-end administrative ownership, supporting research, convening, lifelong learning, and stakeholder coordination.

In a startup-like Institute, you will move between strategic coordination and hands-on delivery, managing diaries, budgets and CRM while coordinating meetings and collaborative

Qualifications

• Demonstrable experience in a programme, operations, project or administrative support role.
• Experience in fast-moving/start-up-style or evolving environment.
• Excellent organisational skills and a methodical, proactive approach.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities under pressure.
• Flexible and hands-on working style with strategic and administrative capabilities.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to build rapport and work with senior academics and staff.
• Experience of event or logistics coordination.
• Comfort with data, trackers, CRM and budget records.

Responsibilities

• Translate strategic plans into day-to-day delivery with the Associate Director.
• Own and maintain operational plan, trackers, logs, deadlines and dependencies across workstreams.
• Coordinate logistics for meetings, workshops and forums; manage agendas, papers and follow-ups.
• Lead operational delivery for initiatives like alumni learning pilots or institute projects.
• Plan and coordinate events with Events, Campus Services and external suppliers.
• Draft and QA brand-related documents in line with brand guidelines.
• Apply audience segmentation to campaigns and initiatives.
• Maintain and optimise website, event pages, LinkedIn and related communities.
• Serve as the day-to-day contact for institute enquiries and route queries appropriately.
• Coordinate correspondence and follow-ups for Director-level relationships.
• Implement and manage CRM, building databases of stakeholders and thought leaders.
• Tackle new tasks as priorities evolve, using good judgement.

Skills

Programme management

Startup environment

Organisational skills

Multitasking

Flexible mindset

Communication skills

Stakeholder management

Event coordination

Data literacy

MS Office

CRM tools

Brand content

Brand guidelines

Website management

Higher education

Resilience

Tools

CRM systems

Budget tracking

Job description

Own the operational engine room of a newly established institute shaping global insight on work, careers and longevity.

The Role

London Business School is looking for a highly organised, proactive and hands-on Programme Manager – Operations to join the SARI Institute for Work, Careers & Longevity.

This is a central operational role within a new and fast-moving Institute. Working alongside the Associate Director, you will help keep the Institute’s day-to-day activity running smoothly, on time and to a high standard. You will combine programme and event management with end-to-end administrative ownership, supporting activity across research, convening, lifelong learning, communications, data, finance and stakeholder coordination.

The SARI Institute is building its operating model from the ground up, so this role will suit someone who is genuinely flexible, practical and comfortable moving between strategic coordination and hands-on delivery. One day you may be tracking progress across key workstreams or supporting an Institute-wide project; the next, you may be coordinating logistics, preparing materials, managing invoices or resolving practical issues to keep activity moving.

You will also work closely with the Faculty Assistants supporting the Institute’s Academic Co-Directors, Professor Lynda Gratton and Professor Herminia Ibarra, ensuring joined-up coordination of diaries, meetings, correspondence and Institute priorities.

Main Responsibilities

• Work alongside the Associate Director to translate SARI’s strategic plans into practical day-to-day delivery.
• Own and maintain the Institute’s operational plan, task tracker, action logs, deadlines and dependencies across research, convening and lifelong learning workstreams.
• Manage logistics for Institute meetings, workshops and internal forums, including agendas, papers, minutes and follow-up actions.
• Take ownership of operational delivery for specific initiatives as they arise, such as alumni learning pilots, donor reporting activity or Institute projects.
• Plan and coordinate Institute events, roundtables, briefings and convening moments in partnership with Events, Campus Services and external suppliers.
• Support drafting and quality assurance of brand-related documents, ensuring consistency with London Business School rules, regulations and brand guidelines.
• Work with colleagues to apply audience segmentation to campaigns and initiatives, helping ensure activity is targeted and engaging.
• Maintain and optimise the Institute’s website and event pages, LinkedIn company page and any associated online community groups.
• Act as the day-to-day point of contact for the Institute enquiries mailbox, resolving queries directly or routing them appropriately.
• Coordinate correspondence and follow-up relating to Institute business across the Associate Director’s and Academic Co-Directors’ key relationships.
• Implement and manage the Institute’s CRM system, building and maintaining databases of senior practitioners, alumni and academic thought leaders.
• Take on new or one-off tasks at short notice as Institute priorities evolve, using good judgement to prioritise what matters most.

Who We Are Looking For

• Demonstrable experience in a programme, operations, project or administrative support role.
• Experience working in a fast-moving, start-up-style or evolving environment would be particularly helpful.
• Excellent organisational skills and a methodical, proactive and accurate approach.
• The ability to manage multiple priorities at once and keep activity moving under pressure.
• A genuinely flexible and hands-on working style, with confidence moving between strategic support and practical administration.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• The ability to build rapport and work diplomatically with a wide range of stakeholders, including senior academics and their support staff.
• Experience of event or logistics coordination.
• Confidence working with data, including maintaining trackers, CRM systems and budget records, and producing clear reports.
• Good working knowledge of Microsoft Office, including Outlook, Word, Excel and PowerPoint.
• Experience using CRM, event or project management tools would be advantageous.
• Experience creating or briefing brand content, marketing collateral or digital content.
• A good working knowledge of brand guidelines.
• Familiarity with website content management, SEO and social media management, particularly LinkedIn, would be desirable.
• Previous experience in higher education, research or an academic environment would be helpful but is not essential.
• A resilient, can-do attitude and a sense of humour, with comfort working in a new Institute where priorities and processes are still taking shape.

Benefits You Can Enjoy

• Generous annual leave of 27 days plus extra days between Christmas and New Year
• USS pension, 14.5% employer contribution (in return for employee enrolment and contribution)
• Free onsite gym and swimming pool
• Amazing range of professional development to support your career path
• Enhanced cycle to work scheme
• Wellbeing offering to support your physical, mental and financial health

At London Business School, we support Smart Working - a hybrid approach designed to help you achieve a healthy work-life balance while delivering the best outcomes for your role and the needs of our customers. All roles require a minimum of two days on campus each week to foster a vibrant, collaborative community.

For this role specifically, you will be expected to be on campus 2 days per week.

We operate with 'core hours' - 10:00-15:00 - to maximise opportunities for connection and collaboration across teams during the working day. Outside of these hours, you may still be required for meetings or collaboration based on your role and customer needs. Additionally, we offer Protected Time - a flexible, one-hour slot, within the working week dedicated to your learning and development, wellbeing, or focused, quiet work

Why London Business School?

London Business School; a global and vibrant business community based in three of the world’s most dynamic cities, London, Dubai and Riyadh. It’s where extraordinary minds and diverse perspectives connect, to have a profound impact on the way the world does business and the way business impacts the world. We offer best in class hybrid learning to our students and participants, whilst creating a flexible, supportive and dynamic working environment for our people to excel in, whatever their location.

Our commitment to driving inclusion and belonging

We are a globally reaching institution, committed to creating tangible and sustainable change in driving inclusion & belonging within our School, education and society at large. We are dedicated to creating an environment where everyone in our community feels they belong and thrive. This is a key school priority, and we want everyone who joins LBS to feel respected, welcomed, and heard.

Candidates needing sponsorship should assess their eligibility for a Certificate of Sponsorship by evaluating their circumstances against the relevant criteria before applying.

Please note we start screening CVs and interviewing candidates from the start of a campaign. A successful candidate could progress to offer before the advertised closing date. We encourage you to apply as soon as possible if you are interested in any roles.

Competitive Salary dependent upon experience

Closing date: 25th September 2026