Market Research Operations Manager

Time Personnel; Cape Town; On-site; ZAR 900,000 - 1,250,000; Full time

Job summary

Time Personnel is seeking a Market Research Operations Manager in Cape Town to lead and develop managers, team leads and operational teams. You will drive operational excellence with a focus on data-driven improvements, KPI monitoring, and scalable processes in a fast-growing environment.

You will report to the Director, collaborate with cross-functional teams, and design training programs to uplift performance across the organisation. Strong leadership and analytical skills are essential.

Qualifications

• Experience managing within a multi-tier structure across managers, team leads and operators.
• Strong background in operations management with data-driven improvements.
• Proven track record leading managers and high-performing teams.
• Excellent stakeholder management and influencing skills.
• Collaborative leadership with accountability and continuous improvement focus.
• Highly organised with strong decision-making ability.
• Experience working with reporting, spreadsheets and workflow systems such as Jira.

Responsibilities

• Lead, coach, and develop Team Leads and Managers.
• Support ownership of daily operations quality and consistency.
• Monitor team and data performance against KPIs and trends.
• Ensure high validation, accuracy, and consistency across the function.
• Own and improve quality control frameworks and training structures.
• Manage escalations above Team Lead level and unblock blockers.
• Apply Agile practices to guide teams and keep delivery visible.
• Plan capacity and pipeline across teams; balance workloads and deadlines.
• Collaborate with Engineering, Customer Support and other teams to improve processes.
• Develop training programmes for new hires and existing staff.
• Report progress, risks, and recommendations to the Director.

Skills

Operations management

People leadership

Data-driven decisions

Stakeholder management

Training & capability building

Analytical thinking

Reporting & analytics

Tools

Jira

Job description

Market Research Operations Manager required in Cape Town.

Are you passionate about developing leaders, building high-performing teams and driving operational excellence within a research and data-driven organisation?

Join a fast-scaling UK-based company where you will work closely with the Director to lead, develop and empower managers, team leaders and operational teams, playing a key role in the company’s continued growth and success.

To succeed in this role, you’ll need proven management experience within a research and data-driven environment, with a strong track record of leading people, developing leaders and delivering operational results.

Requirements:

• Experience managing within a multi-tier structure, coordinating effectively across managers, team leads, and operators


• Strong background in operations management


• Proven experience leading managers and high-performing teams


• Experience using data to identify opportunities and drive operational process improvements is highly advantageous


• Strong stakeholder management, communication, and influencing skills


• Collaborative leadership style with a strong focus on accountability, continuous improvement, and team development


• Highly organised, with strong critical thinking and decision-making skills


• Confident working with reporting, spreadsheets, and workflow systems such as Jira


• Experience designing and delivering training and capability-building initiatives


• Resilient, adaptable, and able to perform effectively in a fast-paced and changing environment

Duties and Responsibilities::

• Lead, coach, and develop Team Leads and Managers


• Support ownership of the quality and consistency of daily operations


• Monitor team and data performance against KPIs, tracking error and exception rates and proactively acting on emerging trends


• Ensure high standards of validation, accuracy, and consistency across the function


• Own and continuously improve quality control frameworks, workflow processes, and training structures to ensure the function remains reliable and scalable


• Manage escalations above Team Lead level and remove blockers to ensure effective delivery


• Apply Agile practices to guide and support Team Leads, keeping delivery organised, visible, and consistent across teams


• Plan and manage capacity and pipeline across teams, balancing workloads against deadlines and available resources


• Optimise workflows, identify inefficiencies, implement improvements, and measure their impact on efficiency and accuracy


• Collaborate closely with Engineering, Customer Support, and other internal teams to improve processes, resolve issues, and support effective delivery


• Build and streamline training programmes for new hires and existing team members


• Report progress, risks, and recommendations to the Director, providing clear insights to support planning, prioritisation, and resourcing