464 Operations Manager jobs in Croydon

Job Title: Business Operations Manager 

Salary: £50,000 + £10,000 bonus 

Reports to: Managing Director 

Location: W4 5PY, West London (hybrid up to 2 days per week after probation) 

Contract Type: Full-time, Permanent 

About Us  

We are a leading publisher of video-based training resources and eLearning for the social care sector. With a growing team in West London, we are expanding rapidly, launching new products and having recently introduced a new eLearning portal. This is an exciting opportunity for an experienced Business Operations Manager to take central responsibility for the smooth running of the business. 

Purpose of the Role  

To oversee the day-to-day operations of the company, ensuring seamless service delivery, effective use of systems, and high-quality support across all departments. The role combines hands-on operational management with strategic enablement of sales, marketing, customer service, and product teams. 

Key Responsibilities  

1. Systems & Infrastructure  

• Manage the company LMS (support team, sales enablement, marketing enablement, data maintenance). 
• Oversee key 3rd-party platforms: CRM (HubSpot), accounting (Xero), Microsoft 365, domain and email hosting, payment gateways (PayPal, WorldPay, Stripe), Retool, delivery services, video hosting platforms, and other website accounts. 
• Manage IT setup and support (with external IT provider). 
• Ensure GDPR, data protection, and compliance across systems. 

2. Data & Reporting  

• Own and maintain company data lists. 
• Partner with sales and marketing to ensure data accuracy and accessibility. 
• Use SQL, Retool, Zapier, APIs, webhooks and JavaScript for reporting, automation, and building MVP solutions. 
• Work with the MD to set KPIs/OKRs and track business performance. 

3. Team & Operations Leadership  

• Manage the Customer Service team to deliver excellent client support. 
• Manage Sales Operations, set targets, and report on performance. 
• Supervise freelance consultants, developers, and designers. 
• Step in for the MD to manage office operations when required. 

4. Finance & Compliance  

• Support the company budgeting process, ensure accountability. 
• Maintain oversight of insurance cover, postal services, telephone, and other operational logistics. 
• Ensure Health & Safety, GDPR, and other legal compliance requirements are met. 
• Maintain manuals and develop clear operational and procedural documentation. 

5. Product  

• Manage development of LMS platform improvements 
• Support bug fixing and issue escalation with technical expertise  
• Act as a point of escalation for key clients  
• Develop off product solutions for clients and internal use 
• Develop product roadmap and ensure delivery in line with business goals 

Experience Required (Essential)  

• Managing a range of 3rd-party hosted websites and services. 
• IT management (with external IT support). 
• Leading and managing teams. 
• Delivering services in a customer-focused organisation. 
• Budgeting and financial accountability. 
• Managing multiple concurrent projects. 
• SQL for reporting and automation. 

Experience Preferred (Nice-to-Have)  

• Managing a hosted software system (e.g., LMS). 
• Experience managing software development projects and familiarity with development cycles. 
• Understanding of APIs/webhooks and ability to use them for automation and reporting. 
• CRM management (ideally HubSpot: workflows, data pipelines, ticketing). 
• Experience supporting SaaS products in a dynamic environment while maintaining customer retention. 
• Aircall + HubSpot ticketing. 
• Reporting and KPI/OKR setting across multiple business units. 
• Experience using Retool and/or Zapier to build automation and reporting systems. 

Skills & Attributes  

• Strong communicator, comfortable engaging with stakeholders at all levels. 
• Fluent spoken and written English. 
• Proactive, takes initiative, and supports team collaboration. 
• Able to juggle competing priorities in a fast-paced environment. 
• Efficient, organised, and detail-oriented record-keeper. 
• Excellent problem-solving skills and ability to think strategically and operationally. 
• Skilled in Microsoft Word, Excel, Outlook, SharePoint, CRM systems, and cloud accounting tools. 

Requirements  

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent (preferred). 
• Right to live and work in the UK; UK residency required. 
• Ability to commute to West London (role is office-based with hybrid potential). 

Schedule  

• Monday to Friday 
• 9:00am – 5:30pm 

Benefits

• Comprehensive induction and commitment to ongoing learning and development
• Contributory pension scheme
• Relaxed work environment
• Regular staff social activities
• Sick pay
• Potential for 1-2 days hybrid working per week after completing probationary period.

Work Location : W4 5PY (potential for hybrid working up to 2 days a week after probationary period)

Please do not apply if unable to commute to West London.

We provide flexible financial solutions designed to help businesses and individuals grow and succeed.

Established by experienced business owners, we offer a practical alternative to traditional banking, combining tailored lending and savings products with hands-on support. Since receiving our banking licence, we have built a loyal customer base and a strong, diverse team committed to helping clients achieve their financial goals.

Our approach focuses on understanding each customer’s unique needs. By offering smart, adaptable solutions, we help businesses and individuals unlock opportunities and build long-term, sustainable success.

About the role

As a New Business Operations Manager, you will play a pivotal role in supporting the smooth delivery of credit-approved deals through to drawdown. Working closely with Lending Managers, Underwriters, solicitors, valuers, and other key stakeholders, you will ensure that each transaction progresses efficiently, maintaining momentum and service quality across the completion pipeline. This role demands strong organizational skills, attention to detail, and a proactive approach to issue resolution and process improvement.

Key Responsibilities

• Manage the end-to-end progression of deals from credit approval to drawdown, ensuring all requirements are met within agreed timelines.
• Liaise with internal teams and external partners—including Lending Managers, Underwriters, solicitors, and valuers—to facilitate timely and accurate completion of transactions.
• Conduct and oversee KYC and AML checks, ensuring that all onboarding activities are fully compliant and complete prior to drawdown.
• Maintain accurate deal records using internal systems and support management information (MI) reporting through effective data capture and tracking.
• Monitor pipeline activity, identify potential bottlenecks or delays, and escalate issues promptly to maintain delivery momentum.
• Support the Team Lead in driving team performance, ensuring service levels (SLAs) and key performance indicators (KPIs) are consistently achieved.
• Contribute to process improvement and automation initiatives aimed at increasing efficiency and enhancing the customer and colleague experience.
• Ensure full compliance with regulatory requirements, internal policies, and risk management frameworks.
• Deliver exceptional service to both internal and external stakeholders, acting as a reliable and professional point of contact throughout the deal lifecycle.

Required Qualifications

• Minimum of 5 years’ experience in financial services, ideally within lending operations or completions.
• Strong understanding of lending products, credit processes, and customer onboarding.
• Performance-driven with a strong focus on execution, accuracy, and service delivery.
• Proven experience working with third-party suppliers, including solicitors and valuers.
• Solid working knowledge of KYC and AML processes within a lending environment.
• Proficient in using operational systems and tools to support efficient deal management.
• Highly organized with excellent communication and stakeholder management skills.
• Experience using nCino or similar deal management systems is advantageous.

Why Join?

We’re building more than a workplace — we’re creating an environment where people feel empowered to make a difference, supported to excel, and trusted to do the right thing. We believe that when our people thrive, so do our customers. That’s why we invest in a culture that reflects these values and supports your growth, flexibility, and wellbeing.

Here’s what you can look forward to:

Generous Time Off – Annual leave plus bank holidays to rest, recharge, and enjoy life outside of work.

Work From Anywhere – Up to 4 weeks per year to work remotely from anywhere in the world.

Learning & Development – Tailored training and support to grow your skills and achieve your professional goals.

Hybrid Working – A flexible working model with a mix of office and remote days to support work-life balance.

About The Role

The role

We are seeking to appoint an experienced and highly organised Operations Manager with fantastic attention to detail for our school. This is an exciting opportunity to join a truly exceptional senior team and provide strategic leadership on HR, office management, site and contractor management and projects. If you are an ambitious and driven individual with a passion for high quality systems and processes, this is the job for you. 

This is a varied and exciting role where your contribution will greatly impact the operational success of our school. You will lead our planned capital projects as well as offering integral operations expertise and support across the school. The role operates on a 52 weeks per year contract, with 25 days annual leave per annum.

What’s special about this role?

This newly created role falls within the school leadership team, providing day to day and strategic oversight and leadership for Operations. Key aspects of the role include, but are not limited to, HR, building operations, health and safety, capital projects, IT, community usage, catering and cleaning contract administration and operational support across the school.

Who are we looking for?

Across school life, we embed high aspirations and a growth mindset in all of our children. We believe that every single child who joins us has the potential to be knowledgeable, articulate and successful. It’s important this resonates with all candidates. Equally important is subject expertise and knowledge, transferable skills and experience.

Why will you love our school?

There are lots of reasons! We’re lucky to be based in a brand-new building with top class facilities. We serve a wonderfully diverse community - we are non-denominational, mixed gender and two fifths of our pupils receive pupil premium funding. We’re led by our values - Aim High, Have Integrity, Be Kind and Model Determination and our team truly unite behind our vision. Curriculum is incredibly important to us and we’ve planned backwards from university readiness to give our pupils the very best in every subject discipline. We timetable collaborative planning and love to engage in ‘productive struggle’. Every team member is supported with coaching and tailored professional development, whatever stage they are at in their career. Our extended school day (we finish at 4pm four days a week and earlier on Wednesday) allows us to offer a broad, rich curriculum and timetabled enrichment for every child - but we never have meetings after school. Our team say: ‘All staff are incredibly supportive and positive, and it is a great environment to work in’.
Read more about our school here
Click here to see our school in action
Click here to read our Ofsted report from September 2023 

Benefits

• Bespoke professional development to all team members
• Opportunity to plan and moderate with colleagues in the same discipline, beyond our own school gates.
• Breadth of opportunities - many of our team have taken on leadership roles progressing from one of our sister schools.
• Benefits beyond the classroom including everything from shopping discounts to a supportive and comprehensive Employee Assistance Programme.

Find out more about the benefits of working for Ark at arkonline.org/careers/why-work-with-us/ 

About Us

We are non-denominational, mixed gender school based in a brand-new building with top class facilities. We serve a wonderfully diverse community and two fifths of our pupils receive pupil premium funding. 

We’re led by our values - Aim High, Have Integrity, Be Kind and Model Determination and our team truly unite behind our vision. Curriculum is incredibly important to us and we’ve planned backwards from university readiness to give our pupils the very best in every subject discipline.

We timetable collaborative planning and love to engage in ‘productive struggle’. Every team member is supported with coaching and tailored professional development, whatever stage they are at in their career. Our extended school day (we finish at 4 four days a week and earlier on Wednesday) allows us to offer a broad, rich curriculum and timetabled enrichment for every child - but we never have meetings after school. Our team say: ‘All staff are incredibly supportive and positive, and it is a great environment to work in’.

See our school in action here and hear what our staff have to say about why they love working at our school here.

Visit arkpioneer.org/jobs to learn more about us. 

Diversity and inclusion:

We aim to build a diverse and inclusive organisation where everyone – staff and students – can do their best work and achieve their full potential. We want to reflect and represent diverse perspectives across our organisation because we know that doing so will make us stronger and more effective. To know more about Ark’s diversity and inclusion commitments, please click on this link.

Safeguarding statement:

Ark is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people in its academies. In order to meet this responsibility, its academies follow a rigorous selection process to discourage and screen out unsuitable applicants.

Ark requires all employees to undertake an enhanced DBS check. You are required, before appointment, to disclose any unspent conviction, cautions, reprimands or warnings under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975. Non-disclosure may lead to termination of employment. However, disclosure of a criminal background will not necessarily debar you from employment - this will depend upon the nature of the offence(s) and when they occurred. To read more about Ark’s safer recruitment process, please click this link.

P lease note we will be reviewing applications on an on-going basis and this role may close earlier than advertised depending on the level of response. We strongly encourage to submit your application at your earliest convenience.