Director of Operations

Area Operations Director – Southwest England

Working Pattern: Field-based / Home-based

£70,000 plus £5,000 Car Allowance & Bonus (up to 20%)

Territory: Southwest England, ideally between Gloucestershire and Exeter

Experience with in private healthcare, dentistry, veterinary, optical, aesthetics, hospitality or another premium consumer-facing environment would be advantageous.

Compass Associates are looking for an exceptional Area Operations Director to lead a portfolio of approximately 12 clinics across the Southwest of England.

This is a high-impact senior operational leadership role, offering significant autonomy, accountability and the opportunity to shape the performance and growth of a multi-site healthcare portfolio.

You will have full operational responsibility for your region, working closely with local leadership teams and clinical stakeholders to drive commercial performance, operational excellence, patient experience and sustainable growth.

As Area Operations Director, you will be responsible for ensuring your clinics have the leadership, structure and support required to consistently deliver outstanding patient experiences and strong commercial results.

You will work closely with clinic leaders and clinicians to identify opportunities, improve performance and create a culture of accountability and continuous improvement.

Key responsibilities will include:

• Full operational and commercial accountability for a portfolio of approximately 12 clinics.
• Driving sustainable EBITDA growth through improved commercial performance, operational efficiency and patient experience.
• Developing and coaching high-performing local leadership teams.
• Creating clear accountability and performance standards across the region.
• Supporting clinics to develop and execute effective growth strategies.
• Identifying opportunities to improve revenue, patient conversion, utilisation and overall clinic performance.
• Ensuring an exceptional end-to-end patient journey across every location.
• Working collaboratively with clinical teams to support high-quality patient care and sustainable growth.
• Providing hands-on leadership and intervention where required, while maintaining a strategic view of the wider portfolio.
• Supporting the integration of newly acquired clinics into the wider group.
• Working effectively across a collaborative matrix environment with central support functions and subject matter experts.
• Communicating confidently with stakeholders at all levels, including senior leadership.

You will be an experienced multi-site operational leader with a strong commercial mindset and a proven track record of delivering results across a geographically dispersed portfolio.

You will build strong relationships through your energy, authenticity and engaging leadership style, while creating an environment where people are empowered to take ownership and perform at their best.

We are particularly interested in individuals who have operated within premium, consumer-facing businesses, where customer experience, commercial performance and operational standards are equally important.

You will be:

• A strong commercial leader with demonstrable evidence of delivering sustainable EBITDA and revenue growth across a multi-site environment.
• An inspirational people leader who can develop strong local management teams and create genuine accountability.
• Equally comfortable operating strategically and getting hands-on when required.
• Highly commercially aware, with a strong understanding of performance drivers and how to translate them into action.
• Passionate about delivering an outstanding customer/patient journey.
• Naturally inquisitive, proactive and solutions-focused.
• Comfortable making decisions, challenging existing ways of working and…