Operations Manager

£45,000 to £60,000 per year, Competitive

Contract Type:

Permanent

Hours:

Full time

Disability Confident:

No

Closing Date:

18/09/2026

Operations Manager Lead performance.

Grow employer partnerships.

Deliver better outcomes.

You’ll lead the regional delivery of Get Set UK’s employability and adult skills programmes across the North West, with responsibility for operational performance, quality, people, compliance, employer engagement and commercial results across Restart, Skills and Apprenticeships activity.

This is a role for an experienced operational leader who can turn performance data into action, develop strong Business Managers and Team Managers, build high-performing teams and ensure services remain focused on the people and employers they support.

Alongside operational delivery, you’ll play a key role in driving regional employer engagement, sales and business development.

You’ll oversee Account Management and employer-facing teams, strengthen strategic employer relationships and ensure opportunities are converted into vacancies, skills provision and apprenticeship starts.

You’ll own regional budgets and P&L performance while maintaining the standards expected by commissioners, prime contractors, employers, partners and Get Set UK. Before you apply: the essentials To be considered, your CV must clearly demonstrate:
Senior operational leadership experience within employability, skills, welfare-to-work, apprenticeships, training or a closely related contract-driven service.

Evidence of leading Business Managers, Team Managers and multi-disciplinary delivery teams to achieve financial, contractual and outcome-based KPIs.

Strong working knowledge of DWP-funded employability provision, ideally including Restart, and experience operating within regulated quality, compliance and assurance frameworks.

Experience managing operational budgets and P&L accountability, including making evidence-based decisions around resources, productivity and priorities.

Strong experience of employer engagement, business development or sales within employability, skills, apprenticeships or a related sector.

Evidence of building strategic employer relationships that generate vacancies, recruitment opportunities, training demand and commercial growth.

Experience leading or overseeing Account Management, Employer Engagement or Sales teams, including pipeline management, activity, conversion and performance.

An understanding of apprenticeship growth and employer-led skills solutions, with the ability to connect employer demand to apprenticeship, academy and training provision.

Experience managing relationships with commissioners, prime contractors, employers and other external stakeholders.

Strong analytical capability, including confident use of Excel and Power BI to interpret performance information and present clear recommendations to senior or executive audiences.

Confident working knowledge of Microsoft Office applications, with the ability to learn and adapt to other software and digital systems.

What you’ll own Your focus is sustainable operational performance, employer growth and better outcomes, not simply short-term numbers.

You’ll set clear expectations for Business Managers and Team Managers, review performance and customer outcomes, identify where delivery is falling behind and ensure corrective action happens.

You’ll use management information to understand what is driving performance rather than relying on headline figures alone, using data to identify trends, risks, opportunities and areas requiring intervention.

You’ll coach and challenge Business Managers and Team Managers, helping them develop capable, accountable teams that deliver consistently for participants and learners.

Alongside performance, you’ll be responsible for maintaining contractual quality, safeguarding and compliance standards, ensuring operational risks are identified and addressed before they become bigger problems.

Employer engagement, Sales and business development A significant part of the role will be leading our regional employer strategy.

You’ll oversee Account Management, Employer Engagement and Sales activity across the region, ensuring…