Senior Operations Manager

Fairford Associates

Originally founded more than two decades ago, my client is a market-leading company operating as a single source solution provider, offering comprehensive and bespoke facilities management and cleaning services in the heart of London. From humble beginnings, they have enjoyed impressive organic growth across a diverse array of demanding luxury retail and sophisticated commercial clients that includes over 150 blue-chip companies with both retail and office sites. The company continues to grow, remaining firmly in family hands. Their principles of twenty years ago remain the same to uphold the highest levels of service, quality, reliability, flexibility and environmental Sustainability. Currently I am working in partnership with them to find a Senior Operations Manager. The Senior Operations Manager leads, coordinates and optimises all operational activities to ensure the consistent delivery of high-quality services. This leadership role ensures alignment with strategic business goals, client satisfaction, team performance, cost-efficiency, and compliance. The position requires agile decision-making, stakeholder engagement, and continuous innovation in processes and service delivery

Responsibilities of the role

• Effectively utilise company systems and applications to ensure accurate information management and process traceability.
• Be familiar with and follow the company s internal regulations and health and safety guidelines.
• Inform his/her immediate supervisor of any events, deficiencies, or irregularities that disrupt the normal performance of your duties.
• Maintain a workplace environment that fosters organisational culture and growth.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with clients, focusing on customer satisfaction and retention.
• Address client concerns proactively and implement solutions collaboratively.
• Ensure services are delivered in line with client expectations and contracts.
• Remain available outside working hours to handle emergencies and respond to client inquiries promptly.
• Oversee the adoption of new technologies to improve workflows.
• Collaborate with department heads to streamline administrative and operational tasks.
• Promote innovative solutions to address operational challenges.
• Lead the implementation of technology to improve operational processes.
• Optimise processes to enhance efficiency across departments.
• Manage budgets for labour and materials to maintain cost efficiency.
• Allocate resources effectively across teams and projects.
• Collaborate with finance teams to track and adjust operational expenses.
• Maintain up-to-date records of cleaning machinery location and maintenance schedules.
• Ensure compliance with health, safety, and environmental regulations.
• Conduct regular audits of cleaning standards and operational practices.
• Set up and oversee the onboarding process for Area Managers, Area Supervisors, and Extra Works and Projects Coordinator.
• Develop and implement training programmes to enhance team skills.
• Foster a culture of accountability, collaboration, and professional growth.
• Guide and supervise Area Managers, Extra Works and Projects Coordinator, Operations Technology and Innovation Specialist and Supervisors to meet performance goals.
• Collaborate with department heads to align financial and administrative functions with operational needs.

Strategic & Operational Leadership

Develop, implement, and monitor operational strategies aligned with company goals.

Monitor departmental performance, identifying and addressing inefficiencies.

Coordinate and oversee the completion of extra and specialist jobs onsite, ensuring high-quality outcomes.

Lead strategic initiatives to enhance operational workflows.

Ensure high-quality cleaning standards are maintained across all sites through effective team management.

Assist in preparing and presenting quotations for new clients and projects.

Support the development and implementation of sustainability goals and targets.

Oversee and enforce sustainability initiatives across daily operations, ensuring waste management, chemical use, and energy efficiency align with company standards while training teams on best practices.

Monitor KPIs and conduct performance benchmarks, conducting regular team evaluations.

Complete and maintain health & safety documentation relevant to ad hoc work.

Act as the point of contact for same-day job requests, identifying solutions and allocating resources accordingly.

Develop the next-day schedule using guidance and job bookings from the Staffing Coordinator and Team Admin.

Consolidate daily operations reports and submit summaries to the Area Manager and Head of Operations.

Oversee driver deployment and management of spare staff, ensuring all additional hours are pre-approved by the Area Managers.

Manage team holiday requests, ensuring adequate cover and minimal service disruption.

Candidates for this Senior Operations Manager role should have the following attributes

Capable of providing inspiring and effective team leadership

Possess an entrepreneurial spirit

Have previous experience in working in an SME or family business and possess a broad knowledge of the soft services sector

Have a hands-on and flexible attitude to work

Be capable of reviewing procedures and where required devise and implement improvements

Have H&S and environmental impact knowledge

Have a passion and love of the cleaning industry

Experienced in contemporary industry software ideally Templar and Timegate

An ability to speak Spanish would be useful but is not essential

Salary £55k-£65k, 28 days holiday, pension, gym membership

Fairford Associates operates as an Employment Agency introducing work-seekers to client employers for direct employment by those employers. Please view our latest jobs on our website and follow us on Linkedin and Twitter. We do try to reply to each application personally, however as we receive a high number of applications for each role we handle it is not always possible to do this. Therefore, if we do not contact you within seven days your application for this particular role has not been successful. However, we have retained your CV and we will advise you of future roles that may be of interest.