Overview
Senior Business Operations Manager – INTERNAL ONLY – Strand, London, WC2R 2LS
THIS VACANCY IS OPEN TO INTERNAL APPLICANTS ONLY
About us
The Faculty of Arts & Humanities is distinctive in representing academic excellence across a diverse range of disciplines, from longer established disciplines such as Philosophy, Classics, and English, to more recently established fields including Digital Humanities and Film. Located in the heart of London, the Faculty enjoys close ties with globally significant cultural institutions such as the British Museum, Shakespeare’s Globe, and the National Portrait Gallery. It’s more than 400 Postdoctoral Research students (PGR) are an integral part of the Faculty’s research environment, contributing to its vitality and innovative outlook.
About the role
The Senior Business Operations Manager in the Faculty of Arts and Humanities provides senior management and oversight across business operations which includes aspects of HR, Finance, Education, Space, Health & Safety, Compliance, and People. The post will work closely with the relevant Faculty teams and key contacts in the university’s central Directorates to ensure the effective running of the Faculty operations.
The post holder provides high level support, including strategic, financial, and resource information for the academic leadership and the professional services lead. They are responsible for the financial operations, forecasting and monitoring performance against the agreed budgets, and have responsibility for the staff resource and management. The post holder uses their expertise and experience to take decisions both independently and collaboratively that have a lasting impact on the Faculty and participates in university-level initiatives that maximise efficiency and financial sustainability.
Working closely with the Faculty’s Head of Business Operations, the post holder will lead on efficient and effective management within business operations through managing a team of business operations staff. They will set professional standards for the team, overseeing workload distribution, delivery, ensuring staff have the training and support to be a high-performing and solutions focused team. The post holder will share good practice and identify areas of improvement with colleagues in similar posts across the Faculty and university.
The post would suit someone who has experience of managing and developing a team, is proactive in identifying areas for efficiencies through understanding day-to-day operational detail and linking to bigger picture initiatives and is able to build and maintain effective collaborative working relationships across an organisation.
The role will provide individuals with a wide variety of experience and skills working across multiple operational functions in a large and complex organisation, supporting the individual to progress their career within HR & financial operations and senior management across the University.
This post will be offered on a full-time, indefinite role.
About you
To be successful in this role, we are looking for candidates to have the following skills and experience:
Essential
- Substantial knowledge and experience of a range of business operational activities (including HR, finance and business continuity, health and safety) acquired through relevant managerial level posts from within a HE environment.
- Significant understanding and experience of applying regulations in a large and complex organisation and communicating policies and procedures to colleagues.
- Well developed communication and influencing skills
- Highly proficient level of financial numeracy and experience of data analysis and reporting, with experience of presenting reports for senior management.
- Excellent organisational skills to manage multiple competing priorities and take a proactive approach to complex problem solving.
- Experience of developing a culture of continuous improvement and/or change management when implementing new systems and processes.
- Experience of strategy development and application in line with broader priorities that have a demonstrable impact
- Experience of managing and developing high performing teams
Desirable
- Proven ability to automate processes and implement digital tools using platforms such as Power BI and SharePoint to enhance efficiency, streamline workflows, and support continuous improvement.
- Good level of understanding of the higher education sector in the UK, the opportunities and the challenges it faces.
Downloading a copy of our Job Description
Full details of the role and the skills, knowledge and experience required can be found in the Job Description document, provided at the bottom of the next page after you click “Apply Now”. This document will provide information of what criteria will be assessed at each stage of the recruitment process.
