The Operations Manager will oversee the day-to-day running of a private office, ensuring the Principal’s diary, communications, team, finances and operations are effectively managed. Acting as the central point of coordination between the office, PAs, styling team and wider family, the successful candidate will be responsible for forward planning, team leadership, HR, financial oversight and continuous improvement, ensuring that all commitments, actions and responsibilities are followed through efficiently and nothing falls through the gaps.
Hours:- Full-time, with flexibility required around travel, events and urgent mattersLocation:- Private office, minimum two days per week in the office, with UK and international travel, including IndiaSalary:- Dependent on experienceStart Date:- ASAPInterviewing:- ASAP
Responsibilities include, but not limited to:
Chair and coordinate regular diary meetings across teams, reviewing the Principal’s diary, the diary of the Principal’s husband and other family members, upcoming commitments, styling requirements, event logistics, briefings and travel arrangements.
Identify diary clashes, outstanding preparations and potential issues in advance, ensuring all actions have clear owners and deadlines and are followed through to completion.
Oversee WhatsApp communications, ensuring messages are acknowledged, delegated and actioned by the appropriate team members.
Follow up on outstanding or urgent queries and ensure important decisions and actions are communicated and completed.
Review diary entries, documents and daily communications to the Principal for accuracy, completeness and clarity, keeping questions and outstanding matters up to date.
Manage staffing rotas across the office and styling teams, ensuring appropriate cover and keeping the Principal informed of staffing arrangements, travel cover, team visits to India and upcoming absences.
Assign a Lead PA to each trip and ensure travel responsibilities and workloads are distributed fairly.
Coordinate leave cover, handovers and staffing arrangements during periods of leave, travel and increased activity.
Review and approve leave requests, taking into consideration the Principal’s diary, travel, events and overall team capacity, resolving overlapping requests fairly.
Maintain accurate and confidential staff files, including notes and actions from regular one-to-one meetings.
Coordinate recruitment and onboarding, maintain recruitment records and ensure job descriptions and the team’s roles and responsibilities document remain up to date.
Monitor team workloads, performance and development needs, addressing issues directly and escalating where appropriate.
Work closely with the Chief of Staff to the Nursery on the regular review and improvement of SOPs and systems.
Collate monthly and per-trip expenditure and prepare clear financial summaries for the Principal.
Review and approve travel within delegated authority, considering diary commitments, staffing, logistics and cost, escalating expenditure outside delegated authority with recommendations.
Oversee office projects, including CRM implementation and maintenance, as well as automation and AI integration initiatives.
Review and update SOPs and the office manual to ensure procedures remain accurate, practical and accessible.
Ensure systems and procedures support effective handovers, consistent working practices and continuity of service.
Candidates must be / have:
Proven experience overseeing the day-to-day operations of a private office or similarly complex, high-level administrative environment.
Strong diary management, forward planning and organisational skills, with the ability to anticipate potential issues and manage competing priorities.
Experience coordinating and leading teams, including PAs and other support functions, with responsibility for rotas, workload allocation and cover arrangements.
Excellent communication and follow-up skills, with the ability to manage multiple communication channels and ensure actions are completed.
Experience in HR administration, recruitment, onboarding, staff management and performance development.
Experience managing confidential staff records and handling sensitive information with discretion.
Financial oversight experience, including expenditure tracking, reporting, travel costs and working within delegated approval limits.
Strong travel coordination and logistical planning skills, including UK and international travel.
Experience developing, implementing and maintaining SOPs, office manuals and operational systems.
An interest in or experience with CRM systems, process automation and AI integration.
The ability to work closely with senior stakeholders, exercise sound judgement and to escal issues appropriately.
A proactive, detail-oriented and solutions-focused approach, with the ability to maintain high standards and ensure nothing falls through the gaps.
Flexibility to accommodate international travel, events and urgent matters as required.
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