Chatterbug Ltd Speech and Language Therapy
Business Operations Manager
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Business Operations Manager
Location: Leeds (Office Based)
Salary: £40,000 – £45,000
Reporting to: CEO
About the Role
We are seeking an experienced Business Operations Manager to take practical ownership of the operational function that underpins Chatterbug’s service delivery. The role provides structure, oversight, and direction across office operations, administration, school delivery, workforce capacity, financial visibility, and business performance.
This is a hands-on operational management role in a function where systems and information are still developing. You will be expected to investigate how work is currently operating, obtain the information required, identify gaps, and establish effective controls. Missing information or an incomplete handover must be actively resolved rather than accepted as a blocker.
You will line manage the admin team and work closely with the Clinical Service Manager and other leaders. You will oversee complex school schedules, staffing capacity, income reporting, complaints, office requirements, processes, and automations. The role does not make clinical decisions, but ensures that operational systems enable safe, effective, and financially sustainable service delivery.
This role is ideal for someone who brings order to complexity, is financially confident, makes sound decisions, and follows work through to completion without needing close supervision or repeated chasing.
Key Responsibilities
Operational Delivery & School Scheduling
- Take day-to-day operational ownership across Private Clients, Schools, Local Authorities, Youth Justice Services, and other commissioned services.
- Ensure bookings, follow-ups, communications, and service administration are completed accurately and within agreed timescales.
- Own operational oversight of complex school schedules, maintaining accurate visibility of days purchased, scheduled, delivered, remaining, and owed.
- Monitor caseloads, therapist capacity, service demand, and delivery commitments and implement recovery plans where delivery falls behind.
- Identify operational, contractual, financial, and relationship risks early and follow corrective action through to completion.
Financial & Business Performance
- Produce timely and accurate reports on invoices raised, income received, aged debt, expected income, and outstanding financial actions.
- Work with finance, systems, and relevant leaders to retrieve information, investigate discrepancies, and resolve data gaps.
- Monitor the relationship between contracted activity, delivered sessions or days, staffing capacity, invoicing, and income.
- Coordinate KPI and status reporting, challenge missing or unreliable updates, and ensure corrective actions have clear owners and deadlines.
- Provide concise operational and business-performance reporting, including trends, risks, completed actions, and recommendations.
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Team, Staffing & Recruitment
- Line manage the admin team, setting clear priorities, KPIs, standards, and deadlines.
- Oversee admin capacity and performance, reallocating work, changing processes, or implementing improvement plans where required.
- Work closely with the Clinical Service Manager, providing accurate capacity, scheduling, and delivery information to support staffing decisions.
- Coordinate recruitment progress and ensure new starters have the equipment, access, schedules, information, and induction arrangements required.
- Use capacity and service-demand information to identify future staffing requirements and present evidence-based recommendations.
Complaints, Office & Compliance
- Coordinate complaints from acknowledgement through investigation, response, resolution, and organizational learning.
- Act as the first point of operational guidance for complex or unusual enquiries received by the office.
- Oversee the day-to-day running of the Leeds office, including cleaning, confidential-waste collection, maintenance, equipment, and supplies.
- Maintain facilities and compliance oversight, including fire-safety checks, health and safety actions, servicing, and renewals.
- Ensure complaints, facilities issues, and compliance actions are completed, evidenced, and escalated appropriately.
Systems, Automations & Improvement
- Write, update, and implement clear operational processes and standard operating procedures.
- Ensure processes are embedded into daily practice and address process drift, duplication, and recurring failures.
- Oversee operational automations, including ownership, monitoring, testing, documentation, and failure escalation.
- Coordinate cross-functional implementation across admin, clinical, finance, recruitment, and other teams.
- Obtain the information required to progress work, make confident decisions within agreed boundaries, and reduce unnecessary operational dependency on the CEO.
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About You
Essential Experience
- Demonstrable experience managing an operational or service-delivery function within education, healthcare, or another complex service-led organization.
- Experience establishing operational control in an environment with incomplete, inconsistent, or underdeveloped processes.
- Experience managing complex scheduling, workforce capacity, or resource allocation across multiple services or customer groups.
- Experience producing and interpreting management information, including income, invoicing, aged debt, or comparable financial reports.
- Experience line managing an admin or support team, setting KPIs, and addressing underperformance.
- Experience developing and implementing processes from discovery through to embedded practice.
- Evidence of obtaining information and coordinating action across stakeholders who may not work proactively or consistently.
- Evidence of taking operational problems from identification through to implemented and measurable resolution.
Desirable
- Qualification in business, operations, management, or a related field.
- Experience of school contracts, commissioned services, or healthcare and education delivery.
- Knowledge of HR processes and employment-law principles.
- Experience overseeing workflow automations, complaints, compliance, or facilities management.
Key Skills & Behaviours
- Strong operational execution, ownership, and follow-through.
- Financial confidence and the ability to turn data into clear management information.
- Analytical judgement and the confidence to test incomplete or unreliable information.
- Ability to manage complex schedules, capacity, and competing priorities.
- Clear, constructive accountability leadership and people-management skills.
- Confidence in obtaining information, coordinating action, and challenging appropriately across teams.
- Concise written and verbal communication, including reports, processes, and recommendations.
- A calm, practical, and solution-focused approach in fast-moving situations.
Our Recruitment Process
- CV and covering statement
- Initial phone interview
- Scenario-based operational task
- Panel interview
- Final interview (if required) and references
How to Apply
Please submit your CV and a covering statement outlining your suitability for the role to recruitment@chatter-bug.com.
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