The Adventure Service
Head of Operations
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To apply: Please send your CV and a cover letter to careers@theadventureservice.com. LinkedIn job applications won't be monitored.
Please note that applications will not be considered without a cover letter.
Your covering letter is your opportunity to show us why you are the right person for this role. It should be no more than two sides of A4, and it must clearly demonstrate how your skills, experience, and values align with the role of Head of Operations at The Adventure Service Ltd.
When writing your letter, please ensure you cover the following areas:
Motivation and Alignment with The Adventure Service
- Explain why you are applying for this role and why The Adventure Service’s vision, mission, and values resonate with you.
- Share what excites you about supporting adults with additional needs to ‘Achieve Potential Through Adventure.’
- Show your passion for outdoor learning and commitment to promoting independence, confidence, and inclusion.
Leadership and Operational Experience
- Provide clear examples of your leadership experience, especially managing operations across multiple sites or services.
- Highlight how you have motivated and developed staff teams, promoted a positive culture, and ensured services run smoothly.
- Show your ability to work collaboratively as part of a Leadership Team.
Compliance, Quality, and Safety
- Demonstrate your knowledge and experience of compliance frameworks such as CQC, Ofsted, AALA, safeguarding, and health & safety.
- Share examples of how you have led on risk management, audits, inspections, or quality assurance processes.
- Explain how you balance compliance with maintaining a person-centred and values-led service.
Strategic Thinking and Growth
- Provide examples of how you have supported or led service growth, business development, or change management.
- Show how you have helped organisations remain sustainable, innovative, and forward-looking.
- Demonstrate financial awareness, including budget management and resource allocation.
Personal Qualities and Values
Reflect on how your approach to teamwork, communication, and leadership aligns with our values:
- Team spirit through positivity, support, and fun.
- Active communication and listening.
- Adventurous approach to change.
- Responsibility, honesty, and integrity.
- Passion, determination, and pride in what you do.
- Promoting learning through positive risk taking.
- Use real examples that show you live these values in practice.
Practical Requirements
- Confirm you hold a full driving licence and are willing to travel across sites.
- Mention your willingness to undertake further training and professional development.
- Acknowledge the flexible nature of the role (e.g., occasional weekends, evenings and emergency cover)
This is a full-time position of 40 hours per week. Given the operational nature of the role, there is an expectation that the postholder will provide out-of-hours availability, including:
- Acting as the weekend emergency contact for the Short Breaks service on a rota or agreed basis.
- Attending occasional evening meetings or training sessions as required.
Flexibility is essential to ensure the smooth running of services and to support the needs of the organisation.
About The Adventure Service
Vision
Achieving Potential Through Adventure
Mission
The Adventure Service aims to be a sector-leading provider supporting adults with learning disabilities, autism and/or additional support needs to grow in confidence and independence by achieving their potential through adventure.
We provide inclusive, person-centred opportunities that enable Adventurers to develop skills, build relationships, make choices, take positive risks and achieve meaningful outcomes through safe and purposeful outdoor and adventurous experiences.
Our Values
At The Adventure Service:
- We create team spirit through positivity, support, feedback and enjoyment.
- We actively communicate by listening and sharing information effectively.
- We embrace adventure by welcoming change and challenging the status quo.
- We take responsibility and act with honesty and integrity.
- We are passionate, determined and proud of our work.
- We promote learning through positive risk-taking.
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Purpose of the Role
The Head of Operations is a senior leadership position with responsibility for ensuring The Adventure Service's services are safe, effective, person-centred, well-led and operationally sustainable.
As a key member of the Senior Leadership Team (SLT), the post holder will provide operational leadership across Day Services, Short Breaks and Trailblazers and ensure operational practice reflects The Adventure Service's vision of Achieving Potential Through Adventure.
The Head of Operations will ensure that appropriate systems, leadership and workforce arrangements are in place to enable The Adventure Service to provide consistently high-quality services to Adventurers.
Working closely with the Managing Director and wider SLT, the post holder will ensure that safeguarding, regulatory compliance, quality assurance, positive risk-taking and the needs, rights, choices and outcomes of Adventurers remain central to operational decision-making.
The role will provide leadership and support to service managers and operational teams, ensuring staff have the skills, resources, systems and direction required to deliver high-quality provision.
The Head of Operations will also contribute to the strategic development and sustainable growth of The Adventure Service, including the development of new services, locations, systems and ways of working.
PERSON SPECIFICATION
Essential Criteria
Applicants must be able to demonstrate the following:
Relevant Sector Experience
Significant professional experience within social care or a closely related sector is essential.
Candidates must demonstrate how their professional background provides the knowledge and experience required to lead safe, person-centred and high-quality services at The Adventure Service.
Understanding of the People We Support
Demonstrable knowledge and understanding of supporting people with learning disabilities, autism and/or additional support needs, including the importance of person-centred practice, choice, dignity, independence, safeguarding and positive risk-taking.
Leadership and Operational Management
Proven leadership and operational management experience, with responsibility for services, staff teams and operational systems.
Experience of managing across multiple services, locations or operational functions, or demonstrable experience that provides the capability to do so effectively.
Ability to translate organisational priorities into effective operational delivery and maintain oversight of multiple competing priorities.
People Management
Experience of leading and developing staff and managers, including supervision, performance management, workforce development and maintaining appropriate professional standards.
Ability to provide supportive leadership while maintaining clear expectations, professional boundaries and accountability.
Safeguarding
A sound understanding of safeguarding responsibilities and the importance of creating a culture in which concerns are recognised, reported and responded to appropriately.
Experience of working within organisational safeguarding procedures and responding appropriately to concerns.
Regulation, Governance and Accountability
Experience of working within services subject to regulation, inspection, contractual monitoring, external quality assurance or comparable governance arrangements.
Ability to understand and implement organisational policies, regulatory requirements and quality standards.
Risk Management
A sound understanding of health and safety, risk assessment and organisational responsibility for protecting people from avoidable harm.
An understanding of positive risk-taking and the importance of balancing duty of care with choice, independence, development and meaningful opportunities.
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Financial and Resource Management
Financial awareness with experience of budget management, resource planning, staffing management and/or operational cost control.
Ability to consider financial sustainability alongside service quality and operational requirements.
Quality Improvement
Experience of monitoring service quality, identifying areas requiring improvement and implementing changes that improve operational performance and outcomes.
Ability to use feedback, incidents, audits and performance information constructively to improve services.
Communication and Relationships
Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
Ability to build and maintain effective professional relationships with Adventurers/service users, families, staff, commissioners, regulators, partner organisations and other external stakeholders.
Ability to communicate confidently and appropriately at operational, management and senior leadership level.
Organisation and Decision-Making
Excellent organisational, analytical and problem-solving skills.
Ability to manage competing priorities, make appropriate decisions and remain calm and effective when responding to operational pressures or unexpected situations.
Values and Culture
A clear commitment to The Adventure Service's Vision, Mission and Values.
A strong understanding of the benefits of adventure, inclusion, independence, meaningful activity and positive risk-taking.
Ability to lead by example and promote a positive, accountable and values-led organisational culture.
Professional Development
Commitment to ongoing learning and professional development.
Willingness to undertake additional training and qualifications appropriate to the responsibilities of the role.
Travel
Full UK driving licence and willingness and ability to travel regularly between The Adventure Service locations and other operational sites.
DESIRABLE CRITERIA
It would be advantageous for applicants to demonstrate one or more of the following:
Adult Social Care Experience
Experience specifically within adult social care or services supporting adults with learning disabilities, autism and/or additional support needs.
CQC
A strong working knowledge of CQC requirements and experience of working within or alongside a CQC-regulated service.
Experience contributing to CQC inspections, assessments, quality assurance or service improvement.
Outdoor and Adventure Provision
Knowledge or experience of the governance and management of outdoor and adventurous activity provision.
Knowledge or experience of the Adventure Activities Licensing Authority (AALA) and relevant adventurous activity standards.
Relevant National Governing Body outdoor qualifications and/or significant practical understanding of outdoor and adventurous activity provision.
Qualifications
A relevant qualification in leadership and management, social care, education, outdoor learning/adventure or a related discipline.
A relevant Level 5 leadership/management qualification, or willingness to work towards one where appropriate to the responsibilities of the role.
Inspection and Quality Assurance
Experience preparing services for inspections, audits, local authority monitoring, regulatory assessment or other external quality-assurance processes.
Service Development
Experience leading organisational change, quality improvement or workforce-development projects.
Experience developing, mobilising or opening new services, contracts, sites or premises.
Senior Leadership
Experience working effectively as part of a Senior Leadership Team or equivalent senior management structure.
Experience contributing to organisational strategy, growth and long-term planning.
Closing Date: 18th October 2026
Group Interview scheduled: 2nd November 202
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