Head of Operations, Internal title: Operations Manager

Department: Operations / Service Delivery

Reports to: Owlis management and CenCom MD

Location: Wadhurst (TN5 7JR), hybrid, with a minimum of 3 days per week in the office. During probation, full-time in the office.

Role Purpose

The Head of Operations is responsible for the day-to-day running of CenCom's operational functions, ensuring that the service desk, technical project delivery, procurement, and finance teams work to clear structures, standards, and priorities, and that CenCom consistently delivers what has been agreed with its clients. The role provides the operational leadership that allows the Managing Director to focus on client relationships, business growth, and technical direction.

The role owns operational planning, resource allocation, service performance, project delivery oversight, and management information across CenCom. It is responsible for building a structured first, second, and third-line service desk, maintaining a clear view of project workload and engineer capacity, embedding consistent processes and systems usage across the team, and ensuring people have clear objectives, KPIs, and development support. The role works closely with Owlis management (group) to provide accurate and timely reporting and to support group-wide operating standards.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the day-to-day operation of CenCom, ensuring service, project, and operational commitments made to clients are resourced, delivered, and followed through to a high standard.
• Line manage the managers of the service desk and technical project delivery functions, and provide operational leadership to the wider service desk and project teams.
• Line manage the procurement and finance teams alongside the operational teams, with both holding a dotted reporting line into the Owlis finance team for financial process, standards, and reporting.
• Establish and maintain a structured first, second, and third-line service desk model with clear ownership, escalation routes, and handover standards between support and project teams.
• Ensure tickets are logged, prioritized, progressed, and closed within agreed service levels, and that backlogs and aged tickets are actively managed and reduced.
• Maintain a single, accurate view of project workload, resource allocation, and engineer capacity, ensuring client commitments can be delivered and conflicts are identified early.
• Oversee project delivery against the agreed CenCom project framework, including discovery, customer sign-off, delivery checkpoints, and closure, ensuring projects are delivered to agreed scope, timescale, and quality.
• Hold delivery engineers accountable for clear project plans, status updates, and customer communication, and step in where projects are at risk.
• Ensure a clear separation between service desk and project work, so that project engineers are not diverted from planned delivery and support demand is handled at the appropriate line.
• Act as the operational escalation point for clients on service and project matters, ensuring issues are acknowledged, owned, communicated, and resolved.
• Manage client onboarding and offboarding processes, including the correct handling of notices, contract changes, and handovers, in coordination with the Managing Director.
• Ensure Microsoft Dynamics 365 and supporting systems (Halo) are used consistently for cases, projects, time, and documentation, so that work is visible, measurable, and auditable.
• Develop, document, and embed operational processes, templates, and standards that reduce reliance on individual knowledge and informal practice.
• Set clear objectives, KPIs, and performance expectations for managers and team members, and review performance against them through one-to-ones, probation reviews, and regular check-ins.
• Work with Owlis People on recruitment, onboarding, probation, performance management, and any formal people processes within the operational teams.
• Ensure training and CPD time is planned, used, and recorded, and that skills gaps across the team are identified and addressed.
• Produce weekly operational reporting covering ticket volumes, SLA performance, backlog, project status, and capacity, and monthly reporting on utilisation, chargeable time, and cost of delivery.
• Oversee the day-to-day financial operations of the business, including purchasing, supplier invoices, client billing, chargeable time, expenses, and cost control, working with Owlis finance on month-end, management accounts, and financial planning.
• Oversee hardware logistics and stock, ensuring orders are tracked and aligned with project and client requirements.
• Manage operational supplier and vendor relationships, including escalations with Microsoft, distributors, and connectivity providers.
• Identify operational, delivery, people, and client risks early and ensure they are communicated to the Managing Director and Owlis management with clear mitigation actions.
• Support Owlis group initiatives, shared systems, and operating standards, contributing to the consistent operation of CenCom within the group.
• Ensure confidential company, client, employee, and group information is handled in line with company policies and contractual obligations.