Service Care Solutions
Operations Lead
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🎓 Operations Lead – Education (National / Multi-Site)
📍 National coverage | Regular travel required | Based in Billingshurst
💰 £60,000–£65,000
💼 Full-time | Permanent
📊 Reporting into: Education Division Senior Leadership
Are you an experienced operations leader with a background in education, multi-site management, or regulated services?
We're recruiting on behalf of a specialist education provider for an Operations Lead to drive operational excellence across a portfolio of specialist schools.
This is a high-impact leadership role, working closely with Headteachers, Principals, and central support teams to improve standards, compliance, workforce performance, and financial sustainability across the group. You'll support schools through growth, change, inspections, and improvement programmes, helping to embed robust systems and reporting frameworks division-wide.
Leading Operational Excellence
- Partner with Headteachers and Principals on effective day-to-day operations
- Drive consistency in systems, processes, and standards across sites
- Monitor performance and identify opportunities for continuous improvement
- Provide operational leadership during inspections, audits, and regulatory reviews
- Identify operational risks and implement practical solutions
Supporting Workforce Performance
- Strengthen workforce stability and performance alongside HR teams
- Monitor recruitment, retention, and agency usage trends
- Support workforce planning, organisational reviews, and change programmes
- Ensure compliance with supervision, appraisal, and mandatory training
- Promote employee engagement, wellbeing, and best practice
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Driving Performance & Improvement
- Develop and maintain performance reporting systems and dashboards
- Analyse data across occupancy, attendance, safeguarding, behaviour, complaints, recruitment, staff turnover, training compliance, and budget performance
- Produce reports and insights for senior leadership meetings and business reviews
Quality & Compliance
- Support compliance with Independent School Standards, inspection frameworks, and safeguarding legislation
- Coordinate compliance audits and improvement plans
- Monitor and close out actions from inspections and internal reviews
- Promote a culture of accountability and continuous improvement
Leading Projects & Change
- Lead operational projects across the Education Division
- Support mobilisation of new services and expansion initiatives
- Manage project plans, milestones, and outcomes
- Identify risks and escalate barriers to delivery
Supporting Financial Performance
- Monitor budgets and resource utilisation with school leaders
- Support occupancy growth and referral activity
- Identify efficiency and financial sustainability opportunities
- Contribute to forecasting and business review activity
What we're looking for:
- Degree-level qualification or equivalent experience
- GCSE English and Maths (Grade C/4 or above)
- Experience working across multiple sites with diverse stakeholders
- Experience supporting leaders within regulated environments
- Strong understanding of quality assurance, compliance, and performance improvement
- Experience analysing management information and performance data
- Proven project management and change implementation experience
- Excellent communication, influencing, and relationship-building skills
- Ability to work independently across geographically dispersed locations
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Desirable
- PGCE or equivalent teaching qualification
- Experience within specialist education settings
- Working knowledge of Ofsted/Estyn inspection frameworks and Independent School Standards
Why apply:
- Senior operational leadership role within a growing education division
- Salary of £60k–£65k
- Genuine influence over performance and service improvement across multiple schools
- Collaborative environment with experienced education professionals
- Real, meaningful impact on outcomes for children and young people
📩 Interested or want to know more? Contact Oliver Jefferson at Service Care Solutions.
📞 01772 208962
✉️ oliver.jefferson@servicecare.org.uk
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