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We are hiring an Operations Manager, Challenge Works (12 month Maternity Cover)

Overview

At Challenge Works, we design and run challenge prizes to spark innovation in science, technology and society. We are part of Nesta, the research and innovation foundation. Our challenge prizes offer a series of incentives in return for solving a defined challenge, creating breakthrough innovations, helping innovators thrive, and unlocking systemic change. We are innovation experts, embedded in science, technology and entrepreneurship. We are problem-centred, drawing on insights from lived experience and sector experts to create positive change. We are thought leaders in using innovation to drive impact. We have run over 100 challenge prizes awarding over £370m on behalf of public, private and philanthropic funders around the world. Some of our current prizes and programmes include the Water Innovation Fund, the Longitude Prize on ALS and the Good Start challenge.

Challenge Works is looking for an Operations Manager to play a critical role in the smooth running of the team, reporting into our Head of Operations and working with our Programme, Communications and Research teams, as well as Nesta’s central Finance, People and Legal teams. You will support the smooth, effective and sustainable running of key operational areas like financial reporting, project budgeting, management information, recruitment and learning and development, working with existing processes as well as designing and implementing new ones where you see opportunities for us to improve.

The Role - what you’ll do

Manage CW finances through our programmes and proposals

• Go-to point of contact for our programme teams on their budgets:
  
  
  • Checking variances and how these impact our overall Challenge Works financial position
  • Advice and signposting to team members on our financial processes (budgeting, re-forecasting and tracking).
  • Feed into CW-wide management information to guide strategic decisions
• Manage the Challenge Works central budget—overseeing the tracking of income, expenditure, and processing invoices accurately
• Work with the Head of Operations to improve financial monitoring across Challenge Works, collaborating with Nesta Finance to improve grant management and programme reporting.
• Consolidate utilisation and financial data into clear dashboards for leadership.

Develop our CW team

• Support the Head of Operations with resourcing our programmes and making recruitment decisions.
• Lead the recruitment process for all roles below band 5 and support hiring managers to get the best outcomes from their recruitment process.
• Support our team members and line managers with more complex HR queries and processes, liaising with the Nesta People Team.
• Manage the planning of Challenge Works team Away Days to build and maintain team culture and skills
• Responsible for organising the L&D offering for Challenge Works including running team-wide training based on operational or organisational initiatives (e.g. budget management, line management, feedback).

Help Challenge Works to run smoothly and keep us connected with wider Nesta

• Keep operations and systems running seamlessly - act as the go-to expert on our internal tools and systems and maintain the templates, guides and process maps that help the team deliver.
• Support leadership - Organise, attend and record actions for all Challenge Works Leadership Team meetings—taking minutes and ensuring action follow-ups.
• Keep internal communications flowing - manage team-wide operational updates so everyone stays informed and aligned across the right channels.
• Deploy AI effectively to deliver your own work and spot opportunities where it could help streamline processes for the team.
• Connect Challenge Works with central Nesta - maintain our strong working relationships across Nesta's central functions - including Finance, People, L&D, Legal, and IT to pull in specialist support whenever needed.

The Person - who you are

We are looking for someone with the following skills, experience and attributes:

• A track record of monitoring project budgets, resource allocations, and operational data (using tools like PowerBI) to minimise financial variance and deliver clear management reports for leadership.
• Experience hitting the ground running to run and maintain established operational processes without needing extensive hand - holding.
• Exceptional organisation skills to manage competing priorities and tight deadlines calmly, maximising output within a part-time schedule.
• Excellent interpersonal skills to build trust quickly with senior leadership, programme teams, and central support functions like Finance and People teams.
• A reliable completer - finisher who spots potential bottlenecks early, takes ownership of day-to-day issues, and keeps tasks moving forward independently.
• Confident using AI for efficiency whilst maintaining quality outputs
• Comfortable using project management platforms (such as Asana), CRMs (such as Salesforce), Google Workspace and Slack.
• Solid understanding of internal governance, contract/procurement good practice, and handling sensitive and confidential information with discretion.

What we offer:

Hours: 30 hours (4 days) per week

Reports to: Head of Operations

Salary: £50,700 - £67,800 pro rata (offers are expected to be made towards the bottom of the band)

Location: Hybrid with 2 days per week in our London Blackfriars office

Term: Fixed Term 12 months maternity cover

Making an application

To apply for this role, please submit your application before 8:00am on the 6th November 2026.

Interviews will take place w/c the 16th of November 2026.

At Nesta, we believe that a diverse workforce leads to an organisation that is more innovative, more creative and gets better results. We want our workforce to represent the diversity of the people and communities we serve. We also want our workplace to be one where different experiences, expertise and perspectives are valued, and where everyone is encouraged to grow and develop.

This means that when we are recruiting, we actively seek to reach a diverse pool of candidates. It also means that we are happy to consider any reasonable adjustments that potential employees may need to in order to be successful.

We recognise the importance of a good balance between work and home life, so we do everything we can to accommodate flexible working, including working from home, compressed or part-time hours, job shares and other arrangements.

Please just let us know in your application or at any stage throughout the process (and beyond) if these are options you’d like to explore.