Head of Centre Operations
We are seeking an experienced senior leader to drive operational excellence across multi-site services, ensuring high standards, efficiency and impact.
Position: Head of Centre Operations
Salary: Circa £60,000 plus £5,000 car allowance
Location: Watford with hybrid working and regular travel
Hours: 35 hours per week
Contract: Permanent
Closing Date: 29th April 2026
About the role
This is a senior leadership role responsible for overseeing operations across multiple sites, leading large teams and ensuring high standards of service delivery.
You will be accountable for delivering strategic objectives through operational excellence, strong leadership and effective performance management across a geographically dispersed workforce.
Key responsibilities include:
- Developing and delivering operational strategy aligned to organisational goals
- Leading and managing multi-site teams through direct reports
- Driving performance through data analysis, KPIs and continuous improvement
- Overseeing day to day operations to ensure consistency, quality and compliance
- Managing budgets, financial controls and identifying efficiencies
- Ensuring high standards of customer service and stakeholder engagement
- Leading on health and safety across all sites and ensuring full compliance
- Overseeing facilities, estates and maintenance planning
- Building partnerships with external organisations and stakeholders
- Supporting organisational development through coaching, training and leadership
You will play a key role in shaping operational systems, improving efficiency and ensuring services meet both current and future needs.
About you
We are looking for a confident and experienced leader with a strong track record of managing large, multi-site teams.
You will have:
- Significant experience in multi-site operational management
- Strong leadership skills with a focus on coaching and team development
- Experience driving performance, analysing data and improving systems
- Knowledge of health and safety management and compliance
- Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills
- Strong organisational skills with the ability to manage complex workloads
- Confidence using IT systems including Microsoft Office
- A full driving licence and willingness to travel regularly
Experience within a relevant sector is beneficial, but not essential. More important is your ability to lead complex operations and deliver results.
About the organisation
The organisation is a rescue and rehoming charity with four rehoming centres and six charity shops operating across the south of England. They are a charity that never stops caring for its animals and people, working towards a world where every pet thrives in a loving home.
Other roles you may have experience of could include; Operations Director, Head of Operations, Regional Manager, Area Manager, Service Director, Head of Service Delivery, General Manager, Operations Manager
Please note this role is advertised by the recruitment agency acting on behalf of the client, Not For Profit People.
The Human Resources Business Partner will lead all aspects of HR across ParalympicsGB and oversee the design, coordination, and delivery of learning and development (L&D) for a workforce of approximately 50 employees.
REPORTS TO: Head of Governance, Planning, and Risk
TYPE OF CONTRACT: 12-Month Fixed Term
SALARY BAND: £54,000 - £60,000 (Pro Rata) dependent on professional qualifications and experience
HOURS OF WORK: Part-Time, 22.5 hours per week (0.6 FTE). Fixed Working Days – Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday.
LOCATION: London (Hybrid arrangements available in line with organisational policy).
This role is central to ensuring that ParalympicsGB maintains a positive, high performing culture, underpinned by effective people management, robust HR processes, and meaningful development opportunities for all staff.
Working three days per week (0.6 FTE), the postholder will act as the organisation’s primary HR contact, providing expert guidance to Directors, Heads of Department and Managers, and ensuring compliance with current UK employment legislation and best practice, supported by continuous professional development.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:
Human Resources Management
· Serve as the first point of contact for all HR matters across the organisation, providing expert advice and support to managers on: employee relations, performance, conduct, absence, wellbeing, family-friendly accommodations (e.g. flexible working requests).
· Manage HR casework as it arises, ensuring timely, fair and legally compliant resolution.
· Ensure compliance with employment law, safeguarding requirements and internal governance standards; appropriately maintaining and updating HR policies, procedures, and employee records.
· Oversee recruitment and onboarding processes, ensuring a positive and inclusive candidate experience.
· Support organisational initiatives related to inclusion, diversity, equality and accessibility.
· Support organisational change as required, ensuring effective communication and engagement throughout.
· Proactively maintain awareness of legislative changes and HR best practice through continuous professional development, sharing implications and recommendations with leadership.
· Line Management of the Recruitment and Corporate Services Officer.
Reward and Job Evaluation
· Understand, evaluate and advise on benefits and reward packages, ensuring they remain competitive, equitable and aligned to organisational values.
· Contribute to job evaluation processes and develop/update job descriptions in line with market expectations and internal consistency.
Performance Framework Administration
· Lead the administration and continuous improvement of ParalympicsGB’s performance management framework.
· Ensure Directors, Heads of Department and Managers conduct regular performance conversations with their teams.
· Provide guidance and training to managers on effective performance management, including standards and tools for high-quality objective setting, mid-year check-ins and year-end reviews.
· Monitor and assure the quality of objectives and performance review conversations, ensuring fairness, consistency and alignment to organisational goals.
· Collect and analyse performance data to identify trends and improvement opportunities.
· Report performance insights and recommendations to senior leadership and inform succession and L&D priorities.
Learning and Development
· Oversee delivery of an annual learning and development programme for all staff in partnership with senior leadership and the Corporate Services team.
· Ensure every employee has an up-to-date individual learning and development plan.
· Identify organisational training needs and coordinate workshops, training sessions, and development opportunities; sourcing appropriate internal or external solutions as needed, supported by the Corporate Services team.
· Evaluate the impact of L&D initiatives and recommend improvements.
People, Culture and Organisational Development
· Contribute to initiatives that strengthen organisational culture, staff engagement and wellbeing.
· Support workforce planning and organisational development projects.
· Promote ParalympicsGB’s values and commitment to a positive, inclusive working environment.
PERSON SPECIFICATION:
Knowledge, Skills, and Experience
Essential
· A recognised HR qualification (e.g., CIPD Level 5 or above).
· Significant experience in a similar HR Business Partner or HR Business Partner/L&D combined role.
· Strong knowledge of UK employment law and HR best practice.
· Experience managing employee relations cases with confidence and professionalism.
· Demonstrated ability to design and deliver learning and development programmes.
· Experience administering a performance framework and supporting managers to set high-quality objectives and conduct effective reviews.
Desirable
· Experience working in a charity, sport, or high performance environment.
· Knowledge of safeguarding and wellbeing frameworks.
· Experience supporting organisational culture or change initiatives.
· Expertise in inclusion, diversity, equality and accessibility strategies (policy, training and measurement).
· Experience designing and implementing quality assurance processes for performance management.
· Experience with reward and benefits evaluation, market benchmarking and job evaluation methodologies.
Behavioural Competencies and Qualities
· Excellent interpersonal, communication and influencing skills.
· Strong organisational skills and attention to detail.
· Ability to work independently and manage competing priorities.
· Ability to operate with absolute discretion on confidential matters, with an understanding of when to escalate issues as appropriate
· Committed, enthusiastic and motivated
· Willingness and desire to entertain new ideas and seize opportunities
· Willingness to accept and encourage constructive challenges
· A willingness to do what is needed to get the job done
This job description is not to be regarded as exclusive or exhaustive. It is intended as an outline indication of the areas of activity and may be amended from time to time in the light of the changing needs of the organisation through appropriate processes of consultation and the mutual agreement of both parties.
VALUES
ParalympicsGB is an organisation with a unique role and key responsibilities within the UK high performance system. Delivery of our ambitions very much relies on both working in partnership with others, and by focusing on our two strategic priorities: taking the best prepared team to each summer and winter Games and inspiring social change.
As an organisation we are committed to three values: excellence, respect, and integrity. Every ParalympicsGB member is expected to adhere to:
Excellence
Everything we do reflects our ambition to be world leading. We care deeply about what we do and bring a flexible, positive, and progressive approach to our interactions with others. Like the athletes that we support, we will always challenge ourselves and others to do better.
Respect
Our relationships with each other, our partners and the wider community are based on respect, trust, and a deep-seated belief in diversity, inclusion, and the value of our differences.
Integrity
We demand the highest standards from ourselves and others, seeking always to do the right thing and to engage with openness and transparency in all that we do.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.