🚀 Head of Operations
📍 Location: Kent
📊 Reports to: Chief Support Officer
Our client are a rapidly growing technical services group operating across FM, M&E, and specialist engineering. They are scaling through organic growth and acquisition, with a strong focus on operational excellence, technology adoption, and AI-driven efficiency.
The opportunity
You will take full ownership of Service Operations across the Group — people, process, systems, performance, and culture.
Key responsibilities
🔧 Service Operations leadership
- Lead and develop a multi-site team of Service Coordinators and Account Leads
- Build a high-performance culture based on accountability, ownership, and continuous improvement
- Own recruitment, onboarding, performance management, and capability development
⚙️ Operating model transformation
- Design and implement a single Group-wide operating model across all businesses
- Standardise core workflows including:
- Job intake & scheduling
- Planned preventative maintenance (PPM)
- Compliance tracking
- Escalation management
- Billing support
- Establish consistent KPIs and weekly reporting rhythms across all entities
🤖 AI & automation enablement
- Partner with the Applied AI Lead to identify and implement automation opportunities
- Drive adoption of AI tools across the service function
- Eliminate manual processes and reduce operational inefficiency
- Champion a technology-first mindset across the team
🧩 M&A integration & scalability
- Own the Service Operations integration playbook for acquisitions
- Ensure new businesses are onboarded into Group systems within 30 days
- Maintain operational capacity for future acquisitions and growth
🤝 Client & engineer experience
- Ensure all clients and engineers have named operational support
- Improve response times, first-time fix rates, and service quality metrics
- Oversee customer experience and escalation resolution processes
- Support development of a self-service customer portal
What we’re looking for
Essential
- Experience leading a service operations, helpdesk, or field service coordination function (15+ people)
- Proven ability to transform operations, not just manage them
- Strong understanding of CAFM / field service systems (SimPro ideal)
- Experience improving efficiency, process design, or service delivery models
- Multi-site or multi-entity operational experience
- Strong change management capability
Preferred
- Background in FM, M&E, building services, or technical services environments
- Experience in PE-backed, acquisitive, or fast-growth organisations
- Exposure to automation, AI tools, or workflow optimisation initiatives