OperationsDirector

Job Description

Job Title: / Operations Director
Salary: / £46,000-£50,000 a year gross, depending on skills and experience
Working hours: / Full time, 37.5 hours per week
Location: / Oxford (The Old Music Hall, 106-108 Cowley Road, Oxford, OX4 1JE) with frequent travel in the UK, and occasional travel in Europe
Start date: / As soon as possible
Closing date: / 9am on Wednesday 2nd January 2013
Interview date: / Monday 21st or Tuesday 22nd January 2013 to be held in Oxford

The Ethical Property Company

About us

The Ethical Property Companyis a social business that works to deliver social, environmental and financial returns. We promote a more just, equitable and sustainable society through the provision of property and related support services for organisations that make a positive contribution to making societymore fair and just and our use of the planet more sustainable

Groups in our centres benefit from affordable rents, flexible tenancy terms and office space and facilities designed to meet their needs. The centres are managed to minimise energy use, waste, car travel and the use of harmful materials.

We currently own 14 centres in Englandand 1 in Scotland, providing fully serviced workspace for over 220 charities, social enterprises, voluntary and campaign groups. We also manage a growing portfolio of properties on behalf of like-minded landlords.We have also facilitated the development of a family of organisations including Ethical IT and the Ethical Property Foundation within the UK, as well as supporting the development of Ethical Property companies within Belgium, France and the Netherlands. Moving forward we aspire to develop a family of international organisations.

We have grown significantly since our conception in 1998 and now directly employ over60 staff. Looking forward we aim to sustain this rate of growth and are looking to move from a small to medium sized company.

Our commitment

We are serious about the commitment we make to our staff in providing an enjoyable, relaxed and productive working environment. Equally, we expect that our employees are serious about the commitment they make to the company, and their colleagues.

The Post

The Operations Director is responsible for managing the successful operational activities of the company. We are expecting the growth of the company to continue and you will be responsible for ensuring we have structures and procedures that are fit for our current and future requirements.We require a director with a strong operations background to lead on the strategic focus of our operations.

This role is an essential part of our Senior Management Team (SMT). SMT has responsibility for delivering the strategic objectives of the company.

You will manage our regional Property Management teams and our head office Operations and Human Resource Departments. This currently includes responsibility for directly line managing seven staff, thefiveRegional Managers,an Operations Manager, and the Head ofHR. In total these teams consist of40 employees. You will also be responsible for leading our Operational Management Team meetings and will have specific responsibility for the delivery of our social objectives as defined in the Annual Report.

You will be required to travel frequently within the UK and occasionally to Europe.

Key tasks

  1. You will be responsible for the delivery of an excellent standard of services for our customers consistent with our strategic framework.
  2. You will be responsible for the operational systems, policies and procedures in place to meet our business requirements. This includes internal communication, data collection, analysis and reporting, and health and safety.
  3. You will ensure that we have appropriate staffing structures and resources in place to meet our business needs within our strategic framework. This includes the management of our Operations and HR departments.
  4. You will ensure there are accurate budgets for the Operations and HR Department and that income and expenditure is in line with those budgets.
  5. You will report on operational issues and HR issues to the Senior Management Team and Board.
  6. You willwork with the Director of Development to successfully support the delivery of new business opportunities.
  7. You will ensure that we act in accordance with the law and that our management practices meet the required health and safety standards, promoting excellence in both compliance and health and safety across the whole organisation.
  8. You will service the Remuneration Committee of the Board, which is tasked with the responsibility of reviewing our salaries, and making decisions as appropriate.

Person Specification

The successful candidate will demonstrate that theyhave the following key criteria and personal competencies and skills:

Key criteria

  • Experience of delivering a high standard of customer care across an organisation
  • Experience of being a member of a Senior Management Team and reporting to a Board
  • Good strategic development experience and a demonstrable track record of working closely with a Managing Director and Senior Management team on the successful change, growth and development of a business/charity
  • Experience of managing and monitoring the delivery of services to ensure a process of continuous improvement
  • Experience of managing organisational change
  • Experience of developing effective operational systems, policies and procedures
  • Experience of excellent management of large staff teams across multiple locations
  • Experience of overseeing the development and implementation of HR policies and procedures
  • Experience of successfully developing, managingand monitoring large and complex budgets
  • Evidence of strong commitment to social and/or environmental issues and an understanding of what Ethical Property means by its triple bottom line approach

Personal competencies and skills

  • Collaborative leadership skills with the ability to demonstrate motivation and self management and with strong team-work skills
  • Able to establish strong credibility and inspire confidence with colleagues,the Board, shareholders and external stakeholders
  • Excellent communication skills
  • Excellent organisational skills
  • Able to make decisions based on appropriate analysis of the risks and opportunities involved
  • Self-reliant and able to act on own initiative without the need for guidance
  • ExcellentIT skills

Contractual details

This is a permanent contract with a four month probationary period. The post is full time based on 37.5 hours per week. The salary will be in the range of £46,000-£50,000 gross per annum, depending on skills and experience. The role is based in Oxford at our head office.

Benefits include 25 days holiday entitlement (pro-rata) in addition to all public bank holidays. We offer a 6%-7% company contribution to an ethical pension that all employees are eligible for once they have completed their three month probation. We also offer a share-reward scheme, as well as other benefits such as a cycle-to-work scheme and child-care vouchers.

To apply

Discover more about the company at our website, If you think this role is for you please download the application form from our web page

Please email your completed application along with the equal opportunities form to by 9.00am on Wednesday 2nd January 2013.

If you wish to discuss the post, please call Susan Ralphs, Managing Director, on 01865 207827 for an informal chat.

Interviews will be held on Monday 21st or Tuesday 22nd January 2013at The Old Music Hall, 106-108 Cowley Road, Oxford, OX4 1JE.

We do not accept CVs. Please ensure you save your application in a Microsoft Word format, we are unable to process PDF versions.

No agencies please.

The Ethical Property Company The Old Music Hall, 106-108 Cowley Road, Oxford OX4 1JE 01865 207810