Dezeen Jobs

Design South East is seeking a head of operations to join its team in London.

Reports to: director

Salary: £45,000 to £60,000 pro-rata, depending on experience.

Contract: permanent, full-time. We are open to part-time and/or flexible working patterns, subject to office presence as noted below.

Start date: May 2025

Location: Being able to work together supports our collaborative team culture, and you will be working for a minimum of one to two days in our central London office but able to work from home at other times.

Leave: 25 days annual leave (increasing to 30 days after one year) and statutory holidays (both pro-rata for part time).

Summary

We are looking for a driven, agile and skilled head of operations to join our team.

Forming part of the leadership team, this important role is critical to our growth and development as a purpose-driven, charitable organisation, and to strengthening our social impact through the delivery of our work. You will be responsible for managing our operations, performance reporting, HR, expert networks, systems and governance. We are looking for someone who shares our vision; experience of planning and design is not essential.

About Design South East

Design South East is a socially driven, not-for-profit organisation that provides design advice, support and training to planning authorities, design professionals, landowners, developers, and local communities. We work across London, the South East and the East of England, and have an office in central London. At the heart of the organisation is a small, highly collaborative and mutually supportive team working with a network of around 200 experts from a variety of built environment disciplines. This network comprises leading practitioners and thinkers in their fields, and we harness their knowledge and commitment to the delivery of social impact to address the challenges of growth and place-making that many communities are facing.

We do this because we believe that everyone deserves a well-designed place.

We want to develop and grow over the coming years to increase our impact on places and people. More information can be found on our website.

The role

Operations and contracts:

• manage our day-to day-operations, ensuring effective resource and capacity management and enabling efficient project delivery
• review all contracts for delivery of services, monitor our performance against agreed key performance indicators and oversee our reporting to client organisations
• business planning and finance
• work with the director on the business plan and monitor and report on our performance of the organisation against the metrics and measures set out in the plan
• develop and manage our budget, prepare monthly and quarterly financial reports and present to the team and trustees, support the team with the development of tenders and proposals and review all fee proposals and tenders before submission
• maintain visibility of our pipeline of work and associated revenue forecast and capacity requirements
• manage a part-time financial administrator and external payroll provider and liaise with our external accountant (financial administration, payroll and accountancy do not sit within this role)

HR and team:

• ensure that we support staff development, growth and wellbeing
• evolve our performance management and personal development processes
• work with our retained consultants to optimise our HR processes and ensure legislative compliance
• ensure that we support a collaborative culture, preparing for and managing team meetings and developing and managing internal and external staff training and CPD
• ensure that our workspace supports the team, including sourcing equipment and maintaining supplies

Systems and digital:

• ensure that out IT capabilities support efficiency and effectiveness of the team, manage our IT consultant and oversee the implementation of new IT capabilities
• identify and introduce new digital systems and capabilities and to ensure that we benefit from technology
• expert network and freelance team
• manage our expert network, lead on recruitment processes, maintain relationships, enable knowledge sharing and ensure effective communication
• build and grow our networks of freelancers, manage contracts and ensure that freelance consultants have support and guidance

Board and governance:

• schedule, manage and record the quarterly board and committee meetings, work with the director to recruit new trustees and to develop a board that supports our organisational objectives
• organise an annual strategy review day for staff and trustees and develop opportunities to foster interaction and dialogue between trustees and staff
• ensure compliance with Companies House and Charity Commission requirements and maintain directors, office and professional indemnity insurance policies

About you

You will be a people and performance-focussed individual, driven to support organisational growth and development, and deliver social value.

Essential skills and experience:

• demonstrable experience in a similar management role in the charitable, public or private sector
• ability to think strategically, but with attention to detail
• proven understanding of business and financial planning and reporting
• a high level of numeracy and a strong capability of working with spreadsheets
• expertise in human resources, and skilled in balancing staff wellbeing with the creation of a high-performance, collaborative culture
• understanding of the use of technology to improve efficiency and effectiveness, skilled in implementing resource and process management systems and using IT
• strong communication and inter-personal skills

Desirable skills and experience:

• understanding of charitable and/or company governance and legislation
• knowledge of, and interest in, architecture, planning and design

How to apply 

Please submit the following via the apply for job button below with ‘Design South East – head of operations application’ in the subject:

• a cover letter explaining your motivation for applying and describing how you meet the specific requirements of the role as set out above (500 words max)
• an up-to-date CV (max two pages of A4)

The deadline for applications is 12:00pm on Thursday 17 April 2025 and initial interviews will be held during the week commencing 21 April 2025.

A numeracy test, using MS Excel, will be part of the selection process.

If, having read this pack, you would like to have an informal conversation about the role with our director, please email: [email protected].

Equal opportunities 

DSE is committed to equal opportunities, and we value the diversity of perspectives that people from different backgrounds bring to our work. We positively encourage applications from eligible candidates regardless of age, disability, gender identification, ethnicity, marital status, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief or sexual orientation.

www.designsoutheast.org

• Applications have closed.