Operations Manager

The Role

This is a standout opportunity for an ambitious professional who wants more than a back-office seat. As Operations Manager, you’ll make the UK organisation run more efficiently, reliably and cost-effectively. You’ll sit at the centre of the artist merchandising business, covering everything from buying stock and managing suppliers to fulfilment, delivery and customer service, and supporting the media content and other group businesses where needed. You’ll be a trusted commercial partner as well as a hands-on problem-solver. You’ll find where processes, suppliers and systems are falling short, put improvements in place and measure the results. From time to time you’ll also work with the CFO to assess and support operations in the US and Europe.

What you’ll be doing:

• Reviewing how UK operations work from order to delivery, spotting bottlenecks, unnecessary cost and risk, and leading improvement projects to fix them.
• Setting up and reporting on KPIs such as order accuracy, dispatch times, delivery performance, stock availability, returns rates and cost per order.
• Documenting clear, standard ways of working for core processes so they can be followed consistently and improved over time.
• Making the case for, choosing and rolling out new systems and tools, working with finance, e-commerce and tech colleagues.
• Managing the day-to-day operations of partner e-commerce stores, keeping products, stock levels and order flows accurate.
• Planning operations for product launches, pre-orders, album releases and tour merchandise drops, so spikes in demand are met without delays or overselling.
• Working with the fulfilment partner and carriers to manage stock, dispatch, delivery and returns, holding them to agreed service levels.
• Working with customer service to understand why customers get in touch, and fixing the root causes of common problems.
• Running procurement for merchandise and operational spend, including sourcing suppliers, negotiating prices and terms, and placing and tracking purchase orders.
• Setting up and maintaining supplier contracts and service agreements with input from finance and legal advisers, and tracking savings and supplier performance.
• Forecasting demand with the merchandise and finance teams to plan purchasing, keep stock at the right level and reduce leftover stock.
• Managing the import process for goods brought into the UK and making sure the supply chain meets UK requirements.
• Working with the CFO to review how the US and European operations run, comparing cost, service levels and processes against the UK.
• Supporting decisions on fulfilment, warehousing and carriers in those markets, such as whether to fulfil locally or ship from the UK.
• Managing the operations budget, monitoring spend against it, and providing cost information to the finance team for forecasts and month-end.
• Producing regular operations reports for leadership, highlighting performance, risks and planned improvements.
• Supporting operational needs across the business, from logistics for events to suppliers for studio productions.

About You

For this Operations Manager role, you’ll be analytical, curious and commercially switched on. You don’t just fix the symptom; you find the root cause and make sure it stays fixed. You’re comfortable juggling several projects and day-to-day issues at once, and you build strong, fair relationships with suppliers and partners.

Required experience and skills:

• Prior experience in an operations role, ideally in retail, consumer products, fashion/apparel or a fast-growing business.
• Proven, hands-on experience running e-commerce operations, including managing an online store, stock and fulfilment (Shopify experience is a strong advantage).
• Proven experience in procurement, including sourcing suppliers, negotiating prices and terms, and managing purchase orders and supplier performance.
• Experience working with third-party fulfilment centres, warehouses, carriers and freight forwarders.
• A track record of improving processes and measuring the results.
• Working knowledge of UK importing and customs procedures since Brexit, and of UK consumer law as it applies to online sales.
• Strong Excel or Google Sheets skills, and confidence using data to forecast, track performance and support decisions.
• Experience managing a budget.
• Confidence as a negotiator, and good communication skills, able to explain changes clearly and bring colleagues across teams with you.
• Comfort working with senior leaders, including the CFO, and with colleagues in other countries.
• Initiative and a genuine commitment to the company’s vision.

Apply

To apply for this Operations Manager role, please use the Apply button.

Walker Hamill has been a specialist finance and strategy recruiter for approaching 40 years. We have an extensive client group, including major multinational listed organisations, private equity backed businesses and privately owned companies. We recruit across all sectors and have particularly strong client relationships in retail, property/real estate, family office, media, technology, leisure and business services.

Please note that due to the expected volume of applications we will only be able to respond to those candidates whose experience matches the requirements of our client. If you have not heard from us within the next ten days, please assume you have been unsuccessful on this occasion.