Operations Director

Lead Excellence. Drive Improvement. Change Lives.

Are you an experienced senior leader with a track record of driving operational excellence across education, care or specialist services?

We are seeking an exceptional Operations Director to provide strategic leadership across a portfolio of services within our North and Midlands region.

Reporting directly to the Chief Operating Officer, you will play a pivotal role in ensuring outstanding outcomes for children, young people and adults whilst developing high-performing leadership teams and driving continuous improvement across multiple sites.

This is an opportunity to join a values-led organisation where quality, safeguarding and positive outcomes sit at the heart of everything we do.

The role

You will establish and drive a culture of excellence, accountability and continuous improvement across a diverse portfolio of services.

You will provide both support and challenge to site leaders, ensuring services deliver outstanding outcomes while meeting all regulatory and compliance requirements.

What you will focus on

• Develop and lead high-performing, autonomous leadership teams.
• Drive operational excellence across education, care, safeguarding and clinical services.
• Monitor and improve performance against Ofsted, CQC and internal quality standards.
• Support leaders to develop and deliver strategic improvement plans.
• Ensure safeguarding practices remain effective and robust.
• Oversee service budgets, KPIs and operational targets.
• Lead recruitment and development of senior leadership teams.
• Build strong relationships with local authorities, commissioners, regulators and families.

What we are looking for

• Senior leadership experience within education, care or health services.
• Proven success managing multiple sites or services.
• Strong understanding of Ofsted and/or CQC frameworks.
• Demonstrable experience driving service improvement and performance.
• Commercial awareness with budget management expertise.
• Strong stakeholder engagement and influencing skills.
• Excellent leadership, coaching and communication abilities.
• Commitment to safeguarding and outstanding outcomes.

You'll be someone who:

• Inspires confidence and accountability.
• Builds trusting relationships whilst providing appropriate challenge.
• Makes sound decisions in complex environments.
• Can balance operational performance with strategic thinking.
• Is passionate about improving outcomes for vulnerable individuals.
• Leads with integrity, professionalism and resilience.
• Has a management qualification or equivalent leadership experience.

Ready to Make an Impact?

If you are a strategic, commercially aware and values-driven leader who is passionate about delivering exceptional outcomes, we would love to hear from you.

How to apply?

For candidates that haven't worked in this sector before please be aware that for regulatory reasons the application process is far more detailed and thorough compared to other sectors.

Please complete the online application form in full, including all employment and education details, and provide a personal statement that makes us keen to speak to you.

If you need any assistance or would like any more information, please contact Liz in the Aurora Group Recruitment Team at Liz.Hudson@theauroragroup.co.uk

Important:

Successful applicants will be subject to pre-employment safeguarding checks including an enhanced disclosure and barring service (DBS) check. 

The post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and the Aurora Group is therefore permitted to ask job applicants to declare all convictions and cautions (including those which are "spent" unless they are "protected" under the DBS filtering rules) in order to assess their suitability to work with children. 

The Aurora Group is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of the children and young adults in our care and is a disability confident and equal opportunities employer. 

This advert could be taken down at any point in time without prior notice if the position is filled. 

Please note that candidates that are shortlisted might be subject to an online search.