Role title : Operations Manager Contract: 12 month Fixed Term Contract, with potential to be extended to permanent contract Salary: £31,238 Closing Date: Monday 4th August, 9am Working hours: 40 hours per week; Full-time; Permanent Standard working hours are 9am - 6pm (with 1 hour unpaid lunch break) with the option to flex-start and end time. We offer flexibility to employees to balance their commitments, including medical appointments, parental or caregiving responsibilities, and personal goals. Location: Hybrid working - remote and in regional office We have offices in: London, Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds and Glasgow. We ask that colleagues living within one hour of a regional base attend the office a minimum of once per week. Colleagues living further away are asked to attend a minimum of once per month. Candidate must be resident and have the right to work in the UK. ABOUT GENERATION Generation is on a mission to transform lives through meaningful careers that would otherwise be out of reach. Launched globally in 2015 by McKinsey & Company, Generation is now the world’s largest demand-led employment initiative. We’ve supported over 100,000 people into career-starting roles across 17 countries and 26 professions, partnering with more than 4,000 employers worldwide. Our work is backed by transformative funding from Microsoft, the JP Morgan Charitable Foundation, the Macquarie Group Foundation, Barclays, and others. In the UK, Generation is a Ofsted ‘Outstanding’ training provider that designs and delivers profession-specific training programmes focused on in-demand sectors. Our unique approach combines hands-on technical training with extensive pastoral support and direct connections to employers, ensuring learners are job-ready from day one. Since our UK launch in 2019, we’ve trained over 3,500 people, with a strong focus on supporting those from underrepresented backgrounds facing barriers to sustainable employment. Our learners achieve an industry-leading job placement rate, and have gone onto build careers with over 1,000 employer partners nationwide. At Generation, we’re driven by a deep commitment to tackling unemployment and breaking down barriers to opportunity. Too many people in the UK remain locked out of meaningful work, not because they lack potential, but because they lack access and equality of opportunity. We believe in the power of effective, evidence-based solutions to create lasting change - helping individuals realise their potential while addressing systemic inequality. This mindset is embedded in everything we do. Join us and be part of a movement that’s opening doors to life-changing opportunities Find out more at www.generation.org. You can also learn more about our culture, directly from our incredible people - What is it like to work at Generation? Generation acknowledges the duty of care to safeguard, protect, and promote the welfare of staff and learners and is committed to ensuring safeguarding practice reflects statutory responsibilities, and government guidance and complies with best practice. All our staff in the UK are required to undergo a DBS check. ROLE PURPOSE Do you care deeply about delivering a brilliant experience for learners and making a real impact? At Generation, our Operations Manager plays a vital role in driving learner recruitment by leading the end-to-end admissions journey – from moment of application right through to enrolment onto our life-changing skills bootcamps. You’ll provide a smooth, supportive, and engaging admissions process – guiding applicants every step of the way and helping them take that exciting first leap into a new career. You’ll also play a key role in shaping the future of our admissions operations, working alongside the Head of Admissions Operations to improve efficiency, innovate processes, and ensure every applicant feels seen, supported, and set up for success. Requirements Admissions and selection Support applicants through the application and selection process through effective communication, nurture opportunities and pastoral support, ensuring an excellent experience for applicants Manage the selection process for people applying to your assigned programmes; including planning and implementing conversion communications, and running group and individual applicant interviews - with the ultimate aim of recruiting 25 learners to each programme. Provide a supporting and caring service to applicants, sensitively dealing with their individual circumstances and nurturing them through the application process via a range of communication channels. Ensure participants in our programmes meet eligibility requirements set by funding partners and collect required documentation. Work with our Learning and Partnerships teams to select candidates for each cohort from the pool of successful applicants; understanding the need for a well-balanced classroom of learners Operations Input into quarterly and annual operational planning; led by the Head of Admissions Operations and Director of Admissions Proactively identify and resolve weaknesses in our admissions process, taking the initiative and problem solving effectively. Build and troubleshoot application portals. Leadership and management Deputise for the Head of Admissions Operations from time to time - this could include: leading team meetings; attending status meetings; acting as a point of contact for the Operations team Reporting and evaluation Work closely with the Head of Admissions Operations, Director of Admissions and Data & Systems Manager to report data required by funding partners. Act on feedback from learners, employers and other delivery partners to ensure we are improving the quality of our processes, programmes and learner experience wherever possible. Contribute to the ongoing development of programmes; finding ways to make them more sustainable, scalable and replicable across the UK & Ireland. Help develop Generation’s understanding of the barriers to employment faced by diverse groups in the UK & Ireland, and continually adapt our delivery model to better address these barriers. PERSONAL QUALITIES Highly organised, able to meet deadlines and motivated by meeting targets Comfortable with problem-solving; able to use initiative to identify and resolve challenges independently Process-driven with excellent attention to detail. Comfortable with a range of communication methods (eg. email, phone) and the ability to connect with a range of audiences Ability to build rapport with potential learners, to show empathy and a supportive attitude Able to interpret and utilise data to inform decision-making Demonstrable energy and enthusiasm for our mission and work Demonstrable interest in supporting people from under-represented backgrounds Sound judgement and the ability to react logically when faced with issues EXPERIENCE You have delivered or significantly contributed to end-to-end admissions, recruitment or sales processes in an education or training setting. You have experience in process improvement and driving innovation. You have experience supporting groups facing barriers to employment You have experience learning new software and systems. You have experience working to strict deadlines and targets in a fast-paced environment and are comfortable working independently. KPIs FOR THE ROLE Overall conversion rate through the application process Conversion rate of target groups through the application process (eg. women; young adults) Benefits A FAIR CHANCE Every role at Generation is open to applications from all sections of society. We believe in the potential of everyone; regardless of race, religion or belief, ethnic origin, different physical ability, family structure, socio-economics, age, nationality or citizenship, marital, domestic or civil partnership status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or any other aspect that makes you, well, you. We believe that the more diverse we are the better we become. More than just encouraging your application, we're committed to conscious inclusion that (we hope) cultivates an ethos of belonging, connection and shared purpose. We go further together. It’s this philosophy that drives us towards our mission. We open our doors to those who share this mindset. We are particularly interested in hearing from candidates from marginalised groups. We will assess applications on a rolling basis and close this posting as soon as we have found the right candidate.