Operations Manager – Heathrow Airport
36T Hub Intl
📍 Heathrow Airport | Site Based | Full-Time
About Us
We are a people driven business with a team of over 20 years’ experience in our industry sector looking for a core member of our operations team to achieve mutual success in driving service, fresh ideas and a strong team culture across our operation!
36T Hub Intl is a dynamic staffing and project management agency specialising in travel retail, airport operations, experiential marketing, and brand activations across the UK. We deliver tailored workforce and project solutions to leading brands, retailers and agencies, supporting campaigns from planning through to execution.
Over the past two years, we have achieved significant growth and are now seeking a energetic candidate to further develop our Heathrow business, strengthen our operations team, and enhance our service proposition across our busienss at Heathrow.
Trust is one of our core values. We foster a supportive and respectful environment where our leadership team and wider colleagues are recognised and valued for their individual contributions and collective success.
36T Hub collaborates with prestige brands across all categories within the travel retail sector and is rapidly growing its non-travel retail client portfolio. We specialise in delivering premium customer experiences and high-impact retail activations across airports and key retail destinations.
Driven by service excellence, innovation and a people-first culture, 36T Hub is committed to creating exceptional brand experiences while nurturing a collaborative, inclusive, and dynamic environment for our teams.
The Role
We are looking for an experienced, hands-on, and commercially driven Operations Manager to work within our Heathrow leadership team to drive our business at Heathrow. This is a site-based operational leadership role, responsible for managing the day-to-day performance of teams across Heathrow Airport, ensuring service excellence, operational efficiency, stakeholder engagement, and delivery of key commercial and operational KPIs.
This role is ideal for someone who thrives in a fast-paced airport environment and enjoys being operationally involved, visible on the shop floor, and leading teams from the front.
The successful candidate will report directly to the Head of Operations – Heathrow and will play a key role in managing airport teams, maintaining strong stakeholder relationships, and supporting business growth across the Heathrow operation.
Please note this role requires flexibility to work weekdays and weekends (not every weekend), as well as early starts and late finishes depending on operational requirements, with working hours rostered in line with business needs.
Key Responsibilities
* Lead and oversee day-to-day operations across Heathrow Airport
* Manage and support airport-based teams, Team Leaders, and shop floor staff to ensure high performance and service delivery
* Deliver operational, financial, and service KPIs across the Heathrow operation
* Support the development and implementation of strategic and operational plans
* Lead recruitment, onboarding, and training of new team members
* Support the Passing Team and ensure staff compliance with airport security and pass requirements
* Coach, mentor, and develop Team Leaders and operational staff
* Maintain a strong shop floor presence, leading by example and supporting teams operationally
* Coordinate workforce planning and rostering to meet operational demands
* Manage operational issues, escalations, and emergencies as they arise
* Work closely with internal teams and external stakeholders to improve operational efficiency
* Attend operational service level meetings and performance meetings as required
* Build and maintain strong relationships with World Duty Free (Avolta) and other key stakeholders
* Monitor service standards, compliance, and team performance across the Heathrow operation
* Support reporting, commercial performance, and business development initiatives
* Participate in on-call operational support when required
About You
* Proven experience in an Operations Manager, Team Manager, or leadership role
* Experience within airport operations, travel retail, luxury retail, hospitality, staffing, or fast-paced operational environments
* Strong leadership and people management experience
* Commercially minded with a focus on delivering operational and revenue targets
* Strong stakeholder management and relationship-building skills
* Hands-on leadership style with the ability to lead from the shop floor
* Excellent problem-solving and decision-making skills under pressure
* Strong organisational and rostering experience
* Flexible and adaptable to changing operational requirements
* Able to work weekdays and weekends (not every weekend), with flexibility for early starts and late finishes based on operational needs
Reporting Line
This role reports directly to the Head of Operations – Heathrow Airport.
What We Offer
* Competitive salary package
* All statutory benefits
* Company pension
* Performance – related bonus
* Working with leading global beauty and travel retail brands
* A fast-growing and entrepreneurial business environment
* Career progression and leadership development opportunities
* Collaborative and supportive team culture
* Exposure to exciting high-profile airport retail operations and activations
* Access to product discount platform.
If you are a hands-on operational leader with a passion for people, service excellence and delivering results in a fast-paced airport environment, we would love to hear from you.