Central Operations Lead (Options)

Full Job Description

We are really proud to say that in 2025, Outcomes First Group were officially certified as a ‘Great Place to Work’ for the sixth year running

We’re reimagining work/life balance – and you could be part of it.

At OFG, we're proud to be part of the 4-Day Working Week trial – a bold step toward giving our teams more time to recharge, refresh, and enjoy life outside of work.

That means you could be working 80% of your usual hours, while still earning 100% of your pay.

If the trial proves successful, we’ll roll out the 4DWW across the Group – making now the perfect time to join #TeamOFG and help shape the future of work.

Job Title:  Central Operations Lead (Options)    

Salary:      Up to £30,600 per annum (dependent on experience and qualifications, not pro rata)

Location:  Bolton, Hybrid 2 office working days

Contract: Permanent

Hours:      37.5 hours per week, Monday to Friday

About us

At Outcomes First Group, we believe every child can thrive when given the right environment for success. As one of the world’s leading providers in our sector, we deliver exceptional, research-led education tailored to each individual, with smaller class sizes and personalised learning plans. 

Our vision is to empower every child with a world-class education that nurtures potential and inspires lifelong learning, our mission is to unlock that potential through personalised learning and opportunity, and our promise is simple: we listen, we work together, and we are accountable to one another to make the remarkable happen.          

The role

The role of the Central Operations Team is to act as the link between central services and operational sites across the Acorn and Options divisions. Working with your allocated division you will have four main areas of focus:

Stakeholder Management

School/site visits: 

• Attend regular (ideally weekly) meetings with site leaders and key colleagues in your Division (inc. admin/finance/IT) to understand barriers to growth/development/issues (process and/or system).
• Develop relationships and widen understanding of sites/service.
• Gain feedback on weekly bulletin (In Focus) and identify areas for improvement.
• Working with Head of Central Operations to identify trends/improvement opportunities and work with central depts. to resolve.
• Identifying sites that may need further support/training on a process/system.
• Central Directory: working with the other Central Operations Leads, ensure the central directory is kept up to date, and published monthly.

Supporting Integration & Onboarding of new acquisitions

• Working closely with the project team to support integration of new acquisitions (schools and other businesses).
• Delivering proactive support (hypercare’) to sites as they onboard into OFG. This will include organising orientation/briefing days; collating FAQs; managing new SharePoint sites; & proactive stakeholder management (including visits).
• Feeding back issues/barriers and working with Head of Central Operations and central functions to deliver improvements (process/system)

Operational Compliance

• Managing the flow of information and requests between central services and operations, including the distribution and/or return of operational compliance information to ensure sites are compliant with key areas of day-to-day activity.
• Weekly Bulletin: ensuring central service ops actions/data requests and information sharing is channeled through the weekly ops bulletin (In Focus), copy editing as required and publishing the bulletin each week (Monday).
• Managing bulletin deadlines and pushing back where required.
• Site reminders: ensuring that ops sites receive reminders to submit central actions/returns and chasing-up submissions when required.
• Operational Planner: ensuring central services information/data requests are channeled through the weekly planner in a coordinated and well managed way to ensure efficiency and timeliness of requests.
• Reporting performance on the above to the Head of Central Operations through monthly compliance dashboards, including assisting in the scope and design of the dashboards.

Operational Support Projects

• Assisting operational sites with specific support projects, including systems and processes, as directed by the Head of Central Operations.
• Coordinating with the central services/systems owners to ensure operational sites receive assistance and support to improve performance. This may involve site visits.
• Reporting progress/outcomes to the Head of Central Operations.
• Assisting the wider central operations team with support, and other ad-hoc/specific tasks, as directed by the Head of Central Operations.

What you'll do: 

• Reporting progress/outcomes to the Head of Central Operations.
• Ensure that you work you work proactively with central service leaders/managers and ops sites leaders/managers.
• Required to develop relationships with key operational site leaders to ensure receipt of inbound information/data as required and respond to queries or issues in a timely manner.
• Identify and reports back trends, issues, and potential areas of improvement across all areas of responsibility to the Head of Central Operations.
• Contribute to the team strategy and ongoing performance by attending regular team meetings, and 1-1 development meetings.
• Ensure clear communication around expectations and deliverables is delivered to both central functions and operational site leaders/managers and staff.
• The role includes flexible working across the week – specified as two days in the office; maximum two days working from home (WFH); and one 4 Day Working Week (4DWW) wellbeing day. (NB: 4DWW day subject to eligibility and work priorities/deadlines; WFH days subject change by Head of Central Operations where required i.e. to meet individual/team workload objectives and KPIs).

What we're looking for: 

• Stakeholder management – experience of working with customers/clients and delivering to relationship management plans.
• Deliver excellent customer service – ensure all tasks are dealt with in line with agreed central service/operational/team KPIs/SLAs.
• Strong written communication skills – excellent attention to detail.
• Ownership and initiative – take full ownership of your allocated division and use initiative to find effective solutions where required.
• Performance reporting – ensure all reporting on performance is delivered to your line manager per deadlines/KPIs.
• Continuous improvement – feedback regularly (team meetings/1-1s) on the effectiveness / issues of service delivery and potential areas of improvement.
• Strong time management / organisational skills – have ability to be flexible and prioritise tasks to meet deadlines.
• Knowledge of key systems: Microsoft Office, Reach, XD etc

Why join Outcomes First Group? 

About the Group

Outcomes First Group is the largest independent provider of high quality special needs education and care. We are a vital part of local communities in England, Scotland and Wales with a renowned reputation for quality and positive outcomes for the people we educate and care for.
We are really proud to say that in 2024, Outcomes First Group were officially certified as a ‘Great Place to Work’ for the fifth year running.
Our divisional brands include Acorn Education, Options Autism, Blenheim Schools and Momenta Connect.

Our Vision

Empower every child, whatever their ability, with a world-class education that nurtures potential, inspires lifelong learning, and equips them to thrive in a diverse and evolving world.

Our Mission

We commit to unlocking our pupils’ potential through personalised learning, innovation, and opportunity, supporting growth and aspirations.

Our Promise

We Listen.
We never assume.

We work together.
To make the remarkable happen.

We are accountable.
To each other and for one another.

Benefits

Your health and wellbeing are important to us, so you’ll get an exceptional reward package including:

• Life Assurance
• Pension scheme with options to increase your contributions
• “Your Wellbeing Matters” – access to a wide range of first-class mental health support services and physical health checks
• Family Growth Support - inclusive benefits package covering enhanced maternity and paternity leave, along with paid fertility treatment support.

And a market-leading benefit offering through our Flexible Benefits Platform, Vista, enables you to choose the package that’s right for you, including:

• A wide range of health, wellbeing, and insurance benefits
• 100’s of discount options valid in the UK and abroad
• Cycle to Work Schemes
• Electric Car Purchase Scheme
• Critical illness cover

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and we expect all employees to share this commitment and undertake appropriate checks. 

All applicants will be subject to social media checks and successful applicants to a fully enhanced DBS

We are an Equal Opportunities Employer. 

Please note: 4DWW is subject to successful completion of your probation period and is not a contractual benefit.

We reserve the right to close the vacancy early if we receive a high volume of suitable applications.

Outcomes First Group is committed to carrying out a fair, thorough and efficient recruitment process in line with Keeping Children Safe in Education. Whilst we aim to keep applicants informed throughout, Outcomes First Group does not accept liability for any loss of earnings or other associated costs incurred by applicants as a result of delays or changes in the compliance process. All stages of the compliance process are subject to necessary safeguarding checks and compliance with statutory requirements, which may affect timescales.