Operations Manager

RICHeS Operations Manager

Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC)

Salary: £37,841 per annum

Band: UKRI Band D

Contract Type: Fixed Term 23 months

Hours: Full-time/ Part Time (minimum 0.8 FTE) (flexible working available)

Location: Warrington, Cheshire, United Kingdom - Hybrid working available

Positions: 1

Closing Date: Sunday 15th November 23:59pm

Interview Date: W/C 7th December

About RICHeS

Research Infrastructure for Conservation and Heritage Science (RICHeS) is a UK-wide programme led by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), part of United Kingdom Research and Innovation (UKRI).

RICHeS is an £80 million long term investment in the UK's conservation and heritage science capability. We are establishing a distributed national research infrastructure, connecting specialist facilities, nationally significant collections, digital services and expertise across the UK.

The programme currently brings together 31 funded investments, comprising specialist heritage science facilities, nationally significant collections and the Heritage Science Data Service (HSDS). Together, these form a national network intended to improve access to facilities, equipment, expertise, collections and data for researchers, conservators, heritage organisations and other users. RICHeS operates across all four nations of the UK and also supports engagement with international research infrastructure partnerships.

About the role

The Operations Manager will play a central role in the effective day to day operation and delivery of the RICHeS programme, working closely with and reporting to the Senior Operations Manager.

The postholder will provide high quality operational and programme management support across RICHeS, supporting effective relationships with funded investments and partners, programme monitoring and reporting, financial management and assurance and governance coordination.

The Operations Manager will also have direct line management responsibility of an Operations Officer, providing direct, support and development opportunities, and ensuring that operational activity is effectively prioritised and delivered.

This role will suit an experienced programme or operations professional who is comfortable working across a complex, distributed programme involving multiple organisations and stakeholders. The successful candidate will be able to bring structure to complex activity, identify issues early and ensure that actions are followed through.

Key responsibilities

Programme and operational management

• Support the Senior Operations Manager in the effective operational delivery of the RICHeS programme.
• Maintain effective programme systems, processes, records and documentation, ensuring information is accurate, accessible and up to date.
• Track programme milestones, deliverables, issues and actions, escalating matters requiring senior consideration.
• Coordinate inputs from colleagues and external partners to ensure that programme activities are delivered to agreed timescales.
• Support the continuous improvement of RICHeS operational processes, identifying opportunities to improve efficiency and user experience.
• Contribute to planning for future phases of the RICHeS programme and the development of sustainable operating arrangements.

Grant management

• Develop and maintain effective working relationships with RICHeS funded investments.
• Act as a key operational point of contact for funded projects, providing guidance on programme requirements and coordinating responses to queries.
• Monitor progress against agreed project plans, milestones and outputs.
• Support funded projects to meet their obligations to provide access to their facilities, equipment, collections, expertise and associated resources.
• Work with project leads to identify and resolve operational issues, escalating significant risks to the Senior Operations Manager where appropriate.

Financial management

• Support the Senior Operations Manager in the management and monitoring of programme budgets.
• Liaise with grant holders and their finance teams regarding financial queries.
• Maintain accurate financial and programme records and ensure appropriate audit trails are available.

Governance, assurance and reporting

• Support the preparation of papers, reports and information for RICHeS governance and advisory structures.
• Maintain programme risk register and support regular reviews of this with the Senior Operations Manager and Head of RICHeS.
• Support