Head of Business and Operations

Are you a business operations leader ready for a role where you're not just running the day-to-day, but helping build something new alongside the MD? This is a superb business support role where you will support the MD of a well established successful SME to run and develop the business. 

Foxgroves Recruitment is delighted to be supporting Just People HR, a well-established HR and employment law consultancy working with schools and academy trusts across Cumbria and the wider North West. Small, close-knit and genuinely respected in their field, they're at an interesting point - the core consultancy is running well and growing at an impressive rate. They have also just launched a new complimentary business into a national market which is at it's infancy but already showing signs of real success and potential. They need someone to hold both together successfully. 

This is a number two role. You'll report directly to the Managing Director, line manage a team of five spanning HR consultancy, legal and administration staff, and take real ownership of how the business runs. It's broad, it's hands-on, and there's a clear route to grow with it as the business does.

The Role

Running the HR consultancy business

You'll be the person who makes sure things work - day in, day out.

• Take day-to-day ownership of business operations, systems and processes


• Support the MD across planning, performance and the commercial running of the business


• Build structure as the business scales, without adding bureaucracy that doesn't earn its place


• Keep the established consultancy running smoothly while attention shifts to the new venture

Leading the new business offer

A new complaints solution for the education sector, sold nationally. You'll own it operationally.

• Onboard new clients and make sure the experience is a good one from first contact onwards


• Deliver excellent customer service and resolve issues before they become problems


• Promote and market the offer, building awareness in a national market


• Build and maintain relationships with schools, trusts and sector contacts


• Run a seamless admin function behind it, supported by a business support administrator

Leading the team

• Line manage five people across HR consultancy, legal and administration


• Set priorities, manage workload and support development across the team


• Create the conditions for a small team to do good work without being over-managed

What You'll Bring

You'll be a go-getter. This is a business that's growing, and it needs someone who pushes rather than waits - motivated, ambitious for what the business could be, and the kind of leader people want to work for. You'll inspire the team, take the weight off the MD, and be trusted to make decisions without checking in on every one.

• Experience in business management or operations, ideally as a senior number two or running operations in a small professional services type business.


• A qualification in business administration, business management or similar (degree, HND, Level 3, CMI or ILM) would be welcome but is by no means essential


• Confident line management experience - you've led a team of at least 3 or 4 people, not just coordinated one


• A working understanding of the education sector, particularly schools and academy trusts would be advantageous but not essential


• Commercial and customer-facing instincts, with the aptitude to market and grow a new service


• A wider appreciation of HR and how consultancy businesses deliver for clients


• The self-direction to work from home in a growing business, and the judgement to know when to bring the MD in


• Based in Cumbria, and able to get to Penrith easily on a weekly or fortnightly basis

Why You'll Love Working Here

• £45,000–£50,000 salary


• 30 days' annual leave plus bank holidays


• 5% employer pension contribution


• Private health cover


• Home-based working, with regular attendance in Penrith


• Genuine autonomy and the chance to shape a new business stream from the ground up


• A small, established team where your work is visible and your decisions count

Foxgroves Recruitment acts as an employment agency for vacancies on behalf of clients, following fair and inclusive recruitment practices in line with the Equality Act 2010. All appointments are subject to pre-employment screening, including right to work checks, reference checks, and qualification verification. Reasonable adjustments are available for individuals with disabilities throughout the recruitment process.