Lead Operations Manager

JOB DETAILS

Job Band: E

Contract: Permanent, Full-time

Department: Media Tech

Location: Any BBC UK office (Hybrid)

Salary: £65,400 - £87,133 depending on relevant skills, knowledge and experience. The expected salary range for this role reflects internal benchmarking and external market insights.

We’re happy to discuss flexible working. If you’d like to, please indicate your preference in the application – though there’s no obligation to do so now. Flexible working will be part of the discussion at offer stage.

PURPOSE OF THE ROLE

This role ensures Media Tech strategic priorities are translated into clear, prioritised and well-sequenced portfolio outcomes. You’ll provide clear executive-level insight into progress, risks and trade-offs, helping senior leaders understand where to focus and how to deliver the greatest value for audiences. The role focuses on enabling better, earlier portfolio decisions rather than owning delivery.

WHY JOIN THE TEAM

You’ll operate at a digital portfolio level helping shape how strategic choices are made across a complex portfolio of digital products, not just how work is delivered. As a newly established function, you’ll help define how Portfolio Alignment works in practice, not just operate within an established model. This is an opportunity to influence how work is sequenced and coordinated across a complex environment, supporting strategic decisions that help the BBC deliver for audiences now and in the future.

YOUR KEY RESPONSIBILITIES AND IMPACT

• Work across the digital portfolio to surface trade-offs and sequencing decisions


• Identify cross-team dependencies, sequencing challenges and coordination risks, surfacing where alignment is needed and enabling appropriate leadership intervention.


• Produce executive-level insight into the digital portfolio priorities, progress, risks and investment focus.


• Shape and synthesise portfolio insight for executive forums (e.g. QBR), ensuring discussions are decision-focused.


• This role does not own delivery or execution within teams. Its focus is on creating clarity and insight at portfolio level.


• Work with Portfolio Operations and other stakeholders to bring together portfolio data, delivery insight and investment context to form a coherent view.


• Lead and develop a team of Senior Operations Managers


• Set clear expectations, standards and ways of working for a new function


• Support individuals to move from delivery-focused roles to portfolio-level thinking


• Build a team culture focused on clarity, judgement and continuous learning

YOUR SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE

ESSENTIAL CRITERIA

• Ability to step back from team or programme-level detail and operate at system or portfolio level.


• Experience operating in complex portfolio or programme environments.


• Strong ability to synthesise operational and delivery information into clear executive insight.


• Strong analytical capability, with the ability to interpret portfolio data and create decision-ready narratives.


• Experience coordinating work across organisational boundaries and multiple teams.


• Strong facilitation and stakeholder influence skills, including with senior stakeholders.


• Comfortable operating in ambiguity and shaping evolving ways of working


• Ability to identify what matters most in a complex environment, rather than attempting to cover everything

DESIRABLE

• Experience preparing executive reporting or QBR materials.


• Experience working with Product, Engineering, Data, Finance and Operations leadership.


• Strong understanding of portfolio governance, prioritisation and delivery trade-offs.


• Experience identifying dependencies, sequencing challenges and alignment risks.


• Ability to bring stakeholders together around shared priorities and outcomes.

If you can bring some of these skills and experiences, along with transferable strengths, we’d love to hear from you and encourage you to apply.