Operations Manager

Job title: Operations Manager

Location: Mulberry Bush, Witney, Oxfordshire.

Salary:  £39,958 - £47,957

Job type: Permanent, full-time.

Hours: 37.5 hours a week, Monday to Friday

About the role 

As Operations Manager, you’ll play a vital role in keeping the Mulberry Bush running smoothly behind the scenes, so that life-changing work with those affected by childhood trauma can flourish.  You will work closely with teams across the organisation, you’ll oversee systems, governance and key operational projects that shape our long-term sustainability.

From strengthening processes to managing vital partnerships, your work will help create the foundations that enable those who have been troubled and traumatised as children to heal, grow and thrive. This is your chance to be part of an extraordinary story. One where strong operations make extraordinary impact possible.

We’ll look to you to

Operations & Systems

• Manage relationships with IT providers, ensuring reliable systems


• Review and streamline operational processes


• Monitor performance and ensure high standards across key charity policies and contracts


• Provide regular operational updates and risk assessments to senior leaders

Governance & Compliance

• Oversee commercial and legal matters, working closely with legal partners


• Strengthen governance frameworks, lead GDPR compliance and ensure secure handling of sensitive data


• Establish and maintain robust data storage, retention and access systems


• Develop and maintain a business continuity plan

Leadership & Projects

• Lead major operational projects from planning through to delivery, ensuring they’re completed on time and within budget


• Support charity-wide accreditation and quality assurance processes


• Contribute to a culture rooted in our values, safeguarding, equality, diversity and inclusion

We’ll care for you too

You’re not just part of a team, you’re part of our family. Support echoes through every part of our community, and your colleagues are always here to lend a hand or share a smile. We also offer the following benefits to make your journey with us even more rewarding:

• 33 days holiday each year (including public holidays).


• A comprehensive range of informal and formal wellbeing support.


• Employer contribution pension of 6%.


• Enhanced parental leave benefits.


• Subsidised meals.

About you

You’ll bring sound judgement, resilience and a calm, practical approach. You’re someone who can see the bigger picture while still paying attention to the details that matter. You’re comfortable working independently, but you thrive in collaboration and know how to build trusted relationships. Most of all, you’re motivated by purpose. You understand that strong operations aren’t just about systems, they’re about creating stability and safety

You’ll also bring:

• Proven experience in operations management, ideally within a charity or non-profit setting


• Experience managing IT contracts, digital systems and service providers


• Strong project management skills, with a track record of delivering improvements on time and within budget


• Experience drafting, reviewing and implementing policies and procedures


• Knowledge of GDPR, data protection and secure data handling


• Confidence interpreting and managing commercial and legal contracts


• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to work across teams and with external partners


• A clear commitment to safeguarding, equality, diversity and inclusion

About the Mulberry Bush

The Mulberry Bush is the charity that exists to support those who were troubled and traumatised as children. We help them feel listened to, understood, and supported to make positive change.

For over 75 years, our expertise has been embedded in our therapeutic residential school. Today, we also extend this specialist knowledge across education, health, social care, justice, and community settings, offering outreach services, training, consultancy, research, and thought leadership to develop trauma-informed, relational and reflective organisational cultures.

By empowering others to use our approach, we increase understanding, raise standards, and positively influence the systems around children, young people, families and communities. Our mission is to ensure every individual we support – directly or indirectly – has the opportunity to live their own version of their ‘best life’.

If you believe that you have the experience and expertise required to succeed in this role, please submit your CV via the 'Apply for this job' button.

All applicants shortlisted must be willing to complete an application form for regulatory purposes.

If you have any questions about the role or the work we do, please email the HR team at [email protected]

The Mulberry Bush is an equal-opportunity employer. It is fully committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable people and expects all staff and students to share this commitment.

Applicants must have the appropriate right to work in the UK. For applicants requiring visas, we can only accept those with visas which allow you to work in the UK indefinitely (we do not have the ability to offer sponsorship).

This role is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and therefore candidates must be prepared to undertake a DBS criminal background check.

Selection process

• Attend an initial team interview.


• Complete an application form (this is a requirement of our safer recruitment policy).


• Attend a face-to-face interview.


• Participate in the DBS criminal background checking process.