Soft Services Manager

Soft Services Manager – 9-Month FTC Salary: Up to £50,000
Contract: 9-Month Fixed-Term Contract
Location: Greenwich, London
Working Pattern: Hybrid

About the role

My client is currently recruiting for a Soft Services Manager to take a key leadership role within a busy and evolving service environment on a 9-month fixed-term contract.

This is an excellent opportunity for a hands-on operational leader who enjoys improving services, developing teams, strengthening client relationships and finding smarter, more efficient ways of working.

You will have responsibility for overseeing operational delivery, supporting and developing management teams, strengthening contract performance and ensuring consistently high standards across a diverse portfolio of services.

The role will suit someone who is confident working at both strategic and operational level and who can turn ideas and recommendations into practical improvements that deliver measurable results.

Main Duties 

Lead and support operational managers, creating clear accountability and a positive culture of performance, collaboration and continuous improvement.
Oversee the effective delivery of Soft Services, ensuring contractual requirements, service standards and operational objectives are consistently achieved.

Build strong and professional relationships with clients, establishing effective communication, review and escalation processes.

Take ownership of contract performance, ensuring key information, obligations, variations, additional works and upcoming renewals are properly managed.

Review staffing structures, resource deployment, agency usage, overtime, supervision and cover arrangements to identify opportunities for greater efficiency.

Develop a clear understanding of productivity across different sites and use operational data to improve working practices and service delivery.

Strengthen budget and cost controls, working closely with Finance to understand variances, forecasting and operational expenditure.

Identify opportunities to improve value for money through procurement, equipment, consumables, stock management and working practices.

Introduce effective inspection, audit and performance management processes to ensure quality and compliance.

Work closely with relevant Health & Safety, Quality, HR, Finance and Procurement teams to ensure appropriate standards and controls are maintained.

Improve management information and introduce practical digital processes for scheduling, reporting, auditing, action tracking and documentation.

Strengthen workforce planning, recruitment, induction, training, attendance, succession planning and resource management.

Develop forward plans for key contracts, identifying renewal requirements, commercial risks, pricing considerations and opportunities for service improvement.

Contribute to the future development of the Soft Services function and provide evidence-based recommendations to senior leadership.

About you 

We are looking for someone with strong operational management experience within soft services, facilities management, cleaning, FM or a similar environment.

You will ideally have:

Proven experience managing operational teams and managers.

Strong contract and client management experience.

A good understanding of workforce planning and resource deployment.

Experience managing budgets, costs and commercial performance.

A track record of delivering operational improvements and efficiencies.

Strong communication and relationship-building skills.

Experience working with multiple stakeholders across operational and support functions.

Good analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to turn data into practical actions.

Experience of quality assurance, audits, compliance and performance management.

Confidence using digital systems and management information to improve operational control.

The ability to work independently while also building effective relationships across an organisation.

Most importantly, you'll be a practical, proactive and credible leader who can engage people, challenge existing ways of working and make improvements happen.

Why join?

This is an opportunity to make a real impact during a focused 9-month fixed-term assignment, helping to strengthen operational performance and shape the future direction of Soft Services.

You'll have the opportunity to:

Make a genuine impact on service performance and operational efficiency.

Lead and develop operational managers and teams.

Influence how Soft Services are delivered in the future.

Work closely with senior leaders and a range of professional functions.

Develop and implement new processes, systems and ways of working.

Build strong client relationships and influence service outcomes.

Work in a hybrid role based in Greenwich, London.

Earn a salary of up to £50,000, depending on experience.

Interested?

If you're an experienced Soft Services or Facilities Management professional looking for a 9-month fixed-term opportunity where you can make a tangible difference, we'd be keen to hear from you.

If you enjoy leading people, improving services and delivering measurable operational results, this could be an excellent next step for you.

If you would like to apply for this position please contact (url removed)
Only candidates based in UK and eligible to work in UK are allowed