Senior Operations Manager

Location: Hybrid, with an average of two days per week in our Cardiff office Salary: £58,000 – £65,000 per annum, depending on experience Contract: Permanent. Full-time and flexible hours/patterns available – we understand that life is more than just work, so we’re happy to discuss flexible working arrangements around childcare and other life-balance commitments. About Sero Sero was founded to make a connection between homes and energy, using technology to make both easier and smarter, together. We do this to save our customers time and money, and to help protect the planet. To tackle the climate emergency, we deliver innovative energy and retrofit solutions that reduce the carbon footprint of homes at scale. We work closely with social housing providers, local authorities and delivery partners to help them understand what their buildings need to reach net zero. This is a senior role at the heart of that mission, and your contribution will be key to our continued success as we grow our impact. About the Role You will hold day-to-day accountability for how our programmes run: keeping projects on track, managing a team of Retrofit Coordinators and Project Managers, and making sure our commercial commitments are met to time, quality and budget. You will provide the operational backbone that allows our delivery programmes to run smoothly at scale. That means clear priorities, a well-supported team, healthy client relationships and a continuous eye on risk. Technical and compliance decisions are made in partnership with our Head of Delivery, so your focus is on keeping the operation moving, well resourced and commercially sound. Our work is rooted in social housing retrofit, but it reaches into utilities, building services, technology, renewables and zero carbon design. Success here looks like calm, well run projects, a team that feels supported and clear on its priorities, and partners who trust us to deliver. How You Will Help Lead the day-to-day delivery of Retrofit Services, deciding what is prioritised week to week across projects and functions so the most important work moves first Keep a holistic view across all live projects, bringing separate teams together and building long-term efficiencies Steer the early stages of major new contracts through mobilisation until they become business as usual Spot and resolve operational risks and delivery bottlenecks early, escalating technical and compliance questions to the Head of Delivery in a timely, well-structured way Line manage the Retrofit Coordinator team and Project Managers, creating clarity, support and accountability across all direct reports Own resourcing and capacity planning across projects, making sure the right skills and focus are in the right place Support the growth of your team through regular one-to-ones, clear expectations, honest development conversations and training Take ownership of budgets, forecasts, monthly invoicing and profitability across your projects, addressing variances early Work closely with Key Account Managers to balance contractual scope, delivery reality and commercial margin, raising material tensions with the Head of Delivery before they become programme risks Act as a senior point of contact for partners on delivery and commercial matters, and support tendering and bid work Keep improving our processes and tools by working with our Tech team, embedding consistent ways of working Maintain oversight of compliance with PAS 2035, scheme requirements and Sero standards, working with the Head of Delivery so technical decisions are well governed and documented Support the Head of Delivery in building a robust set of standard operating procedures to support the growth of the Operational team To Hit the Ground Running Essential Proven experience in an operations management or senior delivery management role, ideally within retrofit, energy, construction, housing or a related regulated sector A demonstrated ability to lead and develop a multidisciplinary team, with direct line management experience across multiple reports A track record of managing several complex programmes or contracts at once, with oversight of delivery risk, resource and performance Genuine commercial accountability, including owning budgets, forecasts, invoicing and profitability across a portfolio of contracts Confident stakeholder and partner management, with clients, contractors and consultants across different seniority levels Intermediate or above Excel, comfortable with lookups, pivot tables, charts and Power Query Comfortable using Jira or an equivalent project tracking tool to monitor delivery progress and team workload Willing to use AI tools to improve the speed and quality of your work, from reporting and documentation to communication and planning Awareness or experience of PAS 2030, PAS 2035 and retrofit delivery in social housing would also be desirable Familiarity with relevant funding schemes such as SHDF, ECO or WHQS would also be desirable You’ll Thrive in This Role If… You put people first, and enjoy developing and supporting a team to do their best work You stay calm under pressure and adapt well when priorities shift You balance commercial pragmatism with a real commitment to quality and compliance You are a clear, warm communicator who builds trust across technical and delivery colleagues alike You take a proactive, problem-solving approach, and like removing blockers for others You believe in doing things the right way, with honesty and fairness in how you lead How to Apply Alongside your CV, we'd like a short covering note and a written response (600–800 words) to the question below, structured under the headings Situation, Task, Action and Result (the STAR format). Describe a time when you led a team through a period of change (for example a restructure, new joiners or leavers, a merged team, or a shift in how the team worked) while keeping multiple live projects on track under pressure. Tell us how you decided what to prioritise, how you brought your team with you, what you chose not to do, and what the outcome was for the programme, the client and your team. Please use a real example from your own experience, written in the first person, and be specific about numbers (team size, project values, timescales) where you can. You're welcome to use AI tools to help you draft and edit your response, just as you would in the role, though the example, the decisions and the judgement should be your own. If your example involves confidential information, please anonymise the client or scheme rather than leaving out the detail. More Information Diversity: We actively look to reflect the diversity of the world around us and welcome applications from everyone. If you need any adjustments to the application or interview process, please let us know. Working Hours: We consider full-time to be 37.5 hours per week between 7am and 7pm, Monday to Friday, though this could also work as a part-time role. How you shape your working pattern is up to you, as long as you are meeting the needs of the role. We think work should suit your lifestyle, so we welcome you to work when you can be most effective. We would like some of your working hours to be coordinated with other team members and stakeholders, so we can stay efficient and communicate effectively. Location: This is a hybrid role, with an average of two days per week in our Cardiff office and site visits as required. Salary: We are budgeting between £58,000 and £65,000 per year for a full-time person in this role, with the offered salary based on previous experience. If the role is part-time, the salary will be adjusted accordingly based on the agreed hours. Perks You will start with 27 days of annual leave to use as you wish, plus 8 bank holidays. After 3 years of service, your annual leave increases to 28 days, and after 5 years you will be eligible for a paid 4-week sabbatical as a thank you Private healthcare with Bupa, with the option to add your family at our reduced rate Salary sacrifice pension with Royal London: for a 3% contribution from you, you will receive 6% from Sero Income protection for peace of mind: 75% of your salary for up to 5 years in cases of long-term sickness Share option scheme: after 12 months with Sero, you will be granted an option over a set number of shares, based on your salary and level in the business at the time of grant Our offices are in Cardiff city centre (less than 10 minutes from Cardiff train station), with discounted NCP parking rates available if you prefer to drive Generous family-friendly policies Dog friendly offices Bike2Work scheme: purchase a bike for up to £1,500 through salary sacrifice Volunteering: 8 hours for yourself, and 8 hours to use as a team