Full time, Permanent Role

 

 

 

Job Description & Person Specification

Organisation: Babbasa Youth Empowerment Projects

Job Title: Head of Operations

Hours: 35 hours a week

Salary: £36,000 – £40,000 depending on skills and experience

Line managed by: Chief Executive Officer

Start Date: June 2023

Employment term: Permanent

Location: Bristol-based at Babbasa Hub, Backfields House, Upper York Street, St Pauls, Bristol BS2 8QJ with hybrid working arrangements considered.

 

About Babbasa

Babbasa is an award-winning, Bristol-based, social enterprise with a vision to create a worldwhere all people are inspired and able to realise their employment and enterprise ambitions, irrespective of where they live, their nationality, ethnicity, gender, race, disability, sexuality or faith. Babbasa realises its mission through its subsidiary enterprises including Babbasa’s Youth Empowerment Programmes and Recruitment & Inclusion Services (BRIS) and its core values of Imagination, Determination and Kindness.

Babbasa supports low-income and ethnic minority young people to prepare for the workplace as well as support employers to recruit diverse talent, develop cultural competencies and create inclusive work environments for all to thrive. The direct support for young people includes soft skills training, mentoring, and information and guidance support. The direct support for employers includes Recruitment, Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Advisory Support, Cultural Competency Training, Research, Inclusion Needs Analysis and Onboarding Support. Over the next decade, Babbasa plans to grow its services to both young people and employers to respond to the pressing imperative to overcome the structural barriers to workforce inclusion and associated social inequalities in Bristol and Beyond.

 

Job Purpose

The role of Babbasa’s Head of Operations is to provide senior level, efficient and effective management of organisational resources, systems and processes that enable and support Babbasa to deliver high quality services and provide a great experience for staff, young people and other stakeholders. As a member of the Senior Leadership Team, the Head of Operations plays a vital role in helping Babbasa achieve and enhance its mission driven impact and purpose by leading on the management and/or development of systems and processes for key areas including; finance, office administration, health and safety, quality assurance, data management, sales and service delivery, project management, information-technology management, marketing, business improvement, legal, governance and human resources management.

The Head of Operations also leads and manages the Operations Team and relationships with external suppliers and partners, ensuring compliance with relevant laws and regulations across all business areas.

 

 

Core Responsibilities

Finance & Operations Management

• Provide effective financial management and control in relation to; bank accounts, accounting systems and financial records of the organisation using the QuickBooks finance system

• Manage the relationship with financial advisors, directing and quality assuring their input and work

• Implement and manage accounting policies, procedures and systems necessary to provide high quality financial support to the organisation (Board, SLT and staff team) working with external advisors, Babbasa Finance Non-Executive Director and Auditor

• Develop and monitor annual budgets, produce monthly financial reports and accurate management accounts using QuickBooks

• Undertake and manage the organisation’s monthly payroll working with the external financial advisor as required

• Advise and support the development of project budgets and ensure all project, programme and service budgets are closely monitored in line with grant agreements/funding requirements

• Provide accurate and timely financial information to support fundraising activities and funding claims

• Develop colleagues’ understanding of robust financial controls and management to embed a culture of financial accountability at all levels within the organisation

 

Data, Information and ICT Management

• Ensure the timely provision of accurate data and information to relevant staff to support the delivery of high quality management and project reports

• Ensure the implementation of and compliance with appropriate quality assurance systems and processes across the organisation via e.g. Matrix Accreditation
• Lead on developing and embedding data and information management policies and practices to secure and maintain organisational assets e.g GDPR-compliance and cyber security controls
• Commission and/or manage relationships with external legal and ICT suppliers for service support and software systems including the CRM, Google Space for Business and other contractual agreements

• Work with Operations Team and Managers to ensure the effective management of ICT hardware and systems and compliance with respect to usage and maintenance

Human Resources

• Develop, lead and monitor the implementation of HR policies and processes, that ensure compliance with employment law and contractual matters, working with the external HR Advisor

• Create a fair and transparent framework for staff to achieve Babbasa’s goals in line with Babbasa Values and Manifesto, providing HR knowledge and expertise to the team as required

• Work with the CEO and the Senior Leadership Team to ensure appropriate staffing capacity and capability through effective management of staff and volunteer recruitment, induction, development and progression, pay review and reward

• Provide oversight of appraisals, staff progression, training, development and the achievement of individual KPI’s in line with the business plan and Babbasa Manifesto

• Ensure the provision of day-to-day management support for the Senior Leadership Team in pursuance of overall strategic objectives Governance

• To be responsible for ensuring high quality Governance arrangements are in place across the organisation and in relation to the Board of Directors.

• To lead on submission of the annual return to Companies House and other relevant bodies, working with external advisors (e.g. Auditors), as required Health, Safety and Facilities Management

• Ensure safe and accessible arrangements and procedures for day-to-day use of the Babbasa Hub (office) including undertaking health & safety risk assessments and safety checks

• Lead relationships with the Landlord (Emmaus), sub-licensees and external providers and suppliers

• Manage ongoing improvement of the Babbasa Hub as a positive working environment including maximising opportunities for income generation

 

Leadership and Team management

• As a member of Babbasa’s Senior Leadership Team, be accountable for delivery of key aspects of the organisational business plan and work collaboratively to increase Babbasa’s impact in line with the organisation’s mission
• Model the values and behaviours expected of Senior Leadership in line with Babbasa’s Manifesto and SLT Charter
• Provide direct leadership, management and supervision for up to 5 people including the Assistant Operations Manager, Operations Assistant, Operations Associate and other members of the Babbasa team as may be required

• Identify, mitigate and manage key organisational risks, ensuring the Senior Leadership Team and Babbasa’s Board are notified and briefed through Babbasa’s risk register and procedures

 

Person Specification

Financial management: you are financially literate with an understanding of SORP accounting rules and demonstrable track-record of organisational financial management. You have an analytic approach to your work and are able to train and share knowledge of sound financial management to non-finance team members.

Operations management: you have a good understanding of Operations management, able to manage people, teams, and coordinate work with external consultants/advisors. You are able to manage end-to-end IT projects, co-ordinate implementation across the organisation and monitor compliance.

Human Resource management: you have a sound understanding and working knowledge of HR, GDPR and H&S policies and procedures with experience of managing and supporting Staff.

Governance: you have experience and knowledge of good practice in relation to Governance of an organisation and are able to lead and manage others to ensure adherence to policy, codes of practice, legal and regulatory frameworks.

Working with others: you proactively identify business needs, scope and plan minor and major projects to address them, and successfully drive projects to completion, involving and engaging colleagues appropriately throughout. You have the ability to build trust and develop and maintain excellent working relationships with Board members and staff at all levels, formal and informal stakeholders, with the young people on our programmes and with our external consultants.

Organised: you are well-organised, with a meticulous approach and good attention to detail. You manage your own time well and respect the time of others. You are able to manage multiple and sometimes conflicting deadlines and have a track-record of effective management across various disciplines.

Effective and efficient: you are constantly reflecting on working practices in order improve quality and efficiency where necessary. A completer-finisher – you are able to work to deadlines, take initiative and are proactive in your approach. You create change that benefits all and is aligned with organisational strategy.

Problem solving: you are able to resolve problems in a complex and rapidly changing environment. You have strong personal resilience and the ability to stay focused in a busy Office.

IT knowledge: you are proficient in the use of IT for business, with an awareness and/or experience of online platforms and tools. You are able to support strategy, troubleshooting, dealing with suppliers and administration of our CRM and HR systems. You have a high level of proficiency in the use of Excel and other software and management tools, able to use functionality such as pivot tables and charts to create user-friendly reports.

You’re aligned with our mission: you have lived experience and/or a sound understanding of the critical issues around equity, equality, inclusion and diversity. You have experience or awareness of structural issues in relation to race and class and how they impact young people with specific reference to their leadership and employability experiences. You believe that, with the right support, everyone has potential to achieve excellence, whatever that means for them.

Incentives and Benefits

Opportunity to:

• Live and work in Bristol – a dynamic, multicultural city of 460,000 people, speaking c.91 languages. An economic powerhouse of the Southwest, voted the kindest city in UK; European Green City (2017); best culinary destination (2019) and happiest city to work in the UK (Guardian, 2016)
• Build your leadership and enterprise skills in a safe and supportive environment
• Be part of building an innovative, award winning (Queen’s Award For Enterprise – Social Mobility) organisation
• Be part of of a welcoming and supportive team dedicated to transforming the lives of low-income and ethnic minority young people in Bristol
• Play an active role in helping to address the city’s stark ethnic inequalities through contribution to Our City 2030 – a flagship, city-wide initiative designed to support young people from low income households in inner-city Bristol to secure meaningful careers by 2030.

 

Benefits

• 31 days annual leave (including public holidays)
• 3% employer pension contribution
• Company laptop and mobile phone
• Access to flexible and hybrid working arrangements
• Access to Employee Assistance Programme
• Opportunity to access learning opportunities
• Opportunities for career development

 

Application Process

Complete the online application form here and the Equal Opportunities monitoring form here by the deadline which is 5.00pm on Friday 31st Mar 2023. Shortlisted applicants will be invited to an interview taking place during w/c 10th April where you will be asked to deliver a presentation and/or complete an assessment task.

Good luck!