Operations and Delivery Manager

This role has a starting salary of £61,784 per annum, based on a 36 hour working week. This is a fixed term contract until 31/03/2027, with the possibility of extension subject to ongoing Made Smarter Adoption funding into 2027/28 and beyond.

This is a unique opportunity to shape Surrey’s economy and the wider South East region. Join our dedicated Economy and Growth Team and make a meaningful impact on businesses and residents. If you're an experienced operations leader with a passion for high quality delivery, partnership working, and driving continuous improvement, we encourage you to apply.

This role will work remotely, with regular travel across the South East region to support programme delivery, staff, and partners.

Our Offer to You

• 26 days' holiday, rising to 28 days after 2 years' service and 31 days after 5 years' service
• Option to buy up to 10 days of additional annual leave
• A generous local government salary related pension
• Up to 5 days of carer’s leave and 2 paid volunteering days per year
• Paternity, adoption and dependants leave
• An Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) to support health and wellbeing
• Learning and development hub with a wealth of resources
• Wellbeing and lifestyle discounts including gym, travel, and shopping
• A chance to make a real difference to the lives of our residents

About the Team

The Economy and Growth team is dedicated to driving sustainable economic development across Surrey, working collaboratively as ‘One Council’ to support strategic priorities that benefit the county’s 1.2 million residents. The team provides key services in business support, innovation, skills, and infrastructure, and works with major employers like Amazon, McLaren, and Samsung to strengthen the regional economy, which is home to 110,000 businesses and contributes £50 billion annually to the UK economy.

Surrey County Council is the accountable body for the Made Smarter Adoption Programme in the South East. The Programme Delivery Team, part of the Economy and Growth team, is responsible for delivering the programme across Berkshire, Brighton, Buckinghamshire, East Sussex, Hampshire, Kent, Medway, Oxfordshire, Solent (including the Isle of Wight, Portsmouth and Southampton), Surrey, and West Sussex.

About the Role

Surrey County Council is seeking an experienced and dynamic Operations and Delivery Manager to lead the operational delivery of the Made Smarter South East programme. This pivotal role ensures the programme runs smoothly, meets its performance targets, and provides manufacturing SMEs with a seamless, high quality experience.

Reporting to the Strategic Programme Manager, you will oversee day to day operations, manage a multidisciplinary delivery team, and coordinate people, processes, data, and workflows across the programme. You will play a central role in ensuring operational alignment across workstreams, supporting staff performance, maintaining compliance, and driving continuous improvement.

This role is essential to maintaining delivery quality, ensuring robust governance, and supporting effective stakeholder collaboration across a complex, multi partner environment.

Your Application

To be considered for shortlisting, your application must clearly evidence the following qualifications, skills, experience, and align with our behaviours:

• Proven experience in operations management within a complex or multi-partner environment, ideally within a local authority
• Strong track record of influencing and building strategic partnerships
• Significant people management and coaching experience, including remote and target driven teams
• Experience with grant administration, audit processes, or publicly funded programmes
• Strong understanding of governance, compliance, and reporting requirements
• Ability to work proactively, manage competing priorities, and solve problems independently

To apply, we request that you submit a CV and you will be asked the following questions:

1. Please describe a time when you managed operational delivery across multiple partners or workstreams. How did you ensure consistency, compliance, and high quality outcomes?
2. This role requires managing remote, high performance, target driven teams. Please outline your experience in leading and coaching teams to meet KPIs and maintain high standards.
3. Please give an example of how you have used data, CRM systems, or programme management tools to manage pipelines, improve workflows, or generate actionable insights.
4. Made Smarter South East requires strong collaboration with external partners and internal teams. Describe a situation where you built strategic relationships or worked horizontally across an organisation to achieve shared outcomes.

Before submitting your application, we recommend you read the job description & Our Life at Surrey handbook to get an insight into working at Surrey.

Contact Us

Please contact us with any questions relating to the role. This could include flexible working requests, transferable skills, or any barriers to employment.

For an informal discussion, please contact Bryan Vint at: bryan.vint@surreycc.gov.uk.

The job advert closes at 23:59 on 04/04/2025, with interviews taking place in person at Woodhatch Place, Reigate, between 8th April and 17th April 2026.

We look forward to receiving your application — please click the apply online button below to submit.

Local Government Reorganisation (LGR)

Surrey County Council is undergoing Local Government Reorganisation, moving from a two-tier system to two new unitary councils in April 2027. If you are employed by Surrey on 1st April 2027, your role will transfer with current terms and conditions to one of the new organisations, supporting local devolution and greater powers for our communities.

Join our dynamic team and shape the future of local government. Make a lasting impact with innovative solutions and improved services for our community. Help us build a brighter future for our residents! Please see more information here: Information for applicants on Local Government Reorganisation - Surrey County Council

Commitment Wording

We are a Disability Confident employer. If you have shared a disability on your application and meet the minimum criteria, we guarantee you an interview.

Your skills and experience truly matter to us. From application to your first day, we are committed to supporting you with any adjustments you need. We value inclusion and warmly welcome you to help build a workplace where everyone belongs.