Operations and People Manager

Salary: £35,000 pro rata 

Hours: 21 hours/three days per week (to be assessed after six months) 

We would like applicants to be based in or near Brighton, and work at least one day a week in the Brighton office (ideally Monday). The remaining hours can be from home and must include Wednesdays.

Start Date: ASAP

Description of role

We’re looking for an Operations and People Manager who will help shape and consolidate the operational strategy, systems and processes of the company and manage them day-to-day. You will also be responsible for looking after our team and work culture – from instilling great inclusive recruitment practice, to team training, development and wellbeing, and also keeping on top of our company handbook and policies.  

It’s an exciting time for the company as we’re entering a period of growth. We’ve been working with fantastic clients through 2022, so far including ADP, Tate, The Rockefeller Foundation, the Museum of London, the National Theatre and Luminate. 

You will report to Matt Locke, one of our three company Directors, who takes the lead on company strategy and operations; and you will line manage the Operations Coordinator.

Responsible for

• Ensuring, alongside the Directors, that all our operational and financial processes and systems are watertight and can support us as we grow  
• Working closely with the Directors and our external legal/financial advisors to help shape operational strategy including development of company policies, processes and practices, reporting, recruitment, security, team training and development 
• Keeping up-to-date in changes to UK employment law and other legal policies, applying these to company policies as necessary and ensuring we have relevant external legal advice in place
• Developing and improving our recruitment processes such as ensuring we have best inclusive practices in place 
• Onboarding new staff and adapting the process as needed as the company grows 
• Ensuring, with support and as the company grows, that roles and responsibilities are clear and communicated across the team, our salary bands and other incentives are up-to-date and competitive,  and we have diversity and inclusion at our heart 
• Managing team training, development, wellbeing and reviews, including devising a framework for the company to identify and act upon individual needs and objectives, suggesting and implementing company-wide training, and managing the budget 
• Organise and manage team away days, ensuring learning and knowledge gets fed back into the team 
• With our external advisors, ensure our processes and policies around operational good practice, data protection, GDPR and security are regularly reviewed, up-to-date and compliant, including organising any training for relevant team members  
• With our external advisors, consolidate our suite of contracts and legal documents, including ensuring our Statements of Work are robust; inputting into client contracts where needed; and reviewing our PAYE and freelance contracts, revising where and when necessary according to changes in the law and as the company develops and grows
• Developing our CRM, making sure we have captured relevant contact details for our clients, suppliers and freelancers
• Line managing the Operations Coordinator, supporting them with their workload and their development in the role 

Experience

• At least five years in a similar operational or people-focussed/HR  role 
• An understanding of general finance and budgeting processes including invoicing, profit and loss, and cash flow management 
• Implementation and application of employment law, PAYE and other contractual issues in a similar or larger-sized organisation 
• Implementation of recruitment best practice and knowledge, if not experience of, inclusive recruitment
• Implementation of a team appraisal/review process, team training and development 
• Use of CRM and finance/cash flow tools such as Monday and Xero or similar 
• Ability to work independently and confidence to take the initiative on tasks

Desirable

• Experience of an operational or people-focussed role within the creative industries
• Knowledge/experience of B Corp or an applicable ethical certification/ accreditation process for business
• Experience of using Notion

Contact details and how to apply

Applications are now closed.

We will acknowledge receipt of your email and be in touch directly to talk further if we feel your skills and experience are right for us. This will be either in-person or through Zoom. Interviews will be held Tuesday October 4th and Wednesday October 5th.  

Please note we don’t work with agencies or recruiters.

What we offer

• Flexible working and home working
• 25 holiday days pro rata plus extra over the Christmas and New Year period 
• A company pension with NEST
• Career development and training, whether this is courses, workshops, seminars, mentoring – this will be discussed when you join

About Storythings

Storythings is a strategy and content company with a simple mission: We help good people tell important stories in fascinating ways. We’re deep thinkers and multi-disciplinary storytellers – we make films, podcasts, animation, illustration. We obsess over formats and story structure. We’re fascinated by attention and behaviours. We believe in turning comms into culture. Our team of strategists and makers have cabinets filled with Baftas, Emmys and Webbys. We work with a global network of talent located across India, Latin America, Europe and the USA.

We’re a company that’s serious about its commitment to diversity and inclusion, and the responsibility of being an ally to under-represented minorities. We represent diverse people in our projects, and always look to hire people and talent from a wide variety of backgrounds across race, age, gender, ethnicity and social class. We believe that by creating an honest, bias-free and open work environment for all of our employees and freelance talent, we’ll build happier, stronger and more productive teams.