About the Company
DesignGuru is a fast-growing, subscription design agency serving 00s of clients with a globally distributed team. We're on a mission to double in size over the next 12 months, and we need an Operations Manager who can own the delivery engine that makes that possible.
This isn't a coordination role. It's a leadership role. You'll be the person ensuring that every task is delivered on time, every designer is accountable, and every system is working exactly as it should.
What You'll Own
- Run the start-of-day planning process; identify priority clients, high-risk tasks, and flag anything that needs intervention before the team gets moving.
- Monitor team utilisation across designer teams, ensuring workload is being absorbed effectively and nothing is falling through the cracks.
- Lead close-down calls at the end of each working day confirm all tasks have been delivered within estimated timeframes and escalate anything that hasn't.
- Own QC oversight: track pass rates, submission quality, and revision loops, using data to identify patterns and drive structural improvements.
- Keep client health scores and trackers up to date, and proactively flag accounts showing early signs of churn risk.
- Ensure SOPs and systems are being followed in practice, not just on paper. That means chasing, holding people accountable, and being comfortable doing both.
- Build and maintain a daily reporting routine - surface the metrics that matter, (not everything that's measurable!).
- Use AI tools to crunch operational reports on designer performance, QC performance, utlisation rates, client experience, delivery stats etc.
- Troubleshoot live project and client issues fast, with good judgement, and without hand-holding.
- Occasionally join client calls to help resolve escalations alongside the wider team.
- On an as-and-when basis, flag capacity gaps & flag hiring requirements
- On an as-and-when basis, flag system, process or general business improvements you feel would add value to the company
What We're Looking For
- Proven senior operations experience in a high-volume, fast-turnaround service business. Subscription model experience is a strong advantage, even better if you are from a design agency background.
- A track record of holding distributed teams to account and building delivery standards that actually stick.
- Strong async communicator - you can escalate clearly, brief concisely, and keep a remote team aligned without things getting lost.
- Already using AI tools in your day-to-day work. Not curious about it. Using it.
- Self-directed and process-minded. You'll report directly to the Founders and have real authority; but you won't be micro-managed daily.
- Available during GMT / GMT+2 business hours. This is a hard requirement.
Culture Fit
We work hard, we move fast, and we take what we do seriously; but not ourselves. The right person for this role isn't afraid to roll their sleeves up, thinks on their feet, and brings a sense of humour to the chaos without losing focus on the outcome.
We recognise and reward people who consistently hit their targets and push the business forward. Equally, we're straight about performance; if KPIs aren't being met, that won't go unaddressed. We'd rather be honest about that upfront than waste anyone's time.
How to Apply
Apply via the link attached. Shortlisted candidates will be sent a brief screening questionnaire; please complete it fully.
