Job Purpose – overview
West Lothian Leisure is a Community Benefit Organisation, a registered Scottish charity. It is at the heart of the West Lothian community, helping people to improve their wellbeing and make healthy lifestyle choices. We care passionately about the service we provide to the people who live, work and visit West Lothian. As a valued organisation that understands, cares about and engages with its community, we are the delivery partner of choice for West Lothian organisations responsible for improving people’s lives through sport, health and physical activity, outdoor education and culture.
Your senior management role as Head of Operations is to lead the Operations Managers to achieve the aims and objectives of the organisation, delivering high quality and cost effective, services that meet the needs of local communities. Also, being an effective senior manager who contributes to the growth and development of the organisation.
Core Accountabilities & Responsibilities
- As a member of the Leadership Team (Senior Management Team), provide leadership and motivation to peers, colleagues and direct line management for Operations Managers.
- As a member of the Leadership Team lead on strategic and operational plans for the location(s), including determining resource allocation and ways of working.
- To continually look at best practice and innovative ways to deliver the service and make recommendations to the Leadership Team.
- Proposing and executing plans to achieve the financial, customer, employee, internal business processes and learning and growth objectives of the organisation
- Coordinating the implementation of a programmes of sport, health, physical activity, outdoor education and culture activities and events that meets the needs of our communities
- Ensuring that West Lothian Leisure is regarded as an excellent organisation to work for
- Creating, implementing, auditing and reviewing policies, procedures and key business processes
- Managing performance to ensure that all targets are achieved
- Ensuring that the organisation’s policies, procedures and guidance are followed at all times.
- Consulting with local communities to improve customer satisfaction.
- Providing clear direction and support to staff to ensure they are fully equipped to deliver excellent customer service.
- Optimising income streams and securing new funding opportunities to reduce reliance on the membership income and management fee.
- Effectively liaising and working in partnership with outside bodies
- Reporting to and advising the Board of Directors as required
- Working as an effective part of the Leadership Team to ensure that Operations are safe, facilities are well maintained and are well promoted.
- Regularly liaising with external stakeholders and senior staff in other organisations to develop effective relationships.
The above list is illustrative, not exhaustive. Accordingly, there may be a requirement to undertake additional duties, consistent with the level of the post, as directed by management.
Essential Qualifications, Experience and Skills
- Demonstrates excellent core organisational and management competencies.
- Educated to degree level or equivalent in a relevant discipline such as Leisure or Business Management
- Experience of executing a range of comparable responsibilities in a senior management role
- Proven leadership and people management skills with the ability to foster a positive work environment through empowering, enabling, motivating and developing self and others.
- An intellectual capable team player, who is capable of taking the leading role in formulating, influencing and implementing strategy and complex policy.
- An ability to speak confidently and fluently, and hold the attention of others, including through television and radio interviews and experience of delivering speeches in front of large audiences.
- Experience of creating a range of commercially focussed sports and leisure activities.
- A track record of working in partnership with other organisations
- High levels of awareness of Health and Safety legislation
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
- Excellent budgeting skills
- Excellent planning skills
- Excellent project management skills
- Excellent report writing skills
- Ability to prioritise and work to tight deadlines
- Highly competent level of skill with Excel, Word and PowerPoint
- Hold or willingness to study for a Leadership & Management qualification (level 5) within first year within post.
- Hold or willingness to study for the ILM level 3 Coaching certificate within first year of post
- Hold and maintain a current valid driving license [and use of a vehicle].
- Willingness to continuously develop and attend training and development sessions in line with your personal training plan, on occasion out-with your normal hours of work, to ensure the required level of competence.
Desirable Qualifications, Experience and Skills
- Successful implementation of national and organisational standards/frameworks
- A track record of successfully managing organisational change.
- Generalist HR management experience
- Awareness of national and local strategies for sport and health
- Awareness of the needs of aging communities
- Membership of a professional body ISRM, ISPAL, CIPD
- Experience of creating a range of commercially focussed arts and outdoor education programmes and activities
- Leisure facility programming in the 3rd or public sector
Job Dimensions
- Prepare and present reports to the Board and partners
- Represent the Chief Executive as required
Core organisational competencies
Service delivery
Champions the service, focusing on individual customer’s needs and responding with service that surpasses their expectations
Honesty and integrity
Being truthful, keeping promises and commitments and making ethical decisions.
Respect for equality and diversity
Understanding others’ behaviours and culture and treating everyone fairly.
Personal effectiveness
Personal responsibility for making things happen – being accountable for your own actions.
Core Management competencies
Developing self and others
Investing time and resources in developing self and others’ capability.
Team working/Leading and inspire
Motivating others and developing teams to deliver the trust’s objectives.
Strategic thinking
Making sense of complex and disparate ideas and innovating.
Commercial focus/awareness
Investigating and gathering information in order to make sound commercial decisions.
Entrepreneurial drive
Being business focused with a desire to constantly improve performance.
Partnership working/stakeholder management
Working effectively with others inside and outside the trust to achieve the best outcomes.
Analysis and decision making
Identifying and analysing relevant data from multiple sources. Making objective and timely decisions based on available evidence and sound analysis. Generating a range of ideas to support decision making process.
Additional information
- Authorised signatory for Protecting Vulnerable Groups and Disclosure Scotland checks.
- Required to work flexibly with some evening and weekend working
- Being available for emergency call outs
- You will be required to be aware of current Health and Safety Policy and to take responsibility for your own safety and the safety of others who may be affected by your acts or omissions at work.