Operations Director

About Woolwich Works

Woolwich Works is the Royal Borough of Greenwich’s landmark project to turn five historic buildings on the Royal Arsenal into a new creative district for London. Opening in 2020, the buildings will include a large events and performance space, rehearsal and performance studios, events spaces, a café and bars, and be the new home for artistic residents including internationally-renowned theatre company, Punchdrunk.

This job is being advertised by Woolwich Creative District Trust, a new, not-for-profit organisation founded to run Woolwich Works. Our purpose is to benefit and contribute to our community by enabling people to realise their creative potential.

About this job

The Operations Director is a senior manager who will support the Chief Executive in developing and delivering the organisation’s strategy to achieve objectives agreed by the Board and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) set out in the Trust’s Partnership Agreement with the council. The Senior Management Team (SMT) has overall responsibility for the successful day-to-day running of the organisation.

Our buildings, and the team members who run them, are the backbone of our business. They have to work hard to support creative and cultural organisations and local groups; welcome, entertain and inspire people from across the borough; and host commercial events that generate the money that’s needed to enable us to deliver the maximum possible benefit for our community. The Operations Director has overall responsibility for running our site and delivering services in our buildings and beyond. They will lead our teams in venue management, visitor services, technical, facilities and food and beverage, and be responsible for HR, security, and health and safety management. This is a people-focused role: there are two themes which cut across a job that has significant breadth – keeping everyone safe, and delivering a great experience.

All our managers are also expected to spend two days each month delivering learning and development opportunities to others as part of our Progress programme.

Is this job for you?

We’re looking for an experienced venue operations professional. You’ll have worked in significant (in terms of both size and profile) arts and entertainment venues and on a variety of major events. Experience of setting up and opening new venues would be an advantage, and you’ll need to be an outstanding people manager with an eye for detail and an excellence reflex. Delivering brilliant customer service, managing safety and compliance and running a successful business will each excite you in equal measure. You’ll be passionate about helping people, happy working both strategically and operationally, and willing to work hard and get your hands dirty.

How to apply

Please download the document below which includes both the Job Description and our Application form which you should complete and return no later than Sunday 10 November 2019.

CVs won’t be accepted as an alternative to completing the form, but if you’re unable to complete a written application for any reason please either email us via the button below or call (020) 8987 8097 so that we can discuss alternative arrangements for assessing your suitability for the job.