Area Operations Manager

Job Purpose

Area Operations Manager - Temporary Opportunity Feb 2025 - September 2025 .

Salary: £39,588 p.a ( FTE) + £5,100 Car Cash Allowance per annum

Working Hours: 37 Hours Monday - Friday, Ocassional Weekend Working.

Location: You will be based and work out off Lighterage Yard, Chester Way, Northwich, CW9 5JJ , with regular travel around the operational area of the Northwest region. The area of responsibility covers the River Weaver and the Trent and Mersey Canal from Preston brook too Hardingswood, Kidsgrove.

About the Trust
We're the charity who look after and bring to life 2,000 miles of canals and rivers. Our waterways contribute to the health and wellbeing of local communities and economies, creating attractive and connected places to live, work, volunteer and spend leisure time. These historic, natural and cultural assets form part of the strategic and local green-blue infrastructure network, linking urban and rural communities as well as habitats.

Our waterways are on the doorstep of 8 million people and reach some of the most deprived communities within the UK. By caring for our waterways and promoting their use we believe we can improve the wellbeing of our nation. Come and be part of it.

We are looking for an Area Operations Manager to cover the operational area within the North West regional canal network, working from home with a reporting base of Tardebigge, Bromsgrove B60 1NF.

In this role you will lead a team of 11 colleagues (Team Leader, Volunteering Leaders, Operatives), as well as numerous volunteers and 3 seasonal colleagues, focusing on day-to-day operational management and maintaining safety management protocols across the majority of the River Weaver and Trent and Mersey Canal. See our network here: https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/enjoy-the-waterways/canal-and-river-network

About the Team
Having established ourselves as a major charity, we are now on a journey to deliver ambitious new plans - and central to this is the area structure that will enable us to deliver an outstanding service to all users and customers across our amazingly diverse network. Join us, as one of our new Area Operations Managers, and you'll play a key part in making sure this happens, as you take ownership of the quality and presentation of the waterways in your area.

You'll be the main contact for a huge variety of people - not just colleagues and volunteers but internal users, visitors, customers and community representatives as well. By engaging with them, listening to them, and understanding their needs, you'll be able to build up a complete picture of service-related and operational issues. You will also be responsible for delivering operational activities, works and improvement programmes across your area, leading and motivating internal teams and supervising contractors to ensure a successful outcome every time.

Throughout your work, you will be addressing key customer concerns and using your local knowledge to ensure we operate a reliable waterway network. And, most important of all, you will be helping us prove that life's better by water, by transforming our canals and rivers into spaces that bring wellbeing benefits to huge numbers of local people every day.

See how we make difference: ( https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/about-us/how-we-make-a-difference ).

See our-values ( https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/refresh/media/thumbnail/35240-our-values.pdf ).

The regularity & flexibility of travel will be discussed further at interview stage. Regular accessibility to this network is essential to enable managerial function .

Knowledge, Skills/Qualifications & Experience

Key accountabilities:

• Key correspondent for engaging with and listening to users, visitors, colleagues and volunteers to have a complete picture of service related and operational issues in their area.
• Development and implementation of a prioritised improvement programme to encourage greater participation with increasing levels of visitor satisfaction and aimed delivering against the Trust's framework of strategic objectives.
• Work collaboratively with colleagues across the area and wider Trust for the completion of works, delivery of wider Trust wellbeing, engagement, promotional and other activities.
• Liaison with and coordinate Trust priorities with other teams to ensure all works and initiatives within their area are programmed and delivered with current and future visitors in mind. Influence colleagues in relation to the delivery of works outside the scope of their own team to deliver.
• Manage minor projects - typically grant funded valued to £20k, achievement of outcomes and budget compliance, required reporting and other standards.
• Develop and grow the volunteering contribution to the care of the waterways with a targeted, engaging and satisfying programme of opportunities.
• Line management, coaching and mentoring of a team of paid colleagues and volunteers to operate the waterway; and deliver a planned programme of maintenance works to high quality, in time and to budgets; and reactive tasks as circumstances require. Planning of work schedules and rotas. Organise and oversee the daily operation of an area of the network to provide a 7-day operational service.
• Key contact with contracting partners in the undertaking of activities associated with the delivery of planned contracted and arising tasks in the Operational Contracts area. Undertake specialist activities (example Diving Contract Administration), as needed for the area and more widely where required.
• Identify and implement opportunities for efficiencies, achieving budgetary targets each year.
• Participation in the planning and delivery of a 24/7 on call response, to ensure visitor and neighbour safety and satisfaction is maintained at all times. Ensure availability of colleagues to resource the rota.
• Responsible for equipment, vehicles and buildings to the required standards to ensure their availability for works and cost effectiveness.

About you

Given how many different kinds of internal and external stakeholders you'll be dealing with, it's vitally important that you have excellent communication and influencing skills along with proven experience of leading successful teams and of managing and motivating groups of volunteers. You will also need substantial experience of developing and delivering programmes of work that have been effective in turning a strategic vision into reality.

Safety is another major part of your remit, so you must have proven experience of safety management and, if you haven't already gained a NEBOSH certificate, then working towards one will be beneficial.

A full valid driving licence is essential as you will need to be readily mobile across your area of responsibility.

Knowledge, experience & skills:

• Understanding and translating a strategic vision; and developing and delivering programmes of work, on time and on budget.
• Customer focused work which demonstrates the ability to deliver technical challenges in an operational management visitor / infrastructure network.
• Successfully leading teams and demonstrating delivery through others.
• Improving and maintaining motivation and engagement within teams, and of demonstrating a strong people focus.
• Environment to deliver an excellent visitor experience.
• Excellent interpersonal, leadership and communication skills.
• Proven comprehensive experience of safety management with some experience of the Construction (Design & Management) regulations.
• Solid experience of effective and efficient delivery processes and cost control; and managing budgets.
• Proven experience of working with, growing the support from and managing volunteers.
• Good experience of contract management.

Behaviours:

• Embodying the Trust's values and behaviours at all times.
• Ensuring that diversity and inclusion are integrated into all aspects of Trust life and promoting inclusion by challenging behaviour, practices, actions, or decisions that are counter to the objectives of the Trust's policies and values.
• Leading by example, ensure your team take responsibility for the safety of colleagues, volunteers, themselves and customers. Comply with Canal & River Trust's Health & Safety policy and defined standards. Investigate and report incidents, accidents and near misses. Ensure safe use of appropriate equipment, prepare Risk Assessments and Method Statements ensuring contents are understood and acted upon.
• Being aware of your own responsibilities regarding safeguarding and to support our commitment to providing safe environments and working practises that promote and protect the safety and welfare of children, young people and adults at risk at all times.

Qualifications:

• Educated to degree level or equivalent in a relevant subject, desirable.
• NEBOSH certificate or equivalent qualification essential.
• Full and valid driving licence.

If you have any questions about the role please contact CRT.recruitment@canalrivertrust.org.uk

We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive sufficient suitable applications for the role. Therefore, if you are interested, please submit your application as early as possible.

What We Offer

In addition to your annual base salary of £39,588 p.a ( FTE) , we also offer Car Cash Allowance (£425 per month) , a competitive contributory DC Pension scheme arrangement, and numerous other employee benefits, including several salary sacrifice benefits we are also open to flexible working arrangements. These include:

Other benefits include:

• 25 days paid holiday, plus paid Bank Holidays, increasing to 27 days plus Bank Holidays after 3 years.
• Competitive contributory DC Pension scheme arrangement, where we will double your contribution to a maximum of 10%.
• Annual £200 personal learning & growth award to spend on any learning related activity - hobbies; aspirations etc.
• Free access to specialist counselling on a range of issues - health; financial; lifestyle; well-being; domestic & neighbourly matters.
• Access to a range of employee benefits including - store discounts; boating holiday discounts; holiday purchase scheme.
• Expansive maternity/paternity provisions.
• Progressive access to learning tools and CPD.
• 2 days paid volunteering leave, volunteering for local community project work.

At the Trust we care passionately for our waterways, and as importantly, for those who look after and use them. We strongly believe that a diverse workforce brings with it a diversity of ideas, thinking and ways of working which enhances what we do as a Trust. We are striving to represent the diverse communities that we are a part of and welcome applicants from across all sectors of the community.

All candidates will be treated on the basis of their merits, skills and abilities and solely by being assessed against the requirements for the job.

When you join the Canal & River Trust you become a member of an engaged team working to preserve our heritage for future generations. Come and share your passion and knowledge with a team that makes a difference to millions of people every day.

Find out more about us on our website: https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/about-us ]]>