Workplace Operations Manager

Workplace Operations Manager

Sheffield City Centre (office-based due to the nature of the role)

Salary: £Competitive

Are you an experienced Workplace Operations Manager looking for a new challenge where you can make a visible impact every day? This is an exciting opportunity to take ownership of the day-to-day running of our vibrant, modern Sheffield city centre office within one of South Yorkshire's leading digital employers.

Working within the People & Culture team, you'll play a key role in creating a safe, organised and welcoming workplace for colleagues and visitors. This is a hands-on and varied role covering workplace operations, facilities management, health and safety, supplier management and colleague experience.

Success will rely on excellent attention to detail, sound judgement, initiative and a genuine pride in creating a workplace that runs smoothly and supports colleagues to do their best work. As a visible and colleague-facing role, you'll need to be approachable, proactive and confident in building positive working relationships across the business.

Responsible to: Head of People & Culture

Key responsibilities:

Workplace management

• Take ownership of the day-to-day running, presentation and maintenance of the office, ensuring a safe, efficient and professional working environment.

• Balance multiple office priorities, responding to daily needs while keeping planned activity, actions and improvements on track.

• Proactively identify and implement practical improvements to the office environment, ways of working, processes and colleague experience.

• Manage office suppliers, contracts, expenditure and purchase orders, ensuring high service standards, value for money and effective budget control.

• Work with the Head of People & Culture on facilities budgets, supplier relationships and workplace improvement initiatives, escalating decisions in line with agreed approval levels.

• Maintain office procedures, processes and facilities information, ensuring records remain accurate and up to date.

• Act as the key contact for the building management company and facilities providers, coordinating maintenance, building updates and workplace improvements.

• Manage front-of-house activity, including visitors, meeting room bookings, post and deliveries.

• Coordinate travel and accommodation as required across the business.

• Provide responsive ad hoc practical support to the Board when required, using sound judgement to manage urgent requests alongside wider office priorities.

Colleague experience, engagement and hospitality

• Take ownership of workplace refreshments, hospitality and visitor experience, ensuring kitchens, break-out spaces and refreshment areas are clean, well-stocked and maintained to a high standard for colleagues and visitors.

• Support the planning and delivery of colleague engagement activities, including charity events, company socials, celebrations and office-based initiatives.

• Coordinate visitor hospitality, including refreshments, meeting room preparation and a warm, professional welcome for clients, candidates, suppliers and visitors.

• Work with the People & Culture team to create a positive, engaging and inclusive workplace experience.

Health & safety

• Coordinate and manage the operational H&S plan, ensuring actions, audits, checks and training are completed on time and escalated where needed.

• Maintain accurate H&S records, including risk assessments, fire safety checks, incident logs and training records.

• Act as the main H&S contact, working closely with external advisors to maintain a safe and compliant workplace.

• Coordinate and review risk assessments, making recommendations where improvements are needed.

• Support health, wellbeing and compliance activity, including arranging relevant colleague training.

IT & communications

• Coordinate workplace onboarding and offboarding activity, ensuring equipment, access requirements and workspace arrangements are in place for new starters and recovered for leavers.

• Manage the procurement, stock control and distribution of office and IT equipment, maintaining accurate asset records and ensuring colleagues have access to the tools they need to work effectively.

• Work closely with internal and external IT partners to coordinate workplace technology requirements and support the smooth delivery of joiner, mover and leaver processes.

• Act as the main point of contact for the sound system, including maintenance and day-to-day operation.

• Share clear and timely office communications, including updates on facilities, visitors, building works, events, office processes and digital display content.

Skills and experience:

Essential

• Experience in a workplace operations, office management, facilities or similar role within a fast-moving scale-up, growing SME or similar environment, with the flexibility, resilience and sound judgement to manage changing priorities, respond to urgent business needs and maintain high standards in a dynamic workplace.

• Strong organisational skills, excellent attention to detail and the ability to maintain momentum while delivering a consistently high standard of work.

• Proactive and solutions-focused, with the confidence to take ownership and make practical improvements.

• Comfortable balancing operational responsibilities with hands-on tasks, taking pride in maintaining a well-run, welcoming and professional workplace.

• Experience managing suppliers, contractors, workplace services or facilities-related activities.

• Positive, approachable and professional, with confidence working closely with colleagues, managers, visitors and suppliers.

• Good working knowledge of Microsoft Office.

• High levels of discretion and professionalism when handling confidential or sensitive information.

• Willingness to complete Fire Marshal, First Aid or H&S training.

Desirable

• Experience supporting H&S audits, risk assessments or compliance activity.

• Fire Marshal or First Aid qualification.

• Experience supporting the planning and delivery of workplace events, colleague engagement activities, hospitality or company socials.

• Experience processing invoices, purchase orders or supplier payments, ideally using accounting software such as Sage.

• Full UK driving licence, access to a vehicle and willingness to undertake occasional local business-related journeys.

About us:

At UniHomes, we're on a mission to transform the entire student rental experience across the UK. As the market-leading student accommodation