Career Zone Operations Manager

At the University of East London, we are proud of our legacy and excited about our future. With our 10-year Vision 2028 strategy in full swing, we’re building the careers-first university of the future – driving diversity in the talent pipeline and creating an inclusive, sustainable, and industry-aligned educational experience. We are bold, curious, ambitious – and we’re never not moving forward.

We are now seeking a dynamic Career Zone Operations Manager to join our Careers and Student Enterprise team – someone who thrives on collaboration, enjoys problem-solving, and has a passion for delivering operational excellence that directly supports student success.

About the Role

As the Career Zone Operations Manager, you will play a key role in the development and smooth running of our award-winning Career Zones across our three campuses. These are dynamic physical and virtual spaces where students, employers, start-ups, and staff come together to collaborate, innovate, and prepare for the future world of work.

You’ll lead a frontline team of Career Zone Advisors and an Operations Officer, ensuring consistently high standards of service, and you’ll work with the Director, Associate Directors and wider team to implement strategic goals. You’ll also be responsible for managing resources, budgets, systems and processes that underpin the service, and for ensuring our activities are efficient, inclusive, and impactful.

This is a role for someone who combines strong operational management with strategic insight, people leadership, and a commitment to service excellence.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead and manage the operational delivery of the Career Zones across three campuses.
• Line manage the Operations Team and ensure a high-performing, customer-focused culture.
• Work closely with senior leadership to support HR, financial and project delivery needs across the service.
• Drive the use and development of our physical spaces to increase engagement from students, employers, and local communities.
• Provide data, reports and analysis to support planning, improvement and accountability.
• Support the delivery of projects and campaigns including events, mentoring, enterprise support and student outreach.
• Lead on health and safety, risk management and continuous improvement initiatives.

About You

You’ll be:

• A strong operational leader with significant experience in higher education, careers, or student-facing services.
• An excellent people manager with experience leading teams through change and growth.
• Experienced in financial management, HR processes, and delivering high-quality administrative systems.
• A confident communicator, able to influence stakeholders at all levels and foster collaboration.
• Strategic, solution-focused and resilient – with a commitment to equity, inclusion and student empowerment.

Benefits Package

At UEL, we believe that a great role is about more than just a salary. It’s about the complete package, including our outstanding work environment and inclusive culture.

We offer a genuinely competitive salary, dependent on experience (DOE), and a range of excellent benefits.

You can explore our full benefits package here: https://uel.ac.uk/benefits-professional-services-positions

Building an Inclusive Future

UEL is an inclusive equal opportunities employer and is proud of our Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion achievements, including a zero gender pay gap, membership in Stonewall, and winning Athena Swan awards. We expect all UEL employees to accept our EDI policy and will not tolerate discrimination in any form.

We're a disability confident employer and value all applications. Please let us know if you require any reasonable accommodations throughout the recruitment process.

If you're ready to join a University that values your outstanding skills and perspectives and is dedicated to making a difference, we invite you to explore a career with us. We are excited to welcome versatile individuals who are committed to advancing their careers while making a positive impact on the world.

Please note that this advert may close earlier than the deadline if we receive many applications. We encourage you to submit your application as soon as possible. 

To contact the recruitment team please phone +44 20 8223 3000 x 4600 or e-mail jobs@uel.ac.uk

CVs without a completed application form will not be accepted.

At UEL we are committed to working together to build a community which values diversity in both our staff and student populations, is representative and inclusive, enabling all to progress and thrive.