Graduate Operations Manager -DEF Academy Services

Graduate Operations Manager

Location: Defence Academy, Shrivenham, SN6 8LA
Salary: £35,000 plus excellent benefits
Schedule: Full time, Monday to Friday, two-year fixed-term graduate contract
Start date: September 2026

Ready to build a career in Defence?

As a Graduate Operations Manager in our Training and Resilience (T&R) team, you’ll make a real impact from day one. You’ll support the delivery of Serco’s Defence contracts, gaining hands-on experience across operational, contract management, and support functions — all while building a meaningful career in a vital sector.

This role is designed to accelerate your learning and develop your leadership skills through real project and operational experience. You’ll work closely with the T&R Senior Management Team, gaining insight into how a Serco contract is delivered and how different departments — including People, Finance, Health & Safety, Estates, IT, Logistics, Catering, and Course Administration — work together to achieve successful outcomes.

You’ll take an active role in supporting operational projects, contributing to process improvements, and helping colleagues deliver high-quality services. Over time, you’ll gain the skills and confidence to manage initiatives independently, influence cross-functional teams, and engage with stakeholders at all levels — building a foundation for a long-term career in Defence operations.

About the Defence Academy

The Defence Academy is home to both the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom and the UK Resilience Academy — a premier centre delivering world‑class defence, security and resilience education. The Academy provides internationally recognised military and academic programmes attended by personnel from the UK, wider government, industry and overseas militaries. Working here means joining a dynamic community dedicated to developing the intellectual edge needed for future defence and national resilience.

What you’ll do as a Graduate Operations Manager

You will gain broad, hands‑on experience across contract delivery, operations and governance. Your work will be varied — from supporting reporting, projects and day‑to‑day operations, to contributing to how services are managed and improved. While organisation and reporting are important, this role is equally about working with people, building relationships and making things happen.

You'll:

• Gain exposure across the Defence Academy, the UK Resilience Academy (UKRA), and wider resilience operations
• Support critical operational functions, including Estates, IT, Logistics, Catering, and Course Administration, working with internal teams and partners
• Assist with contract management activities spanning Finance, People, QHSE, governance, stakeholder engagement and business development
• Identify and contribute ideas to improve processes, efficiency and service delivery
• Build trusted working relationships with colleagues, customers and stakeholders
• Gain exposure across the Defence Academy, the UK Resilience Academy (UKRA), and wider resilience operations
• Support critical operational functions, including Estates, IT, Logistics, Catering, and Course Administration, working with internal teams and partners
• Assist with contract management activities spanning Finance, People, QHSE, governance, stakeholder engagement and business development
• Identify and contribute ideas to improve processes, efficiency and service delivery
• Build trusted working relationships with colleagues, customers and stakeholders

Does this sound like you?

• Graduated in the last two years with a 2:2 degree or above in any discipline, or on track to do so
• Curious about how organisations operate, motivated to improve processes, and keen to develop leadership skills
• Positive mindset, adaptable, and comfortable building strong working relationships
• Organised, detail-oriented, and able to work effectively under pressure
• Enjoys solving problems, learning from experience, and contributing ideas to improve ways of working

You don’t need to know everything from the start — but you’ll be eager to learn, get involved, and give things a go!

Discover all you need to keep growing

As one of the top 1% of international employers, we’re committed to helping you build a long-term career, not just gain short-term experience.

We’ll support you to complete a Level 5 Team Leader apprenticeship, helping you develop your leadership capability and take increasing ownership as your career progresses.

This fixed-term graduate role is designed to open the door to a wide range of future career opportunities at Serco. Towards the end of the contract, you’ll be encouraged to apply for suitable permanent roles, subject to performance and role availability.

Our previous graduates have gone on to progress into a variety of management and leadership positions — including Senior Contract Manager, Enterprise Risk Manager, Commercial and Special Projects Lead, Strategy Manager, Senior Buyer and Solution Lead — demonstrating how the skills you develop can open doors across our Defence contracts and the wider business.

What we offer

• Holidays: 25 days plus bank holidays, with the option to buy up to five additional days each year
• Pension: Up to 6% contributory pension scheme
• Training and development: Over 1,100 internal courses, funded qualifications and apprenticeships, mentoring and strong internal progression pathways
• Health and wellbeing: Employee Assistance Programme, Bupa Anytime HealthLine, wellbeing app, 30% off Serco-managed leisure centres, and 24/7 access to a virtual GP
• Discounts: Savings across around 1,000 retailers, including food, fashion, travel and entertainment
• Charity and community: Paid volunteering day, tax-free charitable giving and the option to donate through the Serco People Fund
• Employee networks: Inclusive networks that support connection, collaboration and belonging – including LGBTQIA+, women, parents and carers, people with disabilities, veterans and multicultural communities

Vetting and checks

• You’ll need to be a British National and able to achieve Security Check (SC) clearance, due to the security requirements of this role. All checks are funded and organised by Serco.
• Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) clearance, including verifying your identity, employment history, nationality and criminal record
• Depending on projects you work on, you may also need to obtain further clearances such as Counter Terrorist Check (CTC), which include more detailed background checks. UK residency requirements will apply for certain levels of clearance.

The selection process

• Stage 1: Online application submitted/screening questions completed
• Stage 2: Online assessments to include situational based questions and logical reasoning
• Stage 3: Video Interview assessment
• Stage 4: Assessment centre to be held at the Defence Academy in Shrivenham on 5th May to include competency-based interview, presentation and a group exercise.

Let’s impact a better future, together. Apply today.

To discover more about our careers in Defence, visit our careers site.

Please click on the apply button to complete your application. Occasionally we receive a large volume of applications for our roles and when that happens, we sometimes bring the closing date forward, so please apply promptly to avoid disappointment. 

At Serco, we see people first and foremost for their performance and potential. We are committed to building a diverse and inclusive organisation that supports the needs of all. As such we will make reasonable adjustments at interview through to employment for our candidates and strongly encourage applications from a diverse candidate pool. We are open to discussions around flexibility and flexible working. As a proud Disability Confident Leader and holder of the Gold Inclusive Employer Standard, disabled applicants who meet the minimum criteria for the job will be given the opportunity to demonstrate their abilities at an interview.

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