Central Operations Lead

Who we are

VIVO provides facilities management and accommodation maintenance for the UK military and its partners. VIVO embodies both experience and innovation.

What we do

We put our Customers and Families First. They are the driving force behind everything we do. We drive forward improvements for them to ensure the service they receive, whether reactive repairs or a major project, is completed safely and on time. In order to achieve this, we have 4 core values: open, caring, agile and collaborative. These are at the heart of everything we do.

Location: Aldershot, to cover South West

12 Month FTC, Full time

Salary: Competitive + Benefits

We are seeking an experienced, forward-thinking and highly organised Central Operations Lead to oversee the Regional Service Centre as the central operational hub for repairs, maintenance and compliance activity across the contract on a 12 month fixed term contract.

This is a senior leadership role with responsibility for creating a high-performing central support function that enables frontline teams to deliver excellent customer service, strong contractual performance and full statutory compliance. You will be instrumental in ensuring that responsive repairs, planned maintenance programmes and compliance workstreams are effectively coordinated, accurately reported and continuously improved.

The Regional Service Centre will act as the heartbeat of operational delivery, and you will lead its performance, structure and development. You will ensure the function provides seamless support to field-based teams through strong planning, scheduling, communication and operational oversight. This will involve balancing daily service demands with longer-term performance objectives, ensuring resources are aligned to priorities and that service continuity is maintained at all times.

A key part of the role will be overseeing repairs and maintenance coordination. You will ensure responsive repair appointments, planned works programmes and statutory compliance activities are scheduled efficiently and delivered in line with contractual KPIs and SLAs. You will continuously review productivity, capacity and workflow management to ensure the service remains agile, cost effective and customer focused.

You will also lead the scheduling and workforce planning function, ensuring operatives, contractors and specialist resources are deployed effectively. By analysing demand trends, job volumes and service pressures, you will refine scheduling models to maximise first-time fix performance, minimise delays and improve operational responsiveness.

Stakeholder engagement is central to the role. You will develop and maintain strong working relationships with National Management Service teams, operational managers, senior clients and Tier 1 suppliers. You will ensure alignment on performance expectations, systems usage, service standards and improvement priorities. Through clear communication and trusted partnerships, you will help build confidence in delivery and maintain a collaborative working environment.

Supplier management will also be a major focus. You will monitor Tier 1 contractor performance against quality standards, service levels, compliance obligations and commercial commitments. You will work proactively with supply chain partners to resolve issues, improve performance and ensure consistent delivery standards across all workstreams.

You will take ownership of systems development and optimisation across the service centre. This includes leading improvements to operational platforms, repairs management systems and reporting tools to ensure they support modern, efficient service delivery. You will champion digital innovation to improve job tracking, workflow visibility, automation and real-time decision making.

Customer experience is a critical priority for this role. You will ensure the service centre operates with a resident-first mindset, promoting excellent communication, efficient appointment handling and responsive issue resolution. You will identify opportunities to improve customer journeys, reduce repeat contacts and enhance overall satisfaction with the repairs and compliance service.

The role also carries full responsibility for data, insight and performance management. You will oversee the collection, analysis and distribution of operational performance data across repairs and compliance workstreams. You will ensure accurate reporting of KPIs, identify trends, highlight risks and provide actionable insight to operational leaders. Using data intelligently, you will help drive improvements in productivity, service quality and contract performance.

Continuous improvement is a key element of the position. You will review end-to-end operational processes, identify inefficiencies and implement sustainable solutions that improve service delivery. This may include process redesign, better use of technology, improved reporting structures or enhanced customer communication methods.

As a leader, you will manage and develop a high-performing service centre team, creating a culture built on accountability, ownership, collaboration and continuous learning. You will set clear objectives, coach individuals, support development and ensure the team remains aligned to wider contract goals and organisational values.

About You

To be successful, you will have strong experience in operational leadership within housing repairs, property maintenance, facilities management or compliance-led contracts. You will understand responsive repairs, planned maintenance, scheduling, contractor management and KPI-driven service environments.

You will be commercially aware, highly analytical and comfortable working in a fast-paced environment where priorities can shift quickly. Strong communication and stakeholder management skills are essential, along with the ability to influence at all levels and lead through change.

This is an excellent opportunity for an ambitious operations leader to take ownership of a critical service centre function, modernise performance systems, enhance customer experience and play a central role in delivering a first-class property services contract.

The role is primarily based in Aldershot, with travel across the South West and South East regions as required.

What We Offer

• 6% employee matched pension contribution
• 25 days annual leave (to be pro-rata'd)
• Single private medical cover

VIVO Defence Services

The role you have applied for is with VIVO Defence Services, a joint venture between Serco and EQUANS. By applying for this role, please be aware that information contained within your CV may be shared between VIVO Defence Services, Serco and EQUANS during the recruitment process.

At VIVO, we are committed to building a diverse and inclusive organisation that supports the needs of all. Therefore, 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 and operate a hybrid work structure in many of our business areas. We are proudly a Disability Confident Leader. Disabled applicants who meet the minimum criteria for the job will be given the opportunity to demonstrate their abilities at an interview.