An operations/departmental manager manages teams and/or projects achieving operational or departmental goals and objectives as part of the delivery of the organisation's strategy.
The role can be found in the private, public or third sector and in all sizes of organisation and key responsibilities may include creating and delivering operational plans, managing projects, leading and managing teams, managing change, financial and resource management, talent management, coaching and mentoring.
Operations/departmental managers are accountable to a more senior manager or business owner and whilst specific responsibilities and job titles will vary, the knowledge, skills and behaviours needed will be the same.
Typical job roles include operations manager, regional manager, divisional manager, department manager and specialist managers.
Entry requirements will be determined by individual employers but may typically be five GCSEs at grade C or above.
CORE KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND BEHAVIOUR REQUIREMENTS
KNOWLEDGE
Apprentices will develop knowledge and understanding of a range of factors necessary for the business environment:
Organisational Performance - delivering results:
Operational Management: Understanding operational management approaches and models, including creating plans to deliver objectives and setting KPIs. Understand business development tools (eg SWOT), and approaches to continuous improvement. Understanding operational business planning techniques, including how to manage resources, development of sales and marketing plans, setting targets and monitoring performance. Knowledge of management systems, processes and contingency planning. Understanding how to initiate and manage change by identifying barriers and know how to overcome them. Understanding data security and management, and the effective use of technology in an organisation.
Project Management: Knowing how to set up and manage a project using relevant tools and techniques and understanding process management. Understanding approaches to risk management.
Finance: Understanding business finance: how to manage budgets, and financial forecasting.
Interpersonal Excellence - managing people and developing relationships:
Leading People: Understanding different leadership styles, how to lead multiple and remote teams and manage team leaders. Know how to motivate and improve performance, supporting people using coaching and mentoring approaches. Understanding organisational cultures and diversity and their impact on leading and managing change. Knowing how to delegate effectively.
Managing People: Knowing how to manage multiple teams and develop high performing teams. Understanding performance management techniques, talent management models and how to recruit and develop people.
Building Relationships: Understanding approaches to partner, stakeholder and supplier relationship management including negotiation, influencing, and effective networking. Knowledge of collaborative working techniques to enable delivery through others and how to share best practice. Knowing how to manage conflict at all levels.
Communication: Understanding interpersonal skills and different forms of communication and techniques (verbal, written, non-verbal, digital) and how to apply them appropriately.
Personal Effectiveness - managing self
Self -Awareness: Understanding own impact and emotional intelligence. Understanding different and learning and behaviour styles.
Management of Self: Understanding time management techniques and tools, and how to prioritise activities and the use of different approaches to planning, including managing multiple tasks.
Decision Making: Understanding problem solving and decision-making techniques, including data analysis. Understanding organisational values and ethics and their impact on decision making.
SKILLS
Apprentices will acquire a range of skills and demonstrate them through continuous professional development:
Organisational Performance - delivering results
Operational Management: Able to input into strategic planning and create plans in line with organisational objectives. Support, manage and communicate change by identifying barriers and overcoming them. Demonstrate commercial awareness, and able to identify and shape new opportunities. Creation and delivery of operational plans, including setting KPIs, monitoring performance against plans. Producing reports, providing management information based on the collation, analysis and interpretation of data.
Project Management: Plan, organise and manage resources to deliver required outcomes. Monitor progress and identify risk and their mitigation. Able to use relevant project management tools.
Finance: Able to monitor budgets and provide reports and consider financial implications of decisions and adjust approach/recommendations accordingly.
Interpersonal Excellence - managing people and developing relationships
Leading People: Able to communicate organisational vision and goals and how these apply to teams. Support development through coaching and mentoring and enable and support high performance working. Able to support the management of change within the organisation.
Managing People: Able to manage talent and performance. Develop, build and motivate teams by identifying their strengths and enabling development within the workplace. Able to delegate and enable delivery though others.
Building Relationships: Able to build trust and use effective negotiation and influencing skills and manage conflict. Able to identify and share good practice and work collaboratively with others both inside and outside of the organisation. Use of specialist advice and support to deliver against plans.
Communication: Able to communicate effectively (verbal, non-verbal, written, digital) and be flexible in communication style. Able to chair meetings and present using a range of media. Use of active listening, and able to challenge and give constructive feedback.
Personal Effectiveness - managing self
Self-Awareness: Able to reflect on own performance, working style and its impact on others.
Management of Self: Able to create a personal development plan. Use of time management and prioritisation techniques.
Decision Making: Able to undertake critical analysis and evaluation to support decision making Use of effective problem-solving techniques
BEHAVIOURS:
The apprentice will demonstrate a range of behaviours required in the workplace:
Takes responsibility: Drive to achieve in all aspects of work. Demonstrates resilience and accountability. Determination when managing difficult situations. Seeks new opportunities. Inclusive, open, approachable, authentic, and able to build trust with others. Seeks the views of others and values diversity.
Agile: Flexible to the needs of the organisation. Is creative, innovative and enterprising when seeking solutions to business needs. Positive and adaptable, responding well to feedback and need for change. Open to new ways of working.
Professionalism: Sets an example, and is fair, consistent and impartial. Open and honest. Operates within organisational values.
Throughout the programme the apprentice will receive expert training from highly qualified staff A qualified assessor will provide an induction and regular workplace assessments
On completion, apprentices can register as full members with the Chartered Management Institute and/or the Institute of Leadership & Management, and those with three years' of management experience can apply for Chartered Manager status through the CMI.
