Are you looking to promote a member of staff but they need a bit more training or maybe you want to employer an operations manager that you think could do with some support?
This operations manager apprenticeship is perfect for an employee to learn on the job and receive great support from our very experienced assessors.
Key information
Key information about this apprenticeship programme, with the main details like the level, duration and industry/sector. Full details about this standard can be found on the Skills England website.
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Level: 5 (Higher)
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Duration: 29 months
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Training location: Workplace
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Mode of Attendance: Employer based
- Industry/sector: Business and administration
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Maximum funding available: £9,000.00
Apprenticeship overview
Managing teams and projects in line with a private, public, or voluntary organisation's operational or departmental strategy.
The key skills, knowledge, behaviours and duties that will be carried out by the apprentice as part of this apprenticeship.
Skills developed
- Communicate and present information to stakeholders using different types of media.
- Identify problems and provide solutions.
- Manage and set goals and accountabilities for individuals and teams.
- Analyse performance data for individuals and teams to identify areas for improvement.
- Manage and influence project activity to deliver within budget and resource requirements.
- Lead and influence the team and individuals to support an inclusive culture of equity, diversity, and the promotion of well-being.
- Motivate team members and individuals through collaborative activities, for example one-to-one coaching and team meetings, to achieve organisational goals.
- Use digital tools to analyse information and monitor performance and budgets to drive the implementation and delivery of plans and projects.
- Research, interpret and analyse information to inform the implementation of business plans or projects.
- Evaluate the impact of outcomes from organisational plans or projects to drive the decision-making process.
- Interpret and implement the practical application of regulation, legislation and organisational policies for stakeholders.
- Manage continuous improvement and change for their team and organisation.
- Analyse and prioritise organisation activities in response to the operating environment.
- Implement business continuity plans, including risk assessment, contingency planning and disaster recovery, to ensure the uninterrupted operation of critical functions.
- Identify and respond to external factors that may influence the future landscape and evaluate their impact on the organisation.
- Influence and negotiate with stakeholders to shape and agree goals and outcomes.
- Manage relationships across multiple and diverse stakeholders.
- Deliver sustainable services and solutions which allow the organisation to respond to changes in social, economic and environmental factors.
- Manage and facilitate learning and continuous professional development for their team.
- Coach and mentor individuals within their team.
- Develop and implement operational plans that align with the strategic direction of the organisation.
Further information
- Area manager
- Department manager
- General manager
- Operations manager
- Regional manager
- Specialist manager
This occupation is found in small, medium, large, and multinational organisations in private, public, and third sectors across all areas of the economy.
Operations managers perform leadership and management duties with teams and senior managers to ensure that teams fulfil their roles and meet organisational goals. They are essential to all business models that have an operational area or department with a workforce to lead, manage, and support.
The broad purpose of this occupation is to provide leadership, with both operational and project responsibilities. An operations manager is responsible for managing individuals or a team, offering direction, instructions, and guidance to achieve set goals. They are crucial for the smooth functioning of all departments within an organisation and ensure that their functions are administered and maintained in accordance with legislation and the organisation’s policies and procedures. Operations managers provide clear and inclusive leadership and direction within their area of responsibility. This typically involves setting, managing, and monitoring the achievement of core objectives aligned with the organisation’s overall strategic goals. In smaller organisations, they are also likely to contribute to the execution and achievement of these strategic objectives.
In their daily work, an employee in this occupation interacts with colleagues from various internal departments, including operations, human resources, finance, legal, IT, sales and marketing, and project groups. Operations managers also engage with external stakeholders such as customers, clients, and suppliers. They may work in diverse environments, including offices, onsite locations, or remotely, demonstrating a high level of flexibility and adaptability to meet organisational needs.
An employee in this occupation is responsible for leading and managing their operational function. This includes being accountable for developing team members, managing projects, planning and reviewing workloads and resources, delivering operational plans, resolving problems, and building relationships both internally and externally.
An operations manager may work as part of a network or in a team setting. They operate within agreed budgets and available resources, reporting to senior leaders. They are responsible for decision-making and guiding or influencing the decisions of others. This includes applying business continuity principles, collecting and interpreting data to identify trends, analysing resources, and finding ways to improve efficiencies.
Operations managers understand how their role supports the broader organisational structure. They apply codes of practice, legislation, and regulations relevant to their organisation’s operations. This encompasses legal and ethical responsibilities, as well as equity, diversity and inclusion, health and safety, and the sustainability impacts of the organisation.
Occupation
An Operations or departmental manager is someone who manages teams and/or projects, and achieving operational or departmental goals and objectives, as part of the delivery of the organisations strategy. They are accountable to a more senior manager or business owner. Working in the private, public or third sector and in all sizes of organisation, specific responsibilities and job titles will vary, but the knowledge, skills and behaviours needed will be the same. 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. Roles may include: Operations manager, Regional manager, Divisional manager, Department manager and Specialist managers.
Typical job titles:
Typical job titles: Operations manager, Regional manager, Divisional manager, Department manager and Specialist managers
Entry requirements
The entry requirement for this apprenticeship will be decided by each employer, but may typically be five GCSEs at Grade C or higher.
Requirements: knowledge, skills and behaviours
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Knowledge |
What is required (through formal learning and applied according to business environment) |
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Organisational performance – delivering results |
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Operational management |
Understand 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. Understand 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. Understand how to initiate and manage change by identifying barriers and know how to overcome them. Understand data security and management, and the effective use of technology in an organisation. |
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Project management |
Know how to set up and manage a project using relevant tools and techniques, and understand process management. Understand approaches to risk management. |
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Finance |
Understand business finance: how to manage budgets, and financial forecasting. |
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Interpersonal excellence – managing people and developing relationships |
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Leading people |
Understand 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. Understand organisational cultures and diversity and their impact on leading and managing change. Know how to delegate effectively. |
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Managing people |
Know how to manage multiple teams, and develop high performing teams. Understand performance management techniques, talent management models and how to recruit and develop people. |
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Building relationships |
Understand 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. Know how to manage conflict at all levels. |
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Communication |
Understand interpersonal skills and different forms of communication and techniques (verbal, written, non-verbal, digital) and how to apply them appropriately. |
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Personal effectiveness – managing self |
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Self awareness |
Understand own impact and emotional intelligence. Understand different and learning and behaviour styles. |
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Management of self |
Understand time management techniques and tools, and how to prioritise activities and the use of different approaches to planning, including managing multiple tasks. |
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Decision making |
Understand problem solving and decision making techniques, including data analysis. Understand organisational values and ethics and their impact on decision making. |
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Skills |
What is required (acquired and demonstrated through continuous professional development) |
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Organisational performance – delivering results |
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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. |
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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. |
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Finance |
Able to monitor budgets and provide reports, and consider financial implications of decisions and adjust approach and recommendations accordingly. |
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Interpersonal excellence – managing people and developing relationships |
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Leading people |
Able to communicate organisational vision and goals and how these to 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. |
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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. |
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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. |
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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. |
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Personal effectiveness – managing self |
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Self-awareness |
Able to reflect on own performance, working style and its impact on others. |
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Management of self |
Able to create a personal development plan. Use of time management and prioritisation techniques. |
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Decision making |
Able to undertake critical analysis and evaluation to support decision making Use of effective problem solving techniques |
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Behaviours |
What is required (developed and exhibited in the workplace) |
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Takes responsibility |
Drive to achieve in all aspects of work. Demonstrates resilience and accountability. Determination when managing difficult situations. Seeks new opportunities. |
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Inclusive |
Open, approachable, authentic, and able to build trust with others. Seeks the views of others and values diversity. |
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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. |
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Professionalism |
Sets an example, and is fair, consistent and impartial. Open and honest. Operates within organisational values |
Duration
Typically this apprenticeship will take 2 ½ years.
Qualifications
Apprentices without level 2 English and maths will need to achieve this level prior to taking the end-point assessment.
Progression
On completion, apprentices can register as full members with the Chartered management institute and/or the Institute of leadership and management, and those with 3 years’ of management experience can apply for Chartered manager status through the CMI.
Level
Level 5.
Review date
This standard should be reviewed within three years of its approval.
Hire an apprentice today!
Are you interested in this apprenticeship for your business or company? Get in touch with our dedicated Business Development Manager for this industry/sector to find out more. Alternatively, you can fill out our employer interest form below and we'll get back to you.
Hannah Rogers
Business Development Advisor Science, Creative & Professional
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Information provided for this apprenticeship programme is sourced from the Skills England formerly the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IfATE). For the information authored by Skills England, this was last modified on 25th September 2024.
