Operations & Services Manager - #2160098

Operations & Services Manager

Location: MediaCity, Manchester - Hybrid

Company: Applica

Reporting to: Director – UK, Europe & Nordics

About Applica

At Applica, we are dedicated to fostering strong client relationships, delivering exceptional service, and driving growth.

Our mission is to connect top talent with leading companies, ensuring mutual success and satisfaction. With a global presence and a reputation for excellence, we specialise in providing tailored recruitment solutions across various industries.

Our team is composed of experienced professionals who are passionate about what they do. We believe in a client-centric approach, focusing on understanding the unique needs and challenges of our clients to provide the best possible solutions.

The Role

This is a key role responsible for the end-to-end contractor and broader services function at Applica.

The Operations & Services Manager will own and continuously improve the processes that support project resourcing and workforce solutions, contractor onboarding and offboarding, mobilisation, travel, visas, compliance, extensions and support for broader workforce services that exist outside of direct contractor management.

The role sits at the centre of delivery and works closely with Recruitment, Account Management, Finance and clients to ensure contractors are mobilised efficiently and supported throughout their assignments, and that services delivery adheres to best practice.

We are looking for someone with strong experience in comprehensive workforce solutions, contractor management and process creation who can bring structure, improve workflows and help scale the function as the business grows.

Key Responsibilities

Contractor Lifecycle Ownership

• Oversee the full contractor journey from offer acceptance through to assignment completion, ensuring onboarding, compliance, mobilisation and offboarding activities are completed accurately and on time.
• Act as the central point of coordination between Recruitment, Finance, clients and external providers, proactively managing contractor queries throughout assignments.

Contractor Mobilisation, Travel and Logistics

• Lead contractor mobilisation planning across multiple regions and client locations, coordinating travel, accommodation and pre-assignment requirements.
• Manage external travel partners and ensure mobilisation activity follows client requirements, approval processes and travel policies.

Visas, Medicals and International Assignments

• Oversee visa and immigration processes in partnership with external providers, ensuring documentation and requirements are completed on time.
• Coordinate medicals, insurance and assignment prerequisites, maintaining clear visibility of contractor mobilisation timelines and risks.

Client Liaison and Contractor Support

• Act as a key contact for clients on contractor onboarding, extensions and operational queries, including contract amendments and assignment changes.
• Support Account Managers in resolving contractor queries and maintain strong client relationships to support service delivery and retention.

Compliance and Risk Management

• Ensure placements meet documentation and client requirements, while maintaining and continuously improving contractor onboarding, offboarding and compliance processes.
• Monitor regulatory and client requirement changes and work closely with People & Culture and Legal where required to manage risk.

Systems, Processes and Continuous Improvement

• Lead the development and optimisation of contractor onboarding, mobilisation and offboarding processes, including the adoption and improvement of operational platforms such as Bullhorn and Onboarded.
• Identify opportunities to improve efficiency, automation and contractor experience, while creating and maintaining clear documentation of processes and best practice.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Work closely with Recruitment Delivery, Business Development, Finance and People & Culture.
• Support internal reporting, provide operational insight to leadership and help scale and evolve the contractor services function as the business grows.

About You

We are looking for someone who has:

• Strong experience in contractor onboarding, mobilisation or contractor services.
• Experience with processes and systems that support a variety of workforce solutions.
• Experience creating or improving operational processes and workflows.
• A good understanding of compliance and international contractor mobilisation.
• Experience managing travel, visas or international assignments would be highly desirable.
• Knowledge of RPO, MSP and similar workforce solutions would be desirable.
• Excellent organisation and stakeholder management skills.
• A proactive and solutions-focused mindset.
• The ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.

Why Applica?

You’ll be joining a collaborative, growing international business, based from our brand-new office in MediaCity, Manchester, where you’ll have the opportunity to make a genuine impact on how our contractor and broader services function operates.

Our culture is underpinned by our core values: Determination, Contribution, Empathy, Authenticity, Relationships, Initiative and Confidence.

If you have experience in contractor operations and workforce solutions and enjoy building efficient processes, solving operational challenges and delivering an excellent experience for clients and contractors, we’d love to hear from you.

Apply today to join the Applica team.