Operations & Services Manager

Job Title: Operations & Services Manager 

Report to: Director UK, Europe & Nordics 

Company: Applica Resourcing              

Location: Manchester, UK

About Us

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. Our core values of contribution, empathy, determination, authenticity, relationships, initiative, and confidence guide everything we do.

Role Overview

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 projects resourcing and workforce solutions, contractor onboarding & 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.

Responsibilities

Contractor Lifecycle Ownership

·Oversee the full contractor journey from offer acceptance to assignment completion.

·Ensure all 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.

·Manage contractor queries professionally and proactively throughout assignments.

Contractor Mobilisation, Travel and Logistics

·Lead contractor mobilisation planning across multiple regions and client locations.

·Coordinate travel, accommodation and mobilisation logistics in line with client requirements and ensuring correct approval process has been followed.

·Manage the external travel partner process and ensure compliance with client travel policies.

·Support contractors with mobilisation planning and pre-assignment requirements.

Visas, Medicals and International Assignments

·Oversee visa and immigration processes in partnership with external visa providers.

·Track visa requirements and ensure documentation is prepared and submitted on time.

·Coordinate medicals, insurance and assignment prerequisites where required.

·Maintain 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.

·Manage contract extensions, amendments and assignment changes.

·Support account managers by ensuring contractor-related queries are resolved quickly and professionally.

·Maintain strong relationships with clients to support service delivery and retention.

Compliance and Risk Management

·Ensure no placement is confirmed without full documentation and adherence to client terms.

·Maintain and continuously improve contractor onboarding, offboarding and compliance processes.

·Monitor regulatory and client requirement changes and update processes accordingly.

·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.

·Drive adoption and improvement of operational platforms including Bullhorn and Onboarded.

·Identify opportunities to improve efficiency, automation and contractor experience.

·Create and maintain clear documentation of processes and best practice.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

·Work closely with Recruitment Delivery, Business Development, Finance and People & Culture.

·Support internal reporting and provide operational insight to leadership.

·Help scale and evolve the contractor services function as the business grows.

Qualifications and Skills

·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.

·Understanding of compliance and international contractor mobilisation.

·Experience managing travel, visas or international assignments is highly desirable.

·Knowledge of RPO, MSP and similar workforce solutions is desirable.

·Excellent organisation and stakeholder management skills.

·A proactive and solutions-focused mindset.

·Ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.