Operations Manager

We are a UK-based B2B health tech start-up with a digital solution that prepares children and their families for medical procedures, reduces anxiety and improves outcomes. We have recently closed a £6M Series A investment raise and have ambitious plans. Little Journey is revenue generating, and we are currently working towards Product-Market-Fit, repeatability, scalability and internationalisation. This role will be instrumental in supporting our plans through driving operational efficiency (enabling the whole company to deliver and scale), leading impactful initiatives, ensuring compliance, and fostering a culture of continuous improvement.

There are two sides to our business and you can find out more about our founding story later in this brief:

1. Healthcare: B2B ‘SaaS type’ solution licenced by healthcare organisations to support children and their caregivers through an array of healthcare procedures. This is predominantly deployed in the UK and a few other countries (including the US)
2. Life Science: B2B patient engagement platform, licensed to Pharmaceutical Organisations and Contract Research Organisations to drive engagement and retention of children and their families participating in multi-year clinical trials.
   

We have a team of more than 40 people, half of which have joined in the past 18 months. You will report directly to the COO, have no direct reports initially, and be part of a small interdisciplinary team (including Finance, HR and project delivery). You will also be working extensively with other teams across the business.

The Role
As our Operations Manager, you will play a pivotal role in scaling our business following Series A funding. Collaborating cross-functionally and with suppliers, your role will focus on implementing and embedding changes to enhance how we operate. Additionally, you’ll strengthen our quality and governance framework to ensure our processes are robust, compliant, and embraced across the organisation.

This is a unique opportunity to make a significant impact in a fast-paced, mission-driven health tech start-up.
You can be based remotely in the UK, or work hybrid / in office from our Leeds HQ.

Requirements
Operations, Supplier Management, and Project Delivery

• Oversee key supplier relationships (including contracting) to ensure delivery against SLAs, including outsourced services (e.g., IT providers)
• Ensure smooth execution of core business processes, such as team onboarding / offboarding, and supplier-related workflows 
• Support alignment and decision-making across the business (e.g., through our OKR process)
• Collect and analyse KPIs for the SMT and Board for reporting and decision making
• Support delivery to our clients (e.g. assist in contracting and lead on our response to client due diligence activities)
• Plan and deliver projects and initiatives to achieve strategic business goals
• Address operational issues to minimise disruption, including incident response / disaster recovery, investigation and CAPA management
  

Business Operations, Process Improvement and Change Management

• Develop and refine internal SOPs and processes to improve efficiency and scalability, incorporating automation and AI where relevant
• Lead continual improvement initiatives, including managing non-conformities, and CAPAs
• Ensure changes are embedded throughout the organisation

Risk and Compliance Management

• Work with external and internal stakeholders to ensure company operations meet stakeholder requirements (including Cyberessentials, the NHS DTAC, NHS DSPT and clients’ contracted requirements)
• Maintain and improve the governance framework, including the Quality Management System (QMS) and ensure risks are identified, managed and mitigated
• Foster a culture of compliance and continuous improvement through training and engagement initiatives
  

Measuring Success

We like to include this section to give you an idea of what the first months and year with us might look like, and how we will know that you are on track. This is indicative, and will be refined before you join.

First 3 months:

• Supplier Management: Clear SLAs and KPIs implemented for key supplier relationships, ensuring consistent delivery and communication frameworks are in place
• Operational Processes: One core business process streamlined, delivering measurable improvements
• Business ops: KPI dashboard and tracking implemented
• Scaling business ops and process improvement: Existing SOPs on the Life Science side reviewed, reflecting recent changes in our technology and approach, with gaps or areas for improvement identified, and a prioritised action plan prepared

6 months:

• Business ops and process improvement: Life science process improvements implemented with quantifiable impact
• Change management: Evidence of adoption of changed processe(s) across relevant teams
• Business ops: Annual and OKR plans aligned, delivered and communicated to the company on time
• Project management: Cross-functional project delivered with high business impact
• Compliance readiness: Supplier audit ready by addressing identified gaps, documenting compliance processes, and supporting a mock audit or equivalent assessment
• Risk management: Existing risk register and mitigation plans reviewed, updated and simplified as needed, with key mitigation initiatives prioritised across teams
• Compliance: On track for maintenance of company’s existing Cyberessentials+ accreditation

Must have:

• 4+ Years of experience in operations management, with a track record of scaling business operations in start-up or scale-up environments
• Experience managing external suppliers or vendors to SLAs, ensuring consistent delivery and performance. This includes managing external audits against their compliance frameworks
• Knowledge of Quality Management Systems (QMS), Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), and relevant regulatory frameworks (e.g., Cyber Essentials+)
• Demonstrated success in process improvement initiatives, delivering measurable outcomes through continuous improvement principles
• Proven ability to manage and embed change, introducing new systems or processes while effectively engaging stakeholders
• Strong project management skills, capable of delivering multiple initiatives simultaneously
• Excellent communication and analytical skills, with the ability to translate complex issues into actionable insights and data-driven decisions

Desirable:

• Knowledge of continuous improvement methodologies (such as Lean, Six Sigma)
• Experience in process automation
• Familiarity with specific health technology regulatory standards (such as ISO 13485, ISO27001, MDR, HIPAA)
• Experience delivering training programs to foster compliance and operational excellence
• Proficient in Microsoft Suite, Jira and collaboration tools

Behaviours we look for in this role:

·       Lives our values

• Great problem solver, who is solution and outcome focussed
• Excellent communicator and collaborator, able to work with a diverse range of stakeholders
• Organised, reliable, systematic, and proactive
• Able to look at challenges and opportunities at a higher level but also has excellent attention to detail
• Willing to roll up sleeves when needed
• Thrives in a fast paced start-up environment, is a champion of change

• 28 days annual leave pro-rata (plus public holidays)
• Flexible working with core hours
• Up to 6% pension match
• Enhanced (parental) leave policies
• £500 annual L&D budget
• £200 one-off work from home allowance
• £50 annual wellbeing budget
• Friendly and collaborative team who value and respect each other

Company values:

• We collaborate with honesty and integrity
• We are reflective and evolve
• We are forward thinking and proactive, challenging the status quo
• We are fuelled by our passion to help others
• We trust each other to deliver excellence

About Little Journey

Little Journey was founded in 2018 by Dr Chris Evans and Sophie Copley. As an anaesthetic doctor and father himself, Chris witnessed first-hand the distress experienced by children and families coming to hospital for surgery. Partnering with Sophie, an expert in human-centred product design, they created a prototype version of the Little Journey app to support children undergoing elective surgery.

Since then, the business has accelerated quickly, having been adopted in more than 100 healthcare organisations worldwide. We also partner with leading organisations such as LEGO and top tier pharmaceutical companies. They provide us global access to paediatric services and clinical research, helping us reach more children. We received investment from internationally leading VC funds and are using this to scale further into other markets. Our technology is already available in 16 languages and counting! Over vision is to change the future of ​personalised paediatric care​ one empowered family at a time​.

Our teams are grouped into Commercial, Operations, Product, and Technology, Operations, departments, and we are hiring talent across all these functions to help us achieve our mission.

Diversity & Inclusion

We encourage people from all walks of life to apply and strive to eliminate unconscious bias in our recruitment process. We do not discriminate on ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, veteran or parental status or disability. We encourage candidates from underrepresented groups to apply. If you need adjustments made to our application process, to help accommodate any disabilities, please do let us know on maarty@littlejourney.health