People, Governance & Operations

Operations Manager

Location: Oxford / Hybrid, UK
Type: Full time
Base salary: Competitive salary & equity package

The role

Build the operating backbone of a fast-growing infrastructure technology firm

This is a high-trust role at the center of Vallorii. Working closely with the founders, you will shape how the company operates as it grows - from governance, clients and people to communications and the systems that allow a small, expert team to perform at scale.

Vallorii works with the investors, regulators and utilities that finance and run the UK's power, gas and water networks. As Operations Manager, you will manage our operations function day-to-day and work across the whole company with founders, the team and external stakeholders.

A high-performing operations function is what lets a small expert firm work with regulators, utilities and investors at the scale of a much larger one. This role gives you the mandate to run it.

You will have visibility across almost every important part of the business, considerable autonomy, and the opportunity to build the operations function as Vallorii grows. In one week you might sharpen an important piece of external communication, improve a company-wide process, and coach a colleague through their first tender. We expect the role to grow materially with Vallorii, in the team you lead, the scope you own and your involvement in company-wide decisions.

Key responsibilities

What you will own

Develop a high-performing operations function

Manage and develop the Operations Associates: set priorities, give regular feedback, build capability and give them growing ownership as the company scales.
Shape how the operations function develops: decide what should be standardized, automated, delegated or improved, and build systems that allow the wider company to operate effectively at increasing scale.
Own the company-wide operations calendar, ensuring recurring deadlines across payroll, filings, renewals, compliance and events are met.
Improve how we work, including AI-assisted workflows across Microsoft 365, Attio, Rippling and Xero, and create processes the whole team can use.

Strategic communications & external engagement

Manage the delivery of Vallorii's communications, working with the executive team to turn our company narrative into high external impact, and develop and execute a clear communications calendar.
Create and edit external content - including website copy, roundtable write-ups, blog posts and LinkedIn - for a senior audience of regulators, investors and utilities.
Support delivery of the Vallorii Infrastructure Forum, building relationships with senior people across infrastructure, investment and regulation.
Keep the whole team informed and connected through clear internal communications.

Policies, compliance and information security

Make good practice easy to follow: keep our core policies current and ensure compliance on data protection, information security, conduct and other key requirements at induction and annually.
Own the day-to-day operation of our data protection framework, information security, insurance and health and safety arrangements, drawing on external expertise where needed. Lead preparation for frameworks such as ISO 27001 as we pursue them.
Maintain proportionate governance and compliance processes that give the leadership team and board confidence that important obligations are under control.

Clients & commercial delivery

Own the operational path from client win to project start: prepare agreements from our templates, work through client comments with the COO and our lawyers, and drive contracts through to signature.
Be the commercial operations point of contact for clients' procurement teams, overseeing supplier registration, security and data protection questionnaires, tender and PQQ requirements, purchase orders and the route through to invoice.
Support the team on bids for new projects, bringing structure and judgment so proposals are complete, compliant and on time, and help coordinate delivery across project teams as requested.

The person

What will set you apart

You thrive at the center of things and take pride in making an organization work well. You have led people, owned important operational processes and built ways of working that others adopted. You enjoy moving between a client contract, an external communication, a team issue and a new process without losing sight of either the bigger picture or the detail.

You are an excellent writer and communicator, because much of what represents Vallorii to clients, partners and colleagues will start with you. You are comfortable getting to grips with a contract clause, a governance question or an unfamiliar system, and explaining it plainly.

You will work with an expert team spanning economics, quantitative analysis, infrastructure finance, technology and policy, and with senior decision-makers across the sector. You do not need to be an infrastructure expert on day one, but you should be intellectually curious and keen to learn.

The ideal profile

Builds trust and empathy quickly with colleagues, clients and advisers. Has led people and knows how to give others meaningful ownership.
Energetic, organized and calm when deadlines clash.
Writes exceptionally well, exercises sound judgment and checks the detail. Uses AI tools professionally and constantly looks for ways to remove friction and manual effort.
Motivated by the opportunity to shape the company, rather than simply inherit established processes.

Technical profile

What you bring

Required

Track record of operating effectively in a broad operations, business management or similar role, with responsibility for people and important company processes.
Excellent written communication, experienced at producing high-quality material for senior audiences - for example reports, formal correspondence, stakeholder materials or external content.
Working knowledge of UK employment and compliance fundamentals, such as contracts, right to work and data protection, together with the judgment to know when specialist advice is needed.
Experience using AI tools to improve workflows.
Highly expert with Microsoft 365 and business systems such as CRM, HR/payroll and accounting platforms, with a strong ability for making processes simpler and more reliable.

Strongly valued

Experience in a start-up, scale-up, professional services firm or another environment where people take broad ownership.
Experience in economics, finance, infrastructure, technology or another regulated or knowledge-intensive sector.
Experience designing and delivering practical training or helping teams adopt new ways of working.
Practical experience of data protection and information security, for example supporting a security certification or audit (such as ISO 27001), or responding to client security due diligence.

Compensation

Arrangements and compensation

Full-time. Oxford-based company, with hybrid working within the UK.
Competitive compensation includes base salary and meaningful equity participation, giving you a stake in Vallorii's long-term success.
A role designed to grow with the company, with significant autonomy, leadership responsibility and exposure to company-wide decisions from the outset.