Operations Support Manager

Operations Support Manager

Organisation: Mensa International (MI)

Location: Home-based, with occasional visits to the MI office in Lincolnshire

Travel: UK and international travel, normally around two trips per year. This may include attendance at board meetings in the UK and/or overseas. 

Salary: Actual salary £18,000–£30,000 per annum, depending on experience and agreed working hours

Hours: Part-time, 20–30 hours per week

Contract: Part-time employee role, subject to review after an initial three-month period

Reports to: Director of Operations

About the role
Mensa International is looking for a highly organised and proactive Operations Support Manager to help strengthen the operational capacity, resilience and continuity of its international office.

This is a home-based, part-time role supporting a complex, volunteer-led international organisation. The successful candidate will work closely with the Director of Operations and support a wide range of operational, administrative, governance, coordination and documentation work. 

The role will involve working with international officers, board members, committees, volunteers, staff and external service providers across different countries and time zones.

Key Responsibilities
The Operations Support Manager will:

• Support the Director of Operations with day-to-day operational coordination, administration and follow-up.
• Help coordinate work involving MI systems, service providers, support requests, trackers and internal processes.
• Provide administrative and coordination support for the Executive Committee (ExComm), International Board of Directors (IBD), committees, teams and other governance-related processes.
• Assist with meeting preparation, papers, agendas, action logs, follow-up notes and records of decisions.
• Create, maintain and organise documents, records, shared folders, trackers, manuals, guidance notes and knowledge bases.
• Support onboarding, induction, handovers and role-related documentation for officers, appointees, committees, teams and volunteers.
• Assist with reporting cycles, compliance-related administration, policy and procedure work, and organisational improvement projects.
• Support volunteer recruitment, appointment and onboarding processes.
• Handle confidential and sensitive information with appropriate care and discretion.

About you
We are looking for someone with strong administrative, coordination and organisational skills, together with excellent written English and close attention to detail.
You will need to be comfortable working independently from home, while remaining responsive and well coordinated with others. You should also be confident working with digital systems, shared documents, online collaboration tools and virtual meeting platforms.

Essential experience and skills
The successful candidate will have:

• Significant experience in an operations, administration, coordination, governance support, office management or similar role.
• Experience of working in a small, complex or fast-moving organisation where flexibility, initiative and sound judgement are required.
• Experience of supporting senior staff, boards, committees, volunteers, members, stakeholders or external service providers.
• Experience of managing documents, records, shared folders, action logs, trackers, deadlines and follow-up processes.
• Experience of preparing clear written materials, such as summaries, briefing notes, meeting papers, reports, procedures or status updates.
• Excellent organisational skills and the ability to manage multiple tasks, deadlines and priorities.
• Strong written English and the ability to produce clear, accurate and well-structured documents.
• High attention to detail, especially in relation to records, names, dates, decisions, deadlines and version control.
• Confident use of office software, cloud-based document systems and online collaboration tools.
• Good judgement, including the ability to identify what can be dealt with independently and what should be escalated.
• A practical, service-oriented approach, with a willingness to help improve systems, processes and documentation.

Desirable experience

• Experience in any of the following areas would be helpful but is not essential:
• Charity, not-for-profit, membership body, association, professional institute or international organisation work.
• Supporting boards, committees, governance processes or volunteer-led structures.
• Records management, information governance, data protection administration or policy documentation.
• Recruitment, onboarding, induction or handover processes.
• Member-facing systems, helpdesks, e-mail administration, distribution lists or customer/member support processes.
• Coordinating projects, work programmes or organisational change initiatives.
• Preparing or maintaining policies, procedures, manuals, guidance materials or knowledge bases.

Working arrangements
This is a home-based, part-time role of 20–30 hours per week, depending on candidate availability. The actual salary is £18,000–£30,000 per annum, depending on experience and agreed working hours.

Occasional visits to the MI office in Lincolnshire will be required. The role will also involve some UK and overseas business travel, including opportunities to attend board meetings in the UK and abroad. This is expected to involve around two trips per year, although it may vary depending on organisational needs. 

The role will be subject to review after an initial three-month period.

Benefits
Standard employment benefits will apply, including pro-rata paid annual leave and workplace pension arrangements in line with statutory requirements. Full details of holiday entitlement, pension arrangements and any other benefits will be confirmed in the offer of employment and written contract. 

How to apply

Applicants should submit a CV and covering letter explaining their interest in the role and how their skills and experience match the requirements.
Initial interviews will be held virtually.

Shortlisted candidates will be asked to provide referees’ contact details. References will only be taken up with the candidate’s consent.

Closing date for applications: To be confirmed
Role start date: To be agreed