Central Operations Executive

Working at the RFU means being part of the ‘bigger picture’ at England Rugby: to be rooted in our purpose, which is to enrich lives, introduce more people to rugby union & develop the sport for future generations. If our purpose resonates with you, and you recognise the value that sport can bring to people’s lives, we’d love to work with you. An opportunity has arisen for a Central Operations Executive to join our Strategy & Operations team on a permanent basis.

Job Title : Central Operations Executive
Department : Strategy and Operations    
Reports to : Business & Corporate Support Lead
Direct report(s) : 2x Central Operations Administrators
Salary Banding : c. £35,000 per annum 
Job Level : Implement
Location : HQ - This role is contractually based at Allianz Stadium, offering some flexibility to work from home
Employment Type : Permanent 
Working Hours : This is a full-time role, covering 35hrs per week

Application Information:

• Please submit an anonymised CV (i.e. remove personal details). You do not need to submit a cover letter
• Vacancy closing date: 8th July at 12 noon
• Early applications are encouraged as this role may close early due to high interest

To help us get to know your unique experience and voice, we kindly ask that you complete your application without the use of AI‑generated content. This ensures we can fairly and accurately understand your skills, perspective, and suitability for the role. 

The Role:

We are looking for a Central Operations Executive to join our Strategy and Operations team to manage and provide administrative support including events, process mapping, actioning purchase order processes, and driving continuous, business-wide process improvements. This is a true administrative support role to provide additional assistance to several functions and roles across the business. The role holder will need to ensure that they build relationships with key roles in other departments to fulfil their areas of the process in a consistent and timely manner. They will play a key role in enabling the wider business to operate more effectively and drive ongoing improvement.

As line manager to two Central Operations Administrators, the postholder will support their team to effectively manage competing priorities, develop their skills and identify opportunities to improve ways of working across multiple disciplines.

Some key responsibilities include:

• Oversee the effective delivery of core operational and administrative processes, including but not limited to processing expenses, raising purchase orders (POs), record management, managing fleet damages, and checking mileage. Ensuring strong governance, compliance and continuous improvement.
• Assist with data entry, document preparation, and other clerical tasks as needed.
• Support the team with ad hoc projects and tasks to ensure smooth day-to-day operations.
• Develop and maintain standardised templates and documentation for event planning, expense processing, and other recurring tasks.
• Provide clear direction to the Central Operations Administrators setting clear priorities to ensure that all tasks are completed efficiently.
• Act as a trusted Subject Matter Expert on operations processes and continuous improvement, providing guidance and support across the business where required.
• Assist with, or lead on, complex tasks during peak times or when additional support is needed.
• Actively identify areas of the business which could be digitised to free up people resource and work with internal stakeholders to develop business cases.
• Work with business wide stakeholders and partners to identify, design and implement improvements in business processes to enhance efficiency and accuracy, making use of all available tools (including but not limited to process automation and AI).
• Act as an ambassador for, and promote the best interests of the RFU, including the promotion of our culture and core values – This Rose Means Everyone: Put The Team First, Shape The Future, Respect Each Other.
• Undertake other duties as may be required from time to time as are consistent with the responsibilities of the post and the needs of the organisation.

Qualifications, Skills & Experience:

The skills and attributes outlined in this description are not exhaustive and we welcome candidates who can bring different relevant experiences to the role.

Essential:

• Effective communicator who possesses good communication skills and an ability to engage at all levels.  
• Previous experience of organising and operating office systems and providing a Corporate Administration service in a fast-paced environment. 
• Demonstrable ability to identify process efficiencies and drive positive change through innovation. 
• Be able to prioritise resource effectively to support the organisation’s priorities. 
• Strong literacy with well-developed writing skills. 
• Proficiency in Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint.
• Excellent organisational skills, attention to detail and time management.
• Experience building and maintaining relationships with a range of stakeholders. 
• An effective team member with sufficient flexibility and willingness to take on roles outside his/her normal functional responsibility when required. 
• Must maintain confidentiality and have the ability to handle highly sensitive material with discretion. 
• Committed to embodying the ethos our culture by using our three core values – Put The Team First, Shape The Future, Respect Each Other – to guide your day-to-day decisions, actions and interactions.
• Committed to actively contributing and building an inclusive culture in your role and day to day behaviours.

Desirable: 

• Rounded business knowledge and a good understanding of the RFU.
• Experience using Smartsheet. 
• Experience using automation flows e.g. Microsoft Power Automate. 
• Experience of online ticketing/service request systems (e.g. Freshdesk).
• Experience of leading a team and supporting the development of others. 
• An interest in sport is desirable but not essential.

Additional Information:

About England Rugby

England Rugby or Rugby Football Union (RFU) is the national governing body for rugby in England. We deliver three core activities, and our purpose is to enrich lives, introduce more people to rugby union and develop the sport for future generations.

Our core activities are:

• Rugby – supporting rugby from grassroots to performance level
• Commercial – building partnerships and hosting matches and events
• Running the business - ensuring our organization and people can thrive

Our Culture

At England Rugby, one of our core objectives is to drive rugby union to better reflect the diversity of society. We are aware that rugby, and sports in general, has not always been as welcoming an environment for everyone as we would like, and we are working hard to make rugby a more inclusive space for all identities.

We believe hiring people from underrepresented groups into positions at all levels is vital to creating spaces and initiatives that better support those identities. We would love to see applications from disabled people, LGBTQIA+ people, people from ethnically diverse communities, people of faith, people from lower socio-economic backgrounds, and women and non-binary people.

We know that representation is more than just getting people through the door, it’s about keeping people by responding to structural barriers relating to identities and valuing the insights that different lived experiences bring. We have network groups that provide peer-to-peer support and drive forward change internally. We support colleagues to develop, and each colleague has access to a personal coaching platform that can provide same-day one-to-one coaching. We are pushing ourselves to create a more inclusive culture every day through role modelling our culture and core values; This Rose Means Everyone: Put The Team First, Shape The Future, Respect Each Other.

We know that flexible working is important to our colleagues, so our guiding principles are designed to support everyone to work in the way that suits them, their teams, and the organisation in the best way.

What we can offer you

We are proud of the range of benefits we can provide: