General Manager

General Manager

Sheffield (Neepsend) | £60,000–£75,000 depending on experience + up to 10% performance bonus

About us

Pine Media is Sheffield’s own full-fibre network. We’ve passed over 36,000 premises across Sheffield and South Yorkshire, and we’re growing quickly.

We’re vertically integrated: we build the network, run it, and look after the customers on it. We don’t rely on a wholesale provider or third-party engineers, so when something needs doing, we do it ourselves. That lets us move quickly, fix problems properly and give customers a level of service the big providers can’t match. It’s our biggest advantage, and it’s how we plan to keep growing.

Our in-house team covers everything from network engineering and software development to installations, provisioning and customer support.

The role

You’ll be the CEO’s number two, running the business day to day so the CEO can focus on strategy and growth.

We have three main teams:

• Fibre Network Delivery: our field engineers, who install and maintain our network. You’ll line manage this team.
• Service Delivery: customer service, provisioning and support. You’ll line manage this team.
• Network and Platform: our network operations centre, systems and software development. This team has its own management. You’ll work closely with them and provide operational oversight where needed.

Across Fibre Network Delivery and Service Delivery you’ll line manage around 10 people, running 1:1s, setting objectives, and owning development, absence and performance for each of them. Each team has a hands-on technical lead who sets technical standards, directs day-to-day work, coaches their team technically, and briefs you on how each person is performing.

This is a hands-on role in a small business, not a corporate GM post. You’ll be close to the work, involved in the detail, and able to see the difference you make.

What you’ll do

• Run the business day to day and deputise for the CEO.
• Line manage around 10 people across field and office teams, and tackle underperformance early and fairly.
• Coach and develop the team leads so they grow as leaders.
• Lead the weekly management meeting, set KPIs and hold teams to them.
• Own customer experience and delivery across orders, installations, faults and network work, measured on install lead times, first-time fix, fault resolution and SLA adherence.
• Plan resourcing with the team leads, clear blockers between teams, and keep every role’s responsibilities clearly defined.
• Build the annual budget and business plan with the CEO, own the operating budget, and track cost to serve and cost per install with our accountants.
• Lead recruitment and onboarding, including building out our service delivery team.
• Review how we resource field work, including our use of contractors, and recommend changes.
• Lead compliance across our operations, covering Ofcom obligations, street works and health and safety.
• Work with our platform team to triage and prioritise operational system issues and improvements.
• Build a business that runs smoothly without the CEO in the detail, with clear processes, reporting and accountability.
• Report to the CEO on performance, risks and priorities.

What success looks like after your first year

• Everyone in your teams has regular 1:1s, clear objectives and knows what good looks like in their role.
• The business runs on a steady weekly rhythm of priorities, KPIs and reviews.
• Performance issues are dealt with quickly and fairly.
• Install lead times, first-time fix, fault resolution and SLA adherence have measurably improved.
• Churn, complaints and customer satisfaction are moving the right way, and we know our cost to serve and cost per install.
• The CEO is free to focus on strategy and growth, knowing day-to-day operations are in good hands.

Requirements

About you

• Experience as a General Manager, Operations Director, Head of Operations or Operations Manager in an SME or service business, with managers or team leads reporting to you.
• A strong track record of managing people well, including turning around underperformance and developing new managers.
• You enjoy managing people and don’t avoid difficult conversations.
• Confident managing field and technical staff without being the technical expert.
• Organised and decisive, and you use data to run the operation.
• Commercially aware and comfortable with budgets, management accounts, resource planning and cost control.
• Experience in telecoms, fibre, utilities or field service is a plus, but not essential.

If you don’t tick every box but this sounds like you, we’d still like to hear from you.

Benefits

• £60,000–£75,000 base salary, depending on experience.
• Up to 10% annual performance bonus.
• A true second-in-command role with real authority, reporting directly to the CEO.
• The chance to build the management team of a fast-growing local fibre network.
• A close-knit team and a business where decisions get made quickly.

We welcome applications from everyone, whatever their background.