Operations Manager

Salary: £30,000–£32,000 (depending on experience)
Hours: 37.5 hours per week (3 year contract)
Working Pattern: Tuesday–Saturday
Location: Hybrid – Liverpool-based, with potential travel to Dundee and London when required
Reports to: Managing Director

A Note from Rhi, MD

If you’ve ever seen Howl’s Moving Castle, you’ll know it isn’t sleek or symmetrical. It clanks. It shifts. It’s made of unlikely pieces. And yet, it moves. It shelters. It protects. It carries people somewhere new. Comics Youth feels a little like that. We are not a corporate machine. We are a living, evolving organisation powered by heart, pens, and a fierce belief that young people deserve space to tell their stories. We are creative and values-led. We are sometimes building while travelling. We care deeply about who is inside the castle.

Over the past decade, we’ve grown from a grassroots idea into a nationally recognised creative health organisation. Growth means we now need stronger foundations — not to make us slick, but to make us sustainable.

This role exists because we want to strengthen the structure without losing the magic. To build systems that protect our team and the young people we work with, while keeping our imagination intact. We’re looking for someone who understands that operations can be an act of care. Someone who can help steady the castle as it moves — without trying to turn it into something it isn’t. If that feels like somewhere you’d belong, I’d love to hear from you.

About Comics Youth

Comics Youth is a youth-led, trauma-informed creative health organisations using comics, storytelling and publishing to support mental wellbeing, belonging and recovery.

We work with young people aged 8–25 who are often excluded, underserved or misunderstood by traditional systems — including those who are neurodivergent, LGBTQIA+, care-experienced, disabled, or living with complex trauma.

We publish anthologies.
We hold space for difficult stories.
We sit alongside young people when systems haven’t.

We believe creativity is political.
We believe access matters.
We believe care should not be a luxury.

As we grow nationally, we are strengthening our internal systems so our infrastructure reflects those beliefs.

This role is central to that work.

The Role

The Operations Manager will help shape and hold the operational backbone of Comics Youth.

This is not simply an administrative post. It is a leadership role rooted in care, accountability and clarity.

You will:

  • Lead HR systems and workforce processes

  • Act as Safeguarding Co-Lead

  • Contribute to funding bids and commissioned tenders

  • Oversee contract delivery, reporting and KPIs

  • Maintain compliance, risk management and operational systems

You will help us grow in a way that is thoughtful rather than extractive — building systems that protect both young people and staff.

Our Workplace Culture

We are intentional about how we work.

  • Our core week runs Tuesday–Saturday, reflecting when young people need us most.

  • We offer flexible working wherever possible and trust our team to manage their time responsibly.

  • Every staff member receives a wellbeing grant.

  • Staff are entitled to eight paid counselling sessions.

  • We prioritise reflective supervision and psychologically safe practice.

  • We do not believe burnout is a badge of honour.

We are a small team doing nationally recognised work. Collaboration, honesty and mutual care matter deeply here.

Who We’re Looking For

You might thrive in this role if you:

  • Have experience in operations, HR, service management or organisational development

  • Have contributed to funding bids or commissioned tenders

  • Understand safeguarding and safer working practices

  • Can balance accountability with empathy

  • Care deeply about equity, anti-oppressive practice and access

That said — we know job descriptions can feel intimidating. You may not meet every single requirement listed in the full job description. That’s okay. We are a learning organisation. We are still refining and strengthening our systems — and we are looking for someone who wants to grow with us. If you bring transferable skills, lived experience, integrity, and a willingness to build alongside us, we would genuinely love to hear from you. We are more interested in alignment, reflective practic,e and care than a perfectly linear CV.

Full Job Description

You can read the full job description HERE

How to Apply

Please send:

  • Your CV

  • A cover letter (maximum 2 pages) outlining your interest and how your experience connects to the role

  • Email: rhiannon@comicsyouth.co.uk (Subject line: Operations Manager Application)

If you would prefer to submit your application in a different format (video, audio, bullet points or conversation), please let us know. We are committed to accessible recruitment

Application Deadline


Friday 27 March 2026, 5pm

We aim to hold interviews within two weeks of the closing date. Interviews will likely take place on a Saturday afternoon, in keeping with our working week. If this presents a barrier for you, please let us know — we are happy to discuss alternative arrangements.

Equity, Access & Fair Recruitment

We know talent is not distributed by privilege — opportunity is.

Structural barriers continue to shape who feels able to apply for leadership roles in the arts, charity and health sectors. We are actively working against that.

We operate a Guaranteed Interview Scheme for applicants who meet the essential criteria and identify as disabled, neurodivergent, from a racially minoritised background, care-experienced, LGBTQIA+, or from other communities historically excluded from leadership.

If this applies to you, please let us know in your application.

We also recognise that traditional recruitment processes can advantage confidence over capability. If you would prefer to submit your application in a different format (video, audio, bullet points, or conversation), we welcome that.

Adjustments are not an inconvenience — they are part of building equitable practice. If you need anything at any stage, please tell us.

We are committed to building a team that reflects the communities we serve — not just in words, but in structure.