Head of operations & projects Full Time NEW

Hachette UK
Closing date for applications: 16 November 2025

Salary: £51,000 – £60,000

Location: London, United Kingdom

Contract: Full-time, permanent, reporting to Katy Wickremesinghe

This is a unique opportunity to join a purpose driven business committed to cultural advocacy and creative innovation. If you’re passionate about systems, culture, and supporting a pioneering team this could be the role for you.

The Wick and KTW is a hybrid platform and strategic consultancy working at the intersection of business, art, culture, and luxury. With a focus on community, creativity, and commercial impact, we build meaningful connections across the arts, cultural institutions, and global brands – connecting them with culturally curious audiences. We work at Founder and C Suite level with top collectors, media and thought leaders to shape strategy and activate ambitious projects and content campaigns. These play out on our culture making platform, The Wick, which offers an insider’s perspective on the art world and often features our founder, Katy Wickremesinghe, as speaker and voice of authority. The business spans three core pillars:

• KTW: Our consultancy delivers strategy and activations that connect business, luxury, and culture.
• The Wick: A media platform for the culturally curious, amplifying voices shaping contemporary culture.
• Katy Wickremesinghe – Founder Brand: Katy drives our influence through thought leadership, public speaking, and media presence.

Together, these pillars form a dynamic ecosystem – a consultancy, a platform, and a founder brand united at the nexus of business, art, and luxury.

The business is at a pivotal moment with a growing roster of cultural and luxury clients and a growing content platform; the introduction of this newly created role seeks to underpin the next phase of our development. To enable this, we’re looking for a proactive operator who thrives in entrepreneurial, fast paced environments, blending project leadership with digital fluency. This is a hands on role at the heart of a business where cultural strategy meets digital content, demanding someone who can negotiate contracts with confidence, build streamlined systems, and harness digital tools to drive efficiency and growth. You will be tech savvy and thrive on building scalable processes and systems, embedding workflow automation, and unlocking data driven insights. This role places you at the centre of high profile projects and cultural networks, therefore knowledge of the arts, culture and luxury sectors is advantageous. All team members contribute across the three pillars of the business The Wick (content platform), KTW (creative consultancy), and Founder activations and this role ensures these strands operate in sync across:

• Operations & project management (day to day business running + delivery of client projects/contracts/events/activations)
• Team & supplier management (line managing staff, freelancers, and supplier oversight)
• Budget & contract oversight (project budget management, client and artist contracts, pipeline support)
• Systems & data (CRM, reporting, digital ops oversight)

Responsibilities Operations & project management

• Oversee the smooth day to day running of the business operations and team
• Embed operational strategies that support growth, efficiency, and consistency.
• Own the end to end delivery of all client contracts, ensuring projects are delivered with support of the client services team systematically, efficiently, to high standards
• Develop and maintain processes, playbooks, and training guides to ensure gold standard delivery across all projects
• Identify new tools, automate processes, drive operational efficiency through technology
• Cultivate and maintain strong relationships with our clients, artists, sponsors, and partners to enhance delivery and business growth
• Maintain clear financial oversight and reporting in partnership with our CFO

Team management

• Line manage staff and freelancers, building a positive, high performing team culture with clear accountability and professional development pathways
• Manage suppliers and contractors, ensuring quality service, timely delivery, and strong commercial value

Events, exhibitions & production

• Lead and be accountable for the planning and top level delivery of cultural events and exhibitions, from scope of work through to execution with support of the team. Oversee all aspects of production, including scheduling, logistics, contracts, and supplier management
• Coordinate across internal teams and external partners to ensure events and exhibitions are delivered to brief, quality, on time, and on budget
• Ensure high quality post event evaluation, including return on investment reports and client wrap ups, providing actionable insights for continuous improvement

Budget & contract management

• Prepare and oversee budgets for projects and the wider business, ensuring financial goals are met and resources are optimised
• Lead on contract management (business and individual), including drafting scopes of work, negotiations, renewals, and compliance
• Reconcile freelance and supplier costs against budgets, ensuring accuracy and transparency
• Support pipeline management for new and potential sales opportunities, ensuring clear documentation and timely follow up

Data, CRM & market intelligence

• Oversee data management practices, ensuring the systematic capture, storage, and use of vital contacts (collectors, luxury partners, cultural stakeholders)
• Manage and optimise the Pipedrive customer relationship management (CRM), ensuring it is a scalable tool that tracks opportunities, sales conversations, and client data
• Ensure CRM data is continually refreshed and expanded (e.g., tracking stakeholder career moves, audience segmentation, pipeline progression)
• Leverage digital tools for growth and efficiency across the business
• Produce ROI reports and market intelligence to inform business development and client delivery
• Managing audience delivery and guest list to contracted requirements

Digital operations oversight

• Lead the integration of digital tools and platforms across the business from CRM and workflow automation to content innovation (newsletters, podcasts, affiliate integrations)
• Oversee the suppliers and the dedicated team members to effectively manage our platforms. Collaborate with the client services team to ensure campaigns and content are supported online by robust operational delivery

Knowledge, skills & experience

• Highly organised, proactive, and adaptable in fast paced environments
• Entrepreneurial mindset, tech enabled operator
• Thrives on solving problems in creative ways
• Proven ability to oversee complex projects across events, exhibitions, and production
• Strong team leadership skills, with experience managing staff and freelancers
• Exceptional skills in budget and contract management, with commercial acumen
• Confident in CRM/data management (ideally Pipedrive) and process development
• Excellent written and verbal communicator, capable of professional representation at senior level
• Appreciation for arts, culture, and the creative industries; art world knowledge advantageous
• Strong digital literacy (Microsoft Office, cloud based systems, websites, CRM)
• Proven experience in business operations, event delivery, and project management within creative, cultural or luxury sectors
• Demonstrable track record in budget management and project financial oversight
• Proven success in supplier and contract management
• Experience developing operational processes and staff training
• Familiarity with CRM and VIP database management
• Strong interpersonal skills, with the ability to manage diverse stakeholders
• Exceptional leadership, communication, and interpersonal skills to internally influence
• Proficiency in project management software and tools
• Passion and knowledge of the arts, culture and luxury sectors

Benefits

• Pension contribution
• Healthcare
• Generous annual leave plus bank holidays, increasing with years of service
• Performance bonus tied to engagement and follower growth across channels
• Co working access at 180 The Strand, a leading creative hub
• Art membership after one year of service (e.g. Tate, Art Fund)
• The opportunity to make a meaningful impact within the cultural
• community
• A tight knit, dynamic and creative working environment
• Ongoing professional development and career growth opportunities
• Direct access to high profile arts, culture and talent networks

What we offer

• A front row seat in shaping how culture and commerce intersect
• Opportunity to influence the growth of a pioneering hybrid business at a formative stage
• Opportunity to make a meaningful impact within the cultural community
• A tight, dynamic and creative work environment with a high impact
• Opportunities for professional development and growth
• Competitive salary and benefits package
• Access to high profile arts, culture and talent networks

Additional information Our normal office hours are 9.30am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, although the job holder will be expected, within reason . click apply for full job details