Fractional Operations Manager
Fractional
Like most people in Ops, I didn’t grow up thinking, “One day, I’ll be an Operations Manager!” I stumbled into it sideways, through film sets, kitchens, project management, and everything in-between. I started my career in the film industry as a videographer and editor, which taught me how to plan obsessively, troubleshoot calmly, and keep 17 spinning plates in the air without dropping any. From there I moved into assisting, project coordination, and then operations. Somewhere along the way I realised: Oh… this is what Ops is! This is what I’ve been doing all along! Since then my remit has gone from “keep this one project alive” to “build the operating system for an entire organisation,” across everything from e-learning startups to pantries, franchises, communities, and multi-layered global teams. My work today sits at the intersection of people, systems, and calm-in-the-chaos, and honestly, I wouldn’t have it any other way!
A perfect week for me has space. Space to think, build, and create, not just put out fires. It would probably look like: 1. Two deep-work mornings to design systems or map out processes. 2. One “Ops Lab” day where I get to experiment with tools, automations, and AI workflows (my favourite kind of playtime). 3. A couple of team check-ins that are short, energising, and forward-moving. 4. One big strategy session with a founder where we untangle something messy together. 5. And then at least half a day outdoors — cycling, diving, hiking, or doing something to remind me I’m a human, not a productivity machine.
Building systems from absolute zero. Whether it’s a high-performance sports organisation, a VA agency, or a new retail branch, I love walking into a blank slate and building the operating rhythm, the structure, the culture, and the “way we do things here.” But the real achievement? When the founder looks up months later, realises they’re calmer, more focused, and finally have breathing space… and they say, “I don’t know how we functioned before this.” That feeling never gets old.
I turn chaos into clarity, and I do it calmly. People bring me their swirling mess of tasks, ideas, problems, and existential workplace dread… and I can instantly see the structure underneath it. I can map it, prioritise it, and turn it into something that suddenly feels doable.
A single source of truth. I don’t even care what the tool is. Notion, ClickUp, Google Sheets, a well-structured Drive — as long as it’s central, clean, and trusted. So much chaos in Ops doesn’t come from bad people… it comes from scattered information. If everything lives in one place, consistent, visible, and easy to update, half your fires disappear automatically.
I always go back to first principles: What matters most right now? What can wait? What’s just noise? And what is only on fire because someone is anxious? And if all else fails: a cup of tea, a 10-minute walk, and a quiet promise to myself that we’ve survived every “fire” so far.
Great ops leadership is equal parts architect, coach, and firefighter - but the real magic is knowing when to be which. To me, it means: Making complexity simple. Caring deeply about people. Seeing problems before others notice them. Creating calm through clarity. And building systems that make everyone’s lives easier, not just your own. Ops leadership is invisible when done well.
Multi-tool tech stacks are not a sign of sophistication — they’re a sign of pain!!! So many teams brag about the 11 different products they use. Nobody is bragging about the time wasted switching between them, or the data lost in the cracks. I believe in fewer tools and better processes.
AI, 100%. Not because it replaces Ops, but because it frees us up to do what we’re actually brilliant at: thinking, designing, connecting, and leading.
Ops isn’t about having all the answers. It’s about being curious enough to figure them out, and brave enough to take ownership. So my advice is: Ask “why” at least 5 times. Document everything. (Future you will be grateful.) Build relationships, not just processes. Keep things simpler than you think. And treat everything as a prototype. Ops is iterative by nature. Most importantly: You belong here, even if your path makes no sense on paper. Most of ours didn’t either and that’s exactly what makes this field so powerful!