Job Description

Operations & Data Manager, Circulation – Permanent - £60,000 - £70,000

Join us and be part of a mission-driven, independent publisher. You’ll work with a diverse group of people who share a passion for empowering researchers, educators, and institutions to shape the future.

About Sage:

Sage is a global academic publisher of books, journals, and library resources with a growing range of technologies to enable discovery, access, and engagement. Believing that research and education are critical in shaping society, Sara Miller McCune founded Sage in 1965. Today, we are controlled by a group of trustees charged with maintaining our independence and mission indefinitely. 

Our guaranteed independence means we’re free to:

• Do more – supporting an equitable academic future, furthering disciplines that drive social change, and helping social and behavioural science make an impact
• Work together – building lasting relationships, championing diverse perspectives, and co-creating resources to transform teaching and learning
• Think long-term – experimenting, taking risks, and investing in new ideas

About our Team:

Our team plays a vital role in keeping product data, billing workflows, and operational processes running smoothly across Sage’s global publishing ecosystem. We partner closely with colleagues in Product, Technology, Customer Experience, Finance, Data, and Commercial teams to ensure information is accurate, invoicing is reliable, and customer fulfilment is seamless. We are a supportive, detail‑focused group who value collaboration, continuous learning, and operational excellence. We care deeply about creating a positive, inclusive experience for customers and internal partners and about building processes that help everyone do their best work.

Could you be our new Operations & Data Manager? Are you?

• Experienced in operational leadership and comfortable guiding global teams in data‑intensive or technically complex environments.
• Knowledgeable in data governance with an understanding of how strong data integrity supports fulfilment, revenue, tax, and reporting outcomes.
• Confident using metrics to guide decisions and able to interpret dashboards, spot trends, and use evidence to strengthen performance.
• Skilled in root cause analysis and able to investigate issues, collaborate across teams, and deliver timely resolution.
• A supportive and accountable people leader who sets clear expectations, offers constructive feedback, and helps colleagues grow.
• An effective communicator who can translate operational complexity into clear, accessible insight for senior partners.
• Experienced in process governance and confident owning SOPs, controls, and exception frameworks in a quality‑focused environment.
• Curious about automation and AI and familiar with tools such as SQL and Power Automate, and open to exploring new technologies that improve efficiency.

Your new role:

You will lead the daily performance, capability, and delivery of the Circulation Operations team. You will ensure that product information, billing readiness, and invoice accuracy are consistently achieved across systems and channels. You will provide hands‑on leadership, high‑level troubleshooting, and evidence‑based insight that strengthens operational practice and supports cross‑functional decision‑making.

• Drive daily operational performance by prioritising workloads effectively and ensuring delivery meets agreed service expectations.
• Manage SLA and quality standards by defining clear expectations, monitoring performance through data, and acting early when risks appear.
• Provide hands‑on operational leadership by supporting the team with practical guidance and maintaining deep understanding of systems and processes.
• Safeguard product data integrity by maintaining identifiers, metadata, hierarchy, pricing readiness, and visibility across CRM, ecommerce, fulfilment, tax, and reporting.
• Ensure billing and invoicing accuracy by overseeing workflows that ensure orders can be invoiced correctly and that defects are triaged, resolved, and reviewed for root cause.
• Lead complex issue resolution by acting as the escalation point, coordinating cross‑team solutions, and translating complexity into clear, evidence‑based insight.
• Improve processes and controls by owning and enhancing SOPs, exception routes, and review mechanisms to ensure scalable, auditable, and efficient ways of working.
• Deliver operational change by planning and embedding product‑data and invoicing‑related changes, assessing impacts, engaging stakeholders, and ensuring successful adoption.

Overview of benefits:

• 25 days annual leave (plus bank holidays) with 2 additional floating personal days.
• Hybrid working up to 2 days per week in office and a home working allowance.
• Life assurance, income protection, and travel insurance.
• Private medical cover and access to the company doctor.
• Tuition scheme and support for pursuing professional qualifications, including access to Sage books and journals.
• Variety of snacks and beverages available in the office.
• Healthy lifestyle reimbursement and anniversary trips.
• Access to Company loans (season ticket loan, rental deposit loan, cycle loan).

We’re a Disability Confident Employer (Level 1). If you’d like to apply under this scheme, please let us know in your application.

We’re committed to making our recruitment process accessible and inclusive. If you’d like to request reasonable adjustments, please email humanresources@sagepub.co.uk. Please note we only accept applications via email if an adjustment has been agreed.

Closing date for applications: Sunday 6th September 2026

To ensure we can give each application the attention it deserves, we may consider bringing the closing date forward. Therefore, we encourage you to submit your application as soon as possible to ensure it is considered.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

At Sage, we are committed to building a diverse and inclusive team and to sustaining a culture that celebrates diversity, encourages authenticity, and builds a deep sense of belonging. We encourage applications from all members of society irrespective of age, disability, sex or gender identity, sexual orientation, colour, race, nationality, ethnic or national origin, religion, or belief as crafting value through diversity is what makes us strong.