Workplace Operations Manager

Scale AI
London, United Kingdom
On-site

Who this role is best for

Strong fit for experienced workplace operations professionals who manage multi-site portfolios and deliver complex projects. Must have hands-on experience in the UK and Middle East, with a focus on vendor and lease management.

Best fit for

  • Candidates with direct experience managing multi-site operations and vendor relationships across EMEA and MENA
    — “Run on-site operations across the region. Own service delivery, facilities, life safety, and workplace experience in every EMEA and Middle East office
  • Individuals who have led full office build-outs and understand regional differences in Gulf markets
    — “Hands-on project delivery experience in the UK and ideally the Middle East, with a working understanding of how landlord, fit-out, permitting, and vendor dynamics differ in Gulf markets from those in Europe
  • Professionals with a track record of managing regional budgets and forecasting space needs based on headcount growth
    — “Own regional budget and planning. Build and manage the regional operating and capital budget, forecast space needs against headcount growth

Things to consider

  • The role requires a 90-day waiting period before reapplication for the same position
    — “Our policy requires a 90-day waiting period before reconsidering candidates for the same role
  • Candidates should be prepared for a high level of responsibility and decision-making autonomy
    — “The judgment to operate without a playbook. You are comfortable being the most senior Workplace person in the room, forming a recommendation on space, spend, and sequencing and defending it

How to stand out

  • Highlight your experience with vendor management and contract negotiation in your resume and interviews
    — “Real vendor and commercial management depth. You have scoped and negotiated services contracts, held vendors to service levels, and replaced ones that were not performing.
  • Demonstrate your ability to manage complex capital projects from design to handover
    — “Deliver the spaces. Run capital projects end to end, managing design, contractors, budget, schedule, and handover.
  • Showcase your knowledge of lease agreements and ability to track obligations across multiple markets
    — “Keep the regional portfolio on the calendar. Track lease dates, renewal and break notices, landlord obligations, and service contract expiries across the region
Pace · Fast PacedCollaboration · HighAutonomy · MediumDecision Impact · CompanyLevel · Senior

Derived from job-description analysis by Serendipath's career intelligence engine.

What success looks like

  • running on-site operations across EMEA and MENA
  • managing regional budget and planning
Typical background
6+ years in workplace operations, corporate real estate, or facilities management

Skills & requirements

Required

On-site Operations ManagementProject DeliveryVendor ManagementBudget Management

Preferred

GCC Market ExperienceFacility Management

Stack & domain

Workplace OperationsCorporate Real EstateFacilities ManagementVendor ManagementProject DeliveryLease FluencyLandlord ObligationsService Contract ExpiriesComplianceSecurity RequirementsSpace Needs ForecastingGlobal Workplace StandardsHigh-growth Technology CompanyInternational ScalingGCCGulf MarketsEuropeMiddle EastLeadershipCommunicationCollaboration

About the role

Original posting from Scale AI via Greenhouse

Scale's Workplace Operations team owns the physical environment Scaliens work in: the real estate portfolio, the build-outs, the vendors, and the day-to-day service that makes an office run.

You will be the senior Workplace leader in the region, accountable for on-site operations, projects, and vendor performance across EMEA and MENA, and you will drive the decisions in the region. You will partner directly with country leads and with Finance, Legal, People, and Physical Security.

What You’ll Do

Run on-site operations across the region. Own service delivery, facilities, life safety, and workplace experience in every EMEA and Middle East office, including the offices without dedicated on-site coverage today.

Manage the vendor base in region. Select, onboard, and hold local FM, security, food and beverage, and AV vendors accountable.

Deliver the spaces. Run capital projects end to end, managing design, contractors, budget, schedule, and handover.

Keep the regional portfolio on the calendar. Track lease dates, renewal and break notices, landlord obligations, and service contract expiries across the region, and surface them early enough to act on.

Be the escalation point in regional business hours. Serve as the first call for country leads and local stakeholders, resolving issues in region.

Partner with country and functional leadership. Work directly with key stakeholders on compliance and security requirements in each market.

Own regional budget and planning. Build and manage the regional operating and capital budget, forecast space needs against headcount growth, and bring Scale's global workplace standards into each new market.

Qualifications

6+ years in workplace operations, corporate real estate, or facilities management, including direct ownership of multi-site operations and at least one office stand-up or major build-out delivered from the ground up.

Hands-on project delivery experience in the UK and ideally the Middle East, with a working understanding of how landlord, fit-out, permitting, and vendor dynamics differ in Gulf markets from those in Europe, and enough lease fluency to read a document and know which dates and obligations matter.

Real vendor and commercial management depth. You have scoped and negotiated services contracts, held vendors to service levels, and replaced ones that were not performing.

The judgment to operate without a playbook. You are comfortable being the most senior Workplace person in the room, forming a recommendation on space, spend, and sequencing and defending it, rather than sending the question up.

Prior experience at a high-growth technology company scaling internationally.

Additional regional language capability, and/or hands-on work experience in the GCC.

PLEASE NOTE: Our policy requires a 90-day waiting period before reconsidering candidates for the same role. This allows us to ensure a fair and thorough evaluation of all applicants.

About Us:

At Scale, our mission is to develop reliable AI systems for the world's most important decisions. Our products provide the high-quality data and full-stack technologies that power the world's leading models, and help enterprises and governments build, deploy, and oversee AI applications that deliver real impact. We work closely with industry leaders like Meta, Ernst & Young, Mayo Clinic, Time Inc., the Government of Qatar, and U.S. government agencies including the Army and Air Force. We are expanding our team to accelerate the development of AI applications.

We believe that everyone should be able to bring their whole selves to work, which is why we are proud to be an inclusive and equal opportunity workplace. We are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability status, gender identity or Veteran status. 

We are committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodations to applicants with physical and mental disabilities. If you need assistance and/or a reasonable accommodation in the application or recruiting process due to a disability, please contact us at accommodations@scale.com. Please see the United States Department of Labor's Know Your Rights poster for additional information.

We comply with the United States Department of Labor's Pay Transparency provision. 

PLEASE NOTE: We collect, retain and use personal data for our professional business purposes, including notifying you of job opportunities that may be of interest and sharing with our affiliates. We limit the personal data we collect to that which we believe is appropriate and necessary to manage applicants’ needs, provide our services, and comply with applicable laws. Any information we collect in connection with your application will be treated in accordance with our internal policies and programs designed to protect personal data. Please see our privacy policy for additional information.

Source: Scale AI careers (Greenhouse)

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