Nearly New Cashmere Co. is looking for an experienced, highly capable Business Operations Manager to join our team in Masham.
This is a newly created role in a business that has grown sevenfold in the last four years. We now have more than 70,000 customers, almost a third of them in the USA, and a community of over 220,000 followers on Instagram alone.
We're still a small team, though — and that's exactly what makes this role interesting.
We're looking for someone who may currently be an experienced EA, Office Manager, Business Manager or Operations Manager and is ready for something broader: more responsibility, more variety and the opportunity to become genuinely involved in how a growing business is run.
You'll work closely with our General Manager, Charlotte, and our founder, Alison, and will have responsibility for the day-to-day management of our Customer Service and Warehouse & Fulfilment teams.
But the role goes considerably further than that.
What you'll be responsible for
You'll take ownership of the smooth running of Customer Service and Order Fulfilment, managing a team that varies from around one to five people depending on the time of year.
That includes:
- Recruiting and managing warehouse and fulfilment staff
- Managing individual performance, development, holidays and absence
- Making sure customer enquiries, orders, returns and deliveries are dealt with efficiently and to a consistently high standard
- Planning staffing and resources around product launches and busy trading periods
- Recognising when a team is becoming stretched and organising additional support before it becomes a problem
- Continually looking for ways to make our systems and processes more efficient
We're looking for someone who thinks ahead. If a major product launch is coming up, we don't want to have to tell you that Fulfilment is likely to be busy — you'll have seen it in the calendar, anticipated what will be needed and made a plan.
Beyond operations
This is where the role becomes a little different.
You'll work closely with Alison and Charlotte across the wider business, taking responsibility for projects and one-off pieces of work and increasingly becoming involved in areas such as:
- Communicating with suppliers and manufacturers
- Developing new product ranges
- Contributing ideas on products, colours and design
- Checking cashmere samples against our manufacturing briefs
- Helping organise and place product orders
- Researching and implementing new systems and processes
- Taking the lead when one of our e-commerce systems or apps isn't working as it should
We don't have a traditional design department. New products and colours are developed collaboratively within the team, so you'll have the opportunity to contribute rather than simply administer the process.
For someone with the right aptitude and interest, there is also genuine scope to become increasingly involved in product development and buying as the role evolves.
The person we're looking for
Above all, we're looking for a problem-solver.
You'll be an experienced administrator with previous management responsibility and the confidence to take ownership when something needs sorting out.
You'll need:
- Significant experience in a senior administrative, EA, office management, business management or operational role
- Previous experience of managing people
- Excellent organisational skills and attention to detail
- Strong judgement and the confidence to make day-to-day decisions
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills
- Strong technical skills and confidence learning new systems
- Good spreadsheet skills
- The ability to juggle competing priorities without losing sight of what matters
- A practical, resourceful approach — if something isn't working, you're the sort of person who wants to understand why and get it fixed
- The ability to anticipate what's coming rather than simply respond to what's already happened
We use Shopify alongside a number of specialist e-commerce systems and apps for areas including customer loyalty and returns. You don't need to arrive knowing every system we use, but you do need to be technically confident and comfortable becoming the person who can take the lead when something goes wrong.
How we work
We're a small, high-achieving team and flexibility is a big part of our culture.
Although you'll have clear management responsibilities, this isn't a business where job titles stop people helping each other.
During busy periods, you might jump into Customer Service and answer emails or telephone enquiries yourself. At other times of year, the whole team may be involved in preparing a major stock release, helping with photography or covering another department while someone is on holiday.
Senior management does exactly the same.
We're looking for someone who enjoys that way of working — someone senior enough to take responsibility, but practical enough to get stuck in when that's what the team needs.
Why join us?
This is a chance to take a senior role in a rapidly growing e-commerce business without having to work in a city.
You'll be joining a business with an international customer base, a significant social media presence and ambitious plans for continued growth, while working from our base in the Yorkshire Dales.
It's a role with an unusual amount of variety and influence. You'll be close to the decisions, close to the product and close to the day-to-day running of the business.
And because we're growing, we don't expect the role to stand still.
Practical details
Salary: £36,000–£40,000 depending on experience
Hours: Full-time, Monday to Friday
Location: Masham, North Yorkshire
Working pattern: On-site
This is predominantly an on-site role because you'll be managing teams based here and working closely with the wider business. There can be occasional flexibility to work from home, but this isn't a regular hybrid position.
You'll need your own reliable transport and to live within a realistic daily commute of Masham. Benefits include:
Company pension
Generous staff discount
On-site parking
Kitchen kept stocked with food for the team
If you're an experienced EA, administrator or manager who has reached the point where you'd like to use more of your skills rather than specialise in an increasingly narrow role, we'd particularly like to hear from you.
Please send us your CV along with a few sentences explaining why this role appeals to you and an example of something you spotted, took ownership of and improved without waiting to be asked.
Pay: £36,000.00-£40,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- Company events
- Employee discount
- Free parking
- Sick pay
Application question(s):
- Can you reliably commute to Masham by car?
Work Location: In person
