Senior Operations Manager

West Coast Bus Charters | Malaga, Perth WA

West Coast Bus Charters is one of Western Australia’s leading passenger transport providers, operating a modern fleet of approximately 100 buses and coaches across four depots.

From contracted school services and private charters through to corporate transport, major events and large-scale movements, our operation is busy, diverse and continuing to grow.

We are now looking for an experienced Senior Operations Manager to take ownership of our day-to-day operation and lead the next stage of operational improvement across the business.

Based at our Malaga head office and reporting directly to the Director, this is a genuine senior leadership position with responsibility across people, fleet, service delivery, compliance, cost control and operational performance.

This is not a role for someone who wants to manage from the sidelines.

We are looking for a practical, commercially minded leader who enjoys being close to the operation, developing people, solving problems and making sure the business is prepared not only for today, but for what is coming next.

You will lead our Operations and Scheduling function and play a key role in ensuring hundreds of daily transport movements are delivered safely, reliably and efficiently.

Your responsibilities will include:

• Leading, supporting and developing the Operations and Scheduling team

• Overseeing forward scheduling of contracted services, charters and booked work

• Ensuring the effective allocation of drivers, vehicles and operational resources

• Planning ahead for high-demand periods and identifying resource gaps before they impact service delivery

• Managing operational disruptions, escalations and service recovery

• Working closely with the Workshop Manager on fleet availability, servicing and planned downtime

• Partnering with Sales & Growth to ensure new and existing work can be delivered efficiently and profitably

• Utilising our CMS scheduling and fleet management system to optimise resources and maintain accurate operational information

• Maintaining appropriate driver and operational staffing levels

• Managing planned leave, absenteeism and workforce availability

• Supporting recruitment, onboarding, training and performance management

• Building a strong, accountable and engaged operational culture

• Managing service complaints, incidents, investigations and corrective actions

• Maintaining strong relationships with schools, clients, subcontractors and government stakeholders

• Overseeing relevant SBS/PTA reporting, compliance and audit requirements

• Maintaining high safety and compliance standards across the operation

• Overseeing depot standards, facilities and operational equipment

• Ensuring fleet presentation and cleaning standards are maintained

• Monitoring driver hours, overtime and labour utilisation

• Reviewing subcontractor usage and associated costs

• Monitoring key operating costs including wages and fuel

• Identifying opportunities to improve productivity, fleet utilisation and operational efficiency

• Supporting management with pricing, margins and operational profitability

• Continually improving operational systems, processes and procedures.

You will know what is happening across the operation and have your team looking ahead rather than continually reacting.

You will understand:

• What needs to happen today

• Whether tomorrow is fully resourced

• Where the pressure points are next week

• What vehicles are available and what is coming off the road

• Where driver hours or overtime can be better managed

• Whether upcoming work is appropriately staffed

• Which issues require action before they become customer problems.

You will create clear accountability across people, vehicles, costs and service delivery, while building a culture where communication, planning and follow-through are expected.

You are an experienced operational leader who is comfortable making decisions, holding people accountable and taking responsibility for outcomes.

You will ideally bring:

• Minimum 3+ years’ experience in a senior operations management role

• Experience within passenger transport, charter, logistics, fleet or another high-volume service environment

• Strong leadership and people management experience

• Experience managing a sizeable frontline workforce

• Strong scheduling, rostering and resource-planning capability

• Commercial awareness and a good understanding of labour and operating costs

• Demonstrated ability to improve workforce and fleet utilisation

• Strong customer and stakeholder management skills

• Experience managing incidents, complaints and performance matters

• Strong problem-solving skills and sound judgement under pressure

• The ability to balance immediate operational demands with forward planning

• Strong computer literacy, including Microsoft Office and operational management systems

• A proactive, organised and accountable approach to leadership.

Passenger transport experience will be highly regarded; however, we are also keen to hear from strong operational leaders within logistics, fleet management, mining services, aviation ground operations, distribution and similar high-volume environments.

A current HR licence and Passenger Transport Driver authorisation would be advantageous, together with a Working with Children Check and First Aid/CPR certification, or a willingness to obtain these.

The successful candidate should also be willing and capable of assisting with driving duties where genuinely required to support the operation.

Due to the nature of passenger transport, some after-hours and weekend availability will also be required for significant operational matters.

This is an opportunity to take on a genuine leadership role in a substantial and growing transport operation.

You will have:

• Direct access to and support from the Director

• Genuine ownership of the day-to-day operation

• Responsibility across a fleet of approximately 100 buses and coaches

• The opportunity to lead and develop a large operational workforce

• The ability to influence systems, processes and how the business operates

• A role where strong performance and ideas can make a visible difference

• A competitive senior management salary package

• Opportunity for ongoing professional and career development.

We are looking for someone who doesn't simply identify operational problems — they take ownership of solving them.

If you are a strong people leader, commercially minded operator and enjoy the challenge of running a fast-moving transport business, we would like to hear from you.